Atreus was murdered by his nephew, Aegisthus, who took
possession of the throne of Mycenae and ruled jointly with his
father Thyestes. During this period Menelaus and his brother,
Agamemnon took refuge with Tyndareus, king of Sparta, whose
daughters Helen and Clytemnestra they respectively married.
Helen and Menelaus had one daughter, Hermione. Menelaus
succeeded Tyndareus (whose only sons, Castor and Polydeuces
became gods), and Agamemnon, with his brother's assistance,
drove out Aegisthus and Thyestes, and recovered his father's
kingdom. He extended his dominion by conquest and became the
most powerful prince in Greece. When it was time for Helen,
Tyndareus's daughter, to marry, many Greek kings and princes
came to seek her hand or sent emissaries to do so on their
behalf. Among the contenders were Odysseus, Menestheus, Ajax the
great, Patroclus and Idomeneus, but Menelaus was the favorite
though, according to some sources, he did not come in person but
was represented by his brother Agamemnon. All but Odys