In Greek mythology, Myrtilus was a divine hero, a son of Hermes on Theobula, and charioteer of King Oenomaus of Pisa in Elis, on the northwest coast of the Peloponnesus. The Oricoli bust of Zeus, King of the Gods, in the collection of the Vatican Museum. ... Hermes bearing the infant Dionysus, by Praxiteles Hermes (Greek IPA: ), in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travellers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures and invention and commerce in general... In Greek mythology, King Oenomaus of Pisa was the son of Ares by Sterope (or by Harpina daughter of Phliasian Asopus) and father of Hippodamia. ... Pisa, or Pisatis, was the name of an ancient Greek town in Elis. ... Peloponnesos (Greek: Πελοπόννησος, sometime Latinized as Peloponnesus or Anglicized as The Peloponnese) is a large peninsula in Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Isthmus of Corinth. ...

On the eve of the fateful horse race that would decide the marriage between Pelops and Hippodameia, Myrtilus was approached by Pelops (or alternatively, by Hippodamia) who wanted him to hinder the efforts of his master, Oenamaus, to win the race. Myrtilus was offered as bribe the privilege of the first night with Hippodameia. In Greek mythology, Pelops (Greek Πέλοψ) (from pelios: dark; and ops: face, eye) was a son of Tantalus and Dione. ... From hippos (horse) and damazo (to tame), Tamer of horses. ...

Myrtilus, who loved Hippodamia himself but was too afraid to ask her hand of her father, agreed and sabotaged the king's chariot by replacing the bronze lynchpins with fake ones made of bees' wax. In the ensuing accident Oenomaus lost his life, cursing Myrtilus as he died. Shortly thereafter Myrtilus tried to seduce Hippodamia, who ran crying to Pelops. Enraged, Pelops murdered Myrtilus by casting him into the sea off the east coast of the Peloponnesus, which was later named the Myrtoan Sea in honor of the hero. His body was later recovered and brought in the temple of Hermes where it was honored with annual sacrifices. The Myrtoan Sea is often unmarked on modern maps. ...

As Myrtilus died, he cursed Pelops. This was the source of the curse that haunted future generation of Pelops' children, including Atreus, Thyestes, Agamemnon, Aegisthus, Menelaus, Orestes and Chrysippus. In Greek mythology, King Atreus (Greek: Ατρεύς, Atreús) (fearless) of Mycenae was the son of Pelops and Hippodamia and father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. ... In Greek mythology, Thyestes was the son of Pelops, King of Mycenae, and Hippodamia and father of Pelopia and Aegisthus. ... The so-called Mask of Agamemnon. Discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 at Mycenae. ... In Greek mythology, Aegisthus (goat strength, also transliterated as Aegisthos or Aigísthos) was the son of Thyestes and his daughter, Pelopia. ... This article is about Menelaus the king of Sparta. ... The Remorse of Orestes by William-Adolphe Bouguereau For other uses, see Orestes (disambiguation). ... Laius abducting Chrysippus, who is reaching out to Pelops, his father (detail). ...

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