11 Mythological Figures Who Should've Had Happy Endings, And 10 Who Deserved Everything They Got

    I just want justice for Patroclus.

    Ewura-Ama Quarshie
    by Ewura-Ama Quarshie

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Content warning: this post references sexual assault and extreme violence.

    I studied Classics at uni, so you best believe I have a lot of hot takes about the fates of mythological figures. Many were punished unfairly by the gods or their own people, meanwhile I lowkey cheered when others met their demise.

    NBC

    Here are 11 figures from Greek mythology who were definitely mistreated, and 10 who absolutely got what they deserved.

    1. Deserved better: Penelope, wife of Odysseus and resister of suitors.

    Illustration of Odysseus and Penelope embracing as two servant women look on, with the label 'the meeting of Ulysses & Penelope' underneath
    Whitemay / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Homer's Odyssey, Pseudo-Apollodorus' Bibliotheca.

    What happened: Penelope spent 20 years diligently waiting for her husband Odysseus to return. Meanwhile, dozens of suitors turned up insisting she had to remarry, so she said she'd pick one when she finished her weaving. However, every night she cleverly undid her work so she'd never have to choose. The suitors still couldn't take a hint and became freeloaders at Penelope's place, abusing her generosity 'til Odysseus returned and slaughtered them all.

    Why she deserved better: Penelope remained loyal to her husband for two decades even when everyone thought he was dead, which was considered "ideal wife behaviour". Yet Odysseus, who'd been cheating on her for decades, accused her of being unfaithful as soon as they were reunited. Actually, she was fine on her own for 20 years! Penelope deserved to be left alone by the suitors AND Odysseus!

    2. Got what they deserved: Odysseus, wily warrior and serial cheater.

    Illustration of Odysseus aiming his bow & arrow at the suitors, who recoil holding up shields with 4 dead bodies on the ground between them
    Whitemay / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Homer's Odyssey and Iliad, Pseudo-Apollodorus' Bibliotheca.

    What happened: The aforementioned Odysseus fought in the Trojan War and then had a very roundabout decade-long journey home. A LOT happened to him along the way, but here are some highlights – he made no effort to escape Calypso despite supposedly being one of the greatest Greek warriors; he arrogantly taunted the Cyclops with his name and got himself cursed; and he stayed with (and slept with) Circe for a year despite claiming he wanted to get back to his wife and child. 

    Why he deserved it: Most of the delays to Odysseus's journey were his own fault, and he often faffs about while cheating on his wife with almost every woman he meets. Then he has the audacity to claim he wants nothing more than to see his wife again, and when he finally does see her, he hides his identity for ages and accuses HER of cheating! He was eventually killed by his son with Circe, Telegonus, adding insult to an injury that he fully deserved tbh.

    3. Deserved better: Odysseus's maids, unfortunate victims of arrogant men.

    Six women in ancient Greek style dresses, four balancing pots on their heads, one pouring liquid into a larger pot on the ground
    Nastasic / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Homer's Odyssey.

    What happened: Penelope's suitors had taken over Odysseus's house and forced his maids to both wait on them and sleep with them. After Odysseus got revenge, he made them clean up the blood and bodies. He considered it a punishment for being disloyal and sleeping with the suitors, even though the whole ordeal was very non-consensual. 

    Why they deserved better: Everyone thought Odysseus was long dead since he was gone for literal decades, so if the maids had spoken up they would've been kicked out or killed by the suitors. Yet, when their old boss returned unexpectedly, he killed them anyway for not resisting. Women were generally expected to be submissive and not fight back, so what did Odysseus even expect them to do exactly?

    4. Got what they deserved: Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and cruel father.

    Oil painting by Flemalle Bertholet of Agamemnon dragging his daughter Iphigenia onto the altar as nearby soldiers look horrified and Artemis watches from the sky above
    Christophel Fine Art / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Homer's Iliad and Aeschylus' Agamemnon.

    What happened: Just before the Trojan War, Artemis was angry at the Greeks for killing her sacred deer and demanded a blood sacrifice. Agamemnon lured his daughter Iphigenia under the false pretense of marrying Achilles, and sacrificed her on the altar. When he got home after the war, his wife Clytaemnestra stabbed him to death in the bathtub as revenge. 

    Why he deserved it: He was a very arrogant man in general, bringing a plague on the Greeks during the Trojan war. He even stole a Trojan priest's daughter as a prize and refused to return her. He also created more problems by taking Achilles's woman, causing him to give up on fighting. And yeah, he killed his own child... Let that sink in.

    5. Deserved better: Chryseis and Briseis, Trojan women stolen from home.

    Briseis being led from Achilles' tent by three men, while Achilles looks back at her sadly
    Zu_09 / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Homer's Iliad, Ovid's Heroides.

    What happened: I'm putting these two together because they had a similar storyline. Both were Trojan women stolen from their people as "war prizes", and then used as bargaining chips in Agamemnon and Achilles's infamous argument. Achilles occasionally refers to Briseis as his wife in the Iliad, but also wishes she'd died instead of coming between him and Agamemnon. Their names just mean 'daughter of Chryses' and 'daughter of Briseus', respectively.

    Why they deserved better: They were abducted to be concubines and were bascially used as plot points to provoke Achilles and Agamemnon's manly rage. At least Chryseis was eventually returned home to end the plague, but in some versions her dad was so happy Chryseis was treated well that he gave right her back to Agamemnon.

    Briseis was returned to Achilles when they desperately needed him to fight, but her fate after he died is unknown. If I had a penny for every mythological woman who was treated like an object and suffered for no reason, I'd be filthy rich!

    6. Got what they deserved: Clytaemnestra, Agamemnon's vengeful wife and Helen's sister.

    Clytaemnestra stood over Agamemnon's dead body with an axe, as a man on the left cries while Aegisthus crouches on the right
    Print Collector / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Aechylus' Orestia (including Agamemnon) and Euripedes' Electra.

    What happened: She killed Agamemnon, but then forced her daughter Electra to marry a poor farmer just to make sure she wouldn’t have any noble sons who might avenge their grandfather. This plan failed when her son Orestes returned from exile, and teamed up with his sister to kill their mum for killing their dad (mythological families are messed up, guys). 

    Why she deserved it: You could say she was right to kill Agamemnon for sacrificing their daughter, but then why turn around and treat your surviving daughter so horribly? If she'd been kinder to Electra, the latter wouldn't have wanted her dead. She also had an affair with Agamemnon's cousin Aegisthus while he was away, moved her boyfriend in after killing her husband, and basically abandoned her kids, so it feels like karma kinda did its job.

    7. Deserved better: Cassandra, Trojan princess with an unfortunate gift.

    Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Cassandra in 'Troy: Fall of a City'
    BBC One/Netflix

    Appeared in: Aeschylus' Agamemnon.

    What happened: Cassandra's problems started when Apollo wanted to sleep with her and she refused. He was angry at being rejected, so he gave her the gift of foresight but made it so that no-one would ever believe her prophecies. Agamemnon brought her home from Troy as a prize, and if Clytaemnestra was mad before, then bringing home another woman really set her off. It didn’t matter that Cassandra had no choice in the matter – Clytaemnestra killed her along with Agamemnon. 

    Why she deserved better: She had literally nothing to do with Agamemnon's choices, and had already spent her life being ignored. Being killed because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time – specifically when the guy who kidnapped you was murdered by his wife – is a pretty awful fate.

    8. Got what they deserved: Ouranos, primordial personification of the sky and terrible father.

    Ouranos and Gaia at the top with three arrows pointing down at their three sets of children, the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Hecatoncheires
    Dea Picture Library / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Hesiod's Theogony.

    What happened: Ouranos imprisoned some of his kids – the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires – inside their mother Gaia (Earth), which caused her physical pain. She got understandably pissed and asked their other kids – the Titans – to help overthrow him. Only Kronos volunteered, so he carried out his mother's plan and castrated his father.

    Why he deserved it: Ouranos basically thought the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires were ugly, and decided shoving them inside the Earth without her consent was a good idea. Being horrible to your kids almost always leads to someone seeking revenge, as many people on this list found out.

    9. Deserved better: Patroclus, Achilles's cousin, best friend and/or lover.

    Garrett Hedlund as Patroclus in the movie Troy
    Warner Bros. Pictures

    Appeared in: Homer's Iliad.

    What happened: One of the more famous examples on this list, Patroclus died trying to inspire Greek troops whilst disguised as Achilles in his armour (since Achilles couldn’t be bothered to do it himself). Achilles got revenge on his behalf by killing Hector and dragging his dead body behind a chariot as he grieved.

    Why he deserved better: Patroclus spent a long time trying to convince Achilles to fight again, instead of just letting the Greeks be defeated over an argument with Agamemnon. He didn't want his people to be slaughtered because their best fighter was being petty, so he tried his best to help and suffered for it. Achilles did get payback, but Patroclus didn't deserve to die in the first place sooooooo.

    10. Got what they deserved: Kronos, Titan and ex-ruler of the heavens.

    Rhea presenting Kronos with the stone wrapped in cloth
    ZU_09 / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Hesiod's Theogony.

    What happened: Kronos heard a prophecy that he would be overthrown by his son, so he swallowed every child his wife gave birth to. She got tired of this, and one day gave him a rock wrapped in baby clothes instead of her newest child, Zeus. Kronos didn't notice the difference and did his thing, and consequently Zeus grew up and was trained up for revenge. Cut to Kronos being overthrown by his son and imprisoned in Tartarus.

    Why he deserved it: Remember how Kronos castrated and overthrew his own father? The cycle of vengeance is REAL. Anyway, the man ~ate~ his kids – both boys and girls, even though the prophecy specified a son – and not being able to tell the difference between a rock and a baby is just stupid.

    11. Deserved better: Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships.

    Diane Kruger as Helen in 'Troy (2004)'
    Warner Bros. Pictures

    Appeared in: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.

    What happened: It was the famous act that triggered the Trojan war! Helen was either kidnapped by Paris, Aphrodite made her fall in love with him, or she went willingly. Either way, her husband Menelaus rallied the Greeks to go to war to retrieve her. The war dragged out for ten years and many people resented or outright blamed Helen for it. 

    Why she deserved better: It's likely that she was kidnapped, and yet Helen is often blamed for the long, destructive Trojan war. However, she didn't declare war herself, she didn't want anyone to die over her, and she's seen lamenting and cursing herself for the whole thing in the Iliad.

    12. Got what they deserved: Tanatalus, another awful father who received a famous punishment.

    'Tantalus' painting by Guilo Sanuto, showing Tantalus sat on a rock reaching up towards a fruit-filled tree
    Print Collector / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Euripides' Orestes, Pindar's Olympian Odes, Homer's Odyssey.

    What happened: Tanatalus was invited to feast with the gods in Olympus, and decided to feed his son Pelops to them as a sacrifice. When the gods realised what he'd done, they resurrected Pelops. Tantalus was sentenced to spend eternity in Tartarus standing in a pool that recedes when he bends down to drink, with a tree above that grows out of reach when he tries to take fruit. 

    Why he deserved it: Just don't kill or cook your kids – because why the hell would you??? The gods didn't ask him to, Tanatalus just randomly decided that infanticide and cannibalism made for a good dinner party gift. Spending an eternity with food and drink just out of his reach was a fitting punishment, and it's also where the word 'tantalising' comes from!

    13. Deserved better: Medusa, ex-priestess and famous gorgon.

    Uma Thurman as Medusa in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
    20th Century Studios

    Appeared in: Ovid's Metamorphoses, Hesiod's Theogony, Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound.

    What happened: Poseidon raped Medusa inside Athena's temple, and so Athena punished Medusa (make it make sense) by turning her into a gorgon. Then she added insult to injury by helping Perseus later behead Medusa. 

    Why she deserved better: I mean, isn't it obvious? An innocent woman was raped and then turned into a monster who had to hide away because her gaze turned people to stone. Everyone celebrated her death and she was only remembered as a horrible monster. I usually love Athena, but she was way out of line here.

    14. Got what they deserved: Atreus, vengeful brother with a curse.

    Bust of a Greek male god on dark background with fog
    Breakermaximus / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Plato's The Statesman, Virgil's Aeneid, Euripides' Electra.

    What happened: Atreus had a long-running rivalry with his brother Thyestes, which culminated in Thyestes having an affair with Atreus's wife and stealing the throne of Mycenae. Atreus then secretly fed Thyestes's sons to him as revenge. An oracle told Thyestes to have a child with his daughter (no, I don't know why either), and that child was Aegisthus. He was raised by Atreus, but killed him when Thyestes explained what Atreus had done.

    Why he deserved it: Sigh... Anyone else tired of kids being cannibalised? Dragging Thyestes's innocent sons into their feud was a dick move to say the least. I'm not sympathetic to his death, but Thyestes also had some ill will coming. The House of Atreus was famously cursed, so best believe the whole family (including Tantalus, Pelops, Agamemnon, Menelaus and Aegisthus) were similarly messed up.

    15. Deserved better: Philomela, tragic victim and eventual bird.

    The painting 'Tereus Confronted with the Head of his Son Itys' by Peter Paul Rubens, showing Procne with Philomela behind her thrusting Itys' head at a seated and horrified Tereus
    Heritage Images / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Ovid's Metamorphoses.

    What happened: Philomela was raped by her sister Procne's husband Tereus, who then cut out her tongue to prevent her from telling anyone. Philomela wove a tapestry to show what happened, which resulted in Procne killing her son and feeding him to Tereus in anger. Tereus chased both Procne and Philomela, intending to kill them, so the gods transformed Philomela into a nightingale, Procne into a swallow, and Tereus into a hawk. 

    Why she deserved better: This is another case of messed up families and "kid-eating", for some reason. Tereus did horrible things, Procne retaliated with infanticide, and Philomela just got caught in the middle. Changing them all into birds seems pointless since Tereus could just fly after them. It's said that hawks still chase swallows and nightingales because of this myth. 

    16. Got what they deserved: Jason, crappy husband of Argonauts fame.

    Old engraved illustration of Jason walking towards his ship holding up the Golden Fleece with Medea in tow, captioned 'Jason escapes with Medea and the Golden Fleece'
    Mikroman6 / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Euripedes' Medea.

    What happened: Jason used Medea to get the golden fleece, and convinced Medea to betray her own family by killing her brother and running away. They later had kids together, but Jason dropped her as soon as the offer of marrying a young princess came along. In revenge, Medea sent a poisoned dress and crown to Jason's new bride before killing her own kids so that Jason would be without his sons.

    Why he deserved it: Jason fully used Medea to get himself out of trouble and solve all his problems. He then left her when he got a better deal, AND had the audacity to claim that he did it for the benefit of their family so their sons could be princes. He died when a beam from his famous ship, the Argo, fell on his head years later.

    17. Deserved better: Metis, goddess of wisdom and cunning.

    A red and orange tinted image of a goddess stood on some stairs holding a staff, with clouds behind her
    Rudall30 / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Hesiod's Theogony.

    What happened: Metis was Zeus's teacher who he kept pursuing romantically even though she kept refusing him. Eventually she agreed to marry him, but then Zeus heard a prophecy that Metis MIGHT have a son who would overthrow him, so he tricked her into turning into a fly and swallowed her to prevent being usurped. She was already pregnant with Athena, who was born from Zeus's head instead.

    Why she deserved better: Eating someone alive because of a prophecy is, at best, ridiculous behaviour. Some say Metis stayed in Zeus's mind as a kind of conscience thereafter, but he still did a ton of awful things so it didn't make a difference. Metis basically faded from existence because of Zeus's selfishness. 

    18. Got what they deserved: King Midas, greedy golden boy.

    King Midas looking at his gold in the Disney movie 'The Golden Touch (1935)'
    United Artists

    Appeared in: Ovid's Metamorphoses.

    What happened: I'm sure you've heard of Midas – he wished for everything he touched to turn to gold, and got ~exactly~ what he wanted. Any food he tried to eat turned to gold and so he started to starve. In one version, he goes to hug his daughter and she gets turned to gold. Midas regretted his wish and prayed to be rid of it, so Dionysus made him wash away his golden touch in the river Pactolus.

    Why he deserved it: He chose a greedy gift that he didn't think through properly, and deserved all the problems that came with it. Midas wasn't punished forever since he did realise his mistake, but the whole thing is pretty much the original cautionary tale of "be careful what you wish for".

    19. Deserved better: Hephaestus, god of blacksmiths and fire.

    An orange and red tinted image of Hephaestus about to bring a hammer down on a sword
    Rudall30 / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in:  Hesiod's Theogony, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Pseudo-Apollodorus' Bibliotheca.

    What happened: It's not often that a god garners my sympathy, but Hephaestus had a rough time from birth. His mother Hera thought he was so ugly when he was born that she threw him off Mount Olympus in disgust. His leg injury either came from hitting the rocks on the way down, or he was born disabled and that's what Hera found objectionable. Even though he went on to become a skilled blacksmith, the gods constantly made fun of his limp.

    Why he deserved better: Yeeting your child off a mountain is always cruel and unnecessary – not that it happens often, I think. Hephaestus is also constantly ridiculed by other gods for his limp – the ableism of it all is frankly depressing!

    20. Got what they deserved: Icarus, high flyer who was bad at following instructions.

    Landscape with Fall of Icarus by Carlo Saraceni; Icarus is falling as his wings lose their feathers, Daedalus is looking back at him, in the bottom left a fisherman and a knight observe the scene; in the upper left corner the sun is shining
    Mondadori Portfolio / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Ovid's Metamorphoses, Pseudo-Apollodorus' Bibliotheca.

    What happened: Icarus's father Daedalus created the famous labyrinth for the Minotaur, and was kept locked up with his son afterwards. He crafted wax wings so they could fly to freedom and warned Icarus the wax would melt if he flew too close to the sun, and I'm sure you know what happened next.

    Why he deserved it: Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. If your dad gives you a specific life-or-death warning and you arrogantly assume that the heat of the SUN won't affect you, then I'm sorry, you deserve to fall. Daedalus also warned Icarus not to fly too low in case water got his wings wet, and ironically Icarus fell straight into a lake and drowned.

    21. Deserved better: Daphne, sad tree who just wanted to be left alone.

    The painting Apollo and Daphne by Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari, Daphne's fingers are turning into branches as she runs from Apollo
    Dea / V. Pirozzi / Via Getty Images

    Appeared in: Ovid's Metamorphoses.

    What happened: Basically, to teach Apollo a lesson for mocking his bow and arrow skills, Eros decided to hit him with a love arrow and a nymph named Daphne with a hatred one. Naturally, Apollo chased Daphne desperate to be with her, meanwhile she was repulsed by him and ran away. Apollo refused to take no for an answer, so Daphne called to her father, a river god, for help and was turned into a laurel tree.

    Why she deserved better: Daphne was just minding her own business when Eros decided to use her as a pawn to prove a point. Next thing she knows, she's stuck as a tree for eternity. Even then Apollo didn't leave her alone – he made the tree evergreen and used the laurel as one of his symbols!

    There are many more mythological figures who either deserved their fates or deserved better – which would you include? Let us know in the comments!