< Pleisthenes, son of Atreus >
1 Origin
Pleisthenes (or Plisthenes) was born in Midea, Argolis, in 1260 BC.
Pleisthenes' father was Atreus, son of Pelops. [Euri.Scho.Or.5.1]
Pleisthenes' mother was Cleola, daughter of Dias. [Euri.Scho.Or.5.1]
2 Family
Pleisthenes' wife was Aerope (or Eriphyle), daughter of Catreus. [Apo.3.2.2, Dictys.1.1, Euri.Scho.Or.5.1]
Pleisthenes and Aerope had a son, Agamemnon. [Apo.3.2.2, Dictys.1.1, 5.16, Hyginus.124, Strabo.8.6.10]
Pleisthenes and Aerope had a son, Menelaus. [Apo.3.2.2, Dictys.1.1, 5.16, Paus.3.1.5, MalaChro.5.94]
It is presumed that Pleisthenes had a daughter, Anaxibia, with his half-sister, Kydragora. [FGrH.Nr333.F180]
The basis for this presumption is the following two traditions:
1) The mother of Pylades, the son of Strophius, the son of Crisus, was Anaxibia, the sister of Agamemnon. [Paus.2.29.4]
2) Pylades' mother was Anaxibia, daughter of Kydragora, daughter of Atreus, who was the sister of Agamemnon. [FGrH.Nr333.F180]
For Anaxibia, daughter of Kydragora, to be the sister of Agamemnon, son of Aerope, Pleisthenes must be their common father.
3 Others
3.1 Migration to Cleonae
In 1251 BC, Pleisthenes, accompanied by his father Atreus, migrated from Midea to Cleonae, which Atreus had founded. [FGrH.Nr2.F3, FGrH.Nr333.F20]
This migration of the Atreus family is thought to have been caused by the return of Electryon's son Licymnius from Thebes to his father's former territory of Midea. [Apo.2.4.8, Diod.4.33.2]
3.2 Marriage to Aerope
In 1235 BC, Pleisthenes married Aerope (or Eriphyle), daughter of Catreus, son of Minos, from Crete. [Apo.3.2.2, Euri.Scho.Or.5.1, Dictys.1.1]
At that time, Phliasus lived in Phlius, about 10 km from Cleonae.
Phliasus was the son of Ariadne, daughter of Minos, and Aerope was his cousin. [Hyginus.14, Paus.2.6.6, Apollo.1.115]
It is assumed that Phliasus mediated the long-distance marriage between Pleisthenes and Aerope.
3.3 Death of Pleisthenes
Pleisthenes died young, leaving behind children. [Dictys.1.1]
There is a legend that Aerope, wife of Pleisthenes, became the wife of Atreus. [Apo.E.2.10]
Agamemnon and Menelaus were Atreus's real grandsons and sons-in-law.
