Pittheus’s Family Tree

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Family

• Hippodamia(parent),Pelops(parent),Atreus(sibling),Thyestes(sibling)— Marriage

  Pelops won Hippodamia by defeating her father Oenomaus in a chariot race. Their sons Atreus, Thyestes, and Pittheus founded rival dynasties whose feuds cursed the house for generations.

• Aethra(child)

  Pittheus, king of Troezen, fathered Aethra, who would become the mother of Theseus. Pittheus raised his grandson in Troezen until Theseus was old enough to claim his father's sword and sandals.

Associated with

• Aegeus

  When Aegeus visited Troezen, Pittheus interpreted the Delphic oracle forbidding him to loosen the wineskin before reaching Athens. Understanding it foretold a great son, Pittheus plied Aegeus with wine and brought his daughter Aethra to him.

• Hippolytus

  Hippolytus was raised at Troezen in the household of his great-grandfather Pittheus, where he became a devoted hunter and follower of Artemis.

• Theseus

  Pittheus raised his grandson Theseus at Troezen, educating him in wisdom and rhetoric. When the boy came of age, Pittheus revealed his royal parentage and the sword and sandals Aegeus had hidden beneath a stone.