Pelops (1333 BC-) was King of Pisatis, Elis, and Phrygia in Greek mythology.
Biography[]
Pelops was born in 1333 BC, the son of Tantalus. He departed his homeland of Phrygia for Greece, where he won the kingship of Pisatis and Olympia from King Oenomanus in a chariot race (during which he was assisted by his former lover, the god Poseidon) before marrying his daughter Hippodamia. Oenomanus had been frightened by a prophecy that his future son-in-law would kill him, so he had killed eighteen previous suitors of his daughter after they lost a chariot race; Pelops erected a monument in honor of all of the previous suitors. After Oenomanus' death, Pelops organized chariot races as thanksgiving to the gods and as funeral games, and these games became the Olympics. The Peloponnese means "island of Pelops", named for the legendary Elean king.