House Atreides
House Atreides is one of the great houses of the Imperium, the feudal interstellar empire that forms the backdrop to the Dune novels. This noble house hailing from the water planet of Caladan employs unlikely methods in its struggle to secure the spice of Arrakis: noble spirit, just ways and unfailing virtue. Ruling its homeworld Caladan for generations with justice and generosity, House Atreides has perfected a form of government that results in a well-organized society and a spiritually satisfied people. Little wonder that Caladan is the lush, prosperous paradise that it is. However, the House was also proficient in war; it had even developed an Atreides battle language (in the film version, this language is presented as a system of hand signals, while said to be a spoken language in the book).
House Atreides is ruled by a duke. At first in the Dune novel the Duke is Leto Atreides. His concubine was the Bene Gesserit acolyte Jessica, who produced for him the son Paul Atreides.
Leto's son Paul Atreides is the main character during the first novels. He fights alongside the native Fremen in the war on Arrakis and finally becomes both the Fremen Messiah and Emperor of the known universe.
As Paul Atreides is lost in the desert twelve years later, his sister Alia inherits his title as the Duchess of Atreides and as Regent of Paul's empire until his children come of age. Eventually, Paul's son Leto II becomes Duke of House Atreides (to wit, "I am House Atreides"---Leto II), and God-Emperor of Dune.
Leto II had no heirs. However, Paul's only other child to survive to adulthood, Leto II's twin sister Ghanima, wed Prince Farad'n Corrino and produced a long bloodline, manipulated in no small part by Leto II. This resulted, 3,500 years later, in the birth of Siona Atreides, who possessed genes that made her invisible to prescient oracles. 1,500 years after this, another descendant of Siona Atreides was Miles Teg, commander of the military forces of the Bene Gesserit, who bore a remarkable resemblance to his ancestor Duke Leto I. Teg's daughter was Darwi Odrade, a Bene Gesserit sister that eventually became Mother Superior of the Bene Gesserit order.
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Relationship to Greek mythology
House Atreides claims descent from the Atreidae or House of Atreus of Greek mythology. The descendants of Atreus are called "Atreides" (plural "Atreidai", Latinized as "Atreidae") in the Greek language. This royal house included many significant figures in Greek mythology:
- Atreus, King of Mycenae and his wife Aerope
- Agamemnon, King of Mycenae and his wife Clytemnestra
- Menelaus, King of Sparta and his wife Helen
- Iphigeneia, Princess of Mycenae and Priestess of Artemis
- Chrysothemis, Princess of Mycenae
- Electra, Princess of Mycenae and consort of King Pylades of Phocis
- Orestes, Prince of Mycenae and his wife Hermione, Princess of Sparta. Later jointly King and Queen of Argos,Mycenae and Sparta
- Tisamenus, King of Argos, Mycenae and Sparta
