(idea) by Frater 219 Sun Nov 14 1999 at 9:05:17
The name Atreides means "descendant of Atreus" in Classical Greek.

The House of Atreus -- which is to say, House Atreides -- figures heavily in Greek tragedy, as in the Oresteia of Aeschylus. The entire house was cursed by the gods for its ancestor's blasphemous (and cannibalistic) deeds.

Hence, Frank Herbert was making a clever classical reference in placing the House Atreides in the Dune series.

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