Definition:

Hippodamia, the daughter of Oenomaus, king of Pisa, wished to marry Pelops, son of Tantalus, so, according to Apollodorus, she persuaded Myrtilus, son of Hermes, to help Pelops win the chariot race against her father. Myrtilus was in the employ of Oenomaus and is said to have loosened the lynch-pins of the chariot. This was not entirely unfair because her father had been fixing the races and any loosing suitor was killed.


After Hippodamia married the victor, Pelops, she gave birth to two sons, Thyestes and Atreus. These two sons killed an illegitimate half-brother to please their mother. In turn, Hippodamia's two sons were punished with exile to Mycenae. They then produced children who started the Trojan War.

See also:

Ancient Olympics feature
House of Atreus feature
Pelops entry
Oenomaus entry