Pelops was the Greek hero who was the son of Tantalus and the father of Atreus.
Pelops became king of Pisa in the Peloponnese, a region whose name was traditionally explained as “Pelops’s island.” His best-known adventure was a chariot race against King Oenomaus for the hand of Oenomaus’s daughter, Hippodamia. With help from Oenomaus’s charioteer, Myrtilus, Pelops won the race and married Hippodamia.
The victory carried a price. Pelops later killed or betrayed Myrtilus, and the resulting curse became part of the disastrous history of the House of Atreus. Through Atreus, Pelops was the grandfather of Agamemnon and Menelaus, linking him directly to the Trojan War stories and to Orestes’ later revenge.
Pelops also had an important cult at Olympia. Ancient tradition connected him with the origins of the Olympic Games, and offerings were made to him at a sacrificial pit before offerings were given to Zeus. Some myths say Tantalus served Pelops to the gods and that the boy was restored, but Pindar rejected that gruesome version.