Mortals And Demi-Gods

Mortals and demi-gods:

• Leda: twin eggs -- one egg fertilized by her mortal husband Tyndareus; one egg fertilized by Zeus
• each of the eggs, in turn, had twins:
• Helen / Pollux
• Clytemnestra / Castor
• Helen: it's easy to forget that Helen's father was Zeus; mortal father was Tyndareus
• Clytemnestra: step-sister or real sister: Tyndareus and Leda; wife of Agamemnon
• Castor & Pollux (Polydeuces): Helen's/Clytemnestra's twin brothers, the Dioscuri
• Dioskouroi, "sons of Zeus 
• "Dios, genitive of Zeus (see Zeus) + kouroi, plural of kouros "boy, son,"
• Castor and Clytemnestra: both mortals, mother, Leda; father Tyndareus
• Pollux and Helen: demi-gods, mother Leda; father Zeus 

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Perseus

Perseus - demi-god: son of Zeus and the mortal Danaë.

• Father of the Mycenaeans -- huge name in Greek history
  

Perseus is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles.

The Perseid dynasty ruled Mycenae for at least three generations and ended with the rule of Eurytheus, whom legends claim commissioned Hercules to perform the 12 labors. When Eurytheus died in battle, Atreus became king of Mycenae. Mycenae is perhaps best known in mythology as the city of Agamemnon, the son of Atreus [see below; perhaps sons of Plisthenes, but these two sons were raised by their uncle Atreus].

So, the Mycenaeans traced their founder to the greatest hero of the time, preceding Heracles, and thus founder of the Perseid Dynasty.

Perseus beheaded the Gorgon Medusa for Polydectes and saved Andromeda (Ethiopia) from the sea monster Cetus. He was the son of Zeus and the mortal Danaë, as well as the half-brother and great-grandfather of Heracles (Zeus - Alcmene). 

Two comments:

• zoology / classification:
• cetus in Greek = whale
• Order: Cetacea
• Sub-orders, two: odontocetic (toothed) and mysticeti (baleen)
  
• whales: two groups -- toothed whales and baleen whales
• literature:
• Biblical correlation: Noah and the whale

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Atreus

Many men in Greek history/mythology named Plisthenes so genealogy a bit confused.

Perhaps:

• three brothers: Thyestes, Atreus, and Plisthenes; sons of Pelop
• Plisthenes had two sons Agamemon and Menelaus, but these were raised by Atreus, and thus referred to as Atridae
• Plisthenes: Helen's father-in-law