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In Greek mythology, Aerope (Ancient Greek: Ἀερόπη) was a Cretan princess as the daughter of Catreus, king of Crete. She was the sister of Clymene, Apemosyne and Althaemenes. After an oracle said he would be killed by one of his children, Catreus gave Aerope to Nauplius to be sold abroad. Nauplius spared her, and she became the wife of Atreus or Pleisthenes (or both). By most accounts, she is the mother of Agamemnon and Menelaus. While the wife of Atreus, she became the lover of his brother Thyestes, and gave Thyestes the golden lamb that allowed him to become king of Mycenae.

Key facts

Deity.type
Greek
Deity.name
Aerope
Deity.deity_of
Queen of Mycenae
Deity.member_of
the Cretan Royal Family
Deity.image
Nosadella Tiestes y Aérope.jpg
Deity.caption
Tiestes and Aérope by Nosadella
Deity.abode
Crete then Mycenae
Deity.consort
(1) Atreus or Pleisthenes, (2) Thyestes
Deity.parents
Catreus
Deity.siblings
Althaemenes, Apemosyne and Clymene
Deity.offspring
(1) Agamemnon, Menelaus, (2) Tantalus and Pleisthenes

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Stern3-24-4-1-.jpg
Show 2 more facts
Commons category
Aerope
name in native language
Αερόπη
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~17 min read

Article

11 sections
Contents
  • Family
  • Mythology
  • In Crete
  • In Mycenae
  • Sources
  • Early
  • Fifth century BC
  • Late
  • Similarities with Auge and Danae
  • Notes
  • References

In Greek mythology, Aerope (Ancient Greek: Ἀερόπη) was a Cretan princess as the daughter of Catreus, king of Crete. She was the sister of Clymene, Apemosyne and Althaemenes. After an oracle said he would be killed by one of his children, Catreus gave Aerope to Nauplius to be sold abroad. Nauplius spared her, and she became the wife of Atreus or Pleisthenes (or both). By most accounts, she is the mother of Agamemnon and Menelaus. While the wife of Atreus, she became the lover of his brother Thyestes, and gave Thyestes the golden lamb that allowed him to become king of Mycenae.

==Family== Aerope's father was Catreus, son of Minos, and king of Crete. Catreus had two other daughters, Clymene and Apemosyne, and a son, Althaemenes.

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