Agamemnon
Agamémnon (
Greek:
) ("very resolute"), one of the two most known
Atrides, is one of the most distinguished heroes of
Greek mythology, was the son of King
Atreus of
Mycenae (or
Argos) and Queen
Aerope, and brother of
Menelaus.
Agamemnon's father
Atreus was murdered by
Aegisthus, who took possession of the throne of Mycenae and ruled jointly with his father
Thyestes. During this period Agamemnon and Menelaus took refuge with
Tyndareus, king of
Sparta. There they respectively married Tyndareus' daughters
Clytemnestra and
Helen. Agamemnon and Clytemnestra had five children: four daughters,
Iphigeneia,
Electra,
Chrysothemis, and
Iphianissa and one son,
Orestes.
Menelaus succeeded Tyndareus in Sparta, while Agamemnon, with his brother's assistance, drove out Aegisthus and Thyestes to recover his father's kingdom. He extended his dominion by conquest and became the most powerful prince in Greece.
However, Agamemnon's family history, dating back to legendary king
Pelops, had been marred by
pederastic rape,
murder,
incest, and
treachery. The Greeks believed this violent past brought misfortune upon the entire
House of Atreus.
Agamemnon gathered together the Greek forces to sail for Troy. Preparing to depart from
Aulis, a port in
Boeotia, Agamemnon's army incurred the wrath of the goddess
Artemis. There are several reasons throughout myth for such wrath: in
Aeschylus' play 'Agamemnon', Artemis is angry for the young men who will die at Troy, whereas in
Sophocles' 'Electra', Agamemnon has slain an animal sacred to Artemis, and subsequently boasted that he was Artemis' equal in hunting. Misfortunes including a plague and a lack of wind prevented the army from sailing; finally, the prophet
Calchas announced that the wrath of the goddess could only be propitiated by the sacrifice of
Iphigeneia (daughter of Agamemnon). Classical dramatizations differ on how willing either father or daughter were to this fate, including such trickery as claiming she was to be married to Achilles, but Agamemnon did eventually sacrifice Iphigeneia. Her death appeased Artemis and the Greek army set out for Troy. Several alternatives to the human sacrifice have been presented in Greek mythology. Other sources claim Agamemnon was prepared to kill his daughter, but Artemis accepted a deer in place of Iphigeneia, and whisked her to Taurus in
Crimea.
Hesiod said she became the goddess
Hecate.
Agamemnon was the commander-in-chief of the Greeks during the
Trojan War. During the fighting, Agamemnon killed
Antiphus. Agamemnon's teamster,
Halaesus, later fought with
Aeneas in
Italy. The
Iliad tells the story of the quarrel between Agamemnon and
Achilles in the final year of the war. Agamemnon took an attractive slave and spoil of war
Briseis from Achilles.
Achilles, the greatest warrior of the age, withdrew from battle in revenge and nearly cost the Greek armies the war.
Although not the equal of
Achilles in bravery, Agamemnon was a dignified representative of kingly authority. As commander-in-chief, he summoned the princes to the council and led the army in battle. He took the field himself, and performed many heroic deeds until he was wounded and forced to withdraw to his tent. His chief fault was his overweening haughtiness. An over-exalted opinion of his position led him to insult
Chryses and
Achilles, thereby bringing great disaster upon the Greeks.
After the capture of Troy,
Cassandra, doomed prophetess and daughter of
Priam, fell to his lot in the distribution of the prizes of war.
 |
The return of Agamemnon, from an 1879 illustration from Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church. |
 |
The murder of Agamemnon, from an 1879 illustration from Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church |
After a stormy voyage, Agamemnon and Cassandra landed in
Argolis or were blown off course and landed in Aegisthus' country. Aegisthus, who in the interval had seduced
Clytemnestra, invited him to a banquet at which he was treacherously slain. According to the account given by
Pindar and the tragedians, Agamemnon was slain by his wife alone in a bath, a piece of cloth or a net having first been thrown over him to prevent resistance. Clytemnestra also killed Cassandra. Her wrath at the sacrifice of Iphigenia, and her jealousy of Cassandra, are said to have been the motives of her crime. Aegisthus and Clytemnestra then ruled Agamemnon's kingdom for a time, but the murder of Agamemnon was eventually avenged by his son
Orestes (possibly with the help of Electra).
Athenaeus tells a story of
Argynnus, an
eromenos of Agamemnon: "Agamemnon loved Argynnus, so the story goes, having seen him swimming in the
Cephisus river; in which, in fact, he lost his life (for he constantly bathed in this river), and Agamemnon buried him and founded there a temple of
Aphrodite Argynnis." (The Deipnosophists of Athenaeus of Naucratis, Book XIII Concerning Women, p.3) This episode is also found in
Clement of Alexandria (Protrepticus II.38.2) and in
Stephen of Byzantium (Kopai and
Argunnos), with minor variations.
The fortunes of Agamemnon have formed the subject of numerous
tragedies, ancient and modern, the most famous being the
Oresteia of
Aeschylus. In the legends of the
Peloponnesus, Agamemnon was regarded as the highest type of a powerful monarch, and in
Sparta he was worshipped under the title of
Zeus Agamemnon. His tomb was pointed out among the ruins of
Mycenae and at
Amyclae.
Another account makes him the son of
Pleisthenes (the son or father of
Atreus), who is said to have been Aerope's first husband.
In works of art there is considerable resemblance between the representations of
Zeus, king of the gods, and Agamemnon, king of men. He is generally characterized by the
sceptre and
diadem, the usual attributes of kings.
Modern writers of time travel and historical novels often attempt to show the Trojan War "as it really happened", based on the archeological evidence of
Mycenaean civilization. Such authors frequently use Agamemnon as the archetypical Mycenaean king, bringing life to old artifacts by dressing a familiar face in them. Of particular interest is
S. M. Stirling's time-travel trilogy
Island in the Sea of Time,
Against the Tide of Years and
On the Oceans of Eternity, where the fate that befalls the House of Atreus is every bit as horrific as that portrayed in traditional myth. The horror is arranged by a time-travelling villain who is very well aware of the mythology.
Agamemnon is also said to have been the ancient
ancestor or relative of the
noble family the
Atreides of the
classic science fiction series
Dune by
Frank Herbert (Note that the surname,
Atreides is derived from Agamemnon's father's name,
Atreus). There are many parallels with the story of Agamemnon and in Dune, such as with the
protagonist Paul Atreides in that both are
tragic heroes.
Agamemnon makes an appearance in the film
Time Bandits, played by
Sean Connery, although his depiction in the film seems more reminiscent of
Odysseus. Masks very similar to the famous Mask of Agamemnon are also used in the film.
He also appeared in the 2004 film
Troy, played by
Scottish actor
Brian Cox.
Agamemnon was the name of the 64 gun ship commanded by Horatio Nelson which began his rehabilitation following his whistle blowing of wealthy sugar merchants.
The
Babylon 5 author, J Michael Straczinsky, used that information to chose a name for his protagonist hero John Sheridan's command ship. Hence Agamemnon was the name of the Earth fleet Destroyer that John Sheridan commanded near the end of season 4 of Babylon 5.
He was also a king in the Shakespeare play "
Troilus and Cressida"
*
Homer,
Iliad;
*
Homer,
Odyssey I, 28-31; XI, 385-464;
*
Aeschylus,
Agamemnon (play)[1];
*
Aeschylus,
The Libation Bearers;
*
Sophocles,
Electra;
*
Euripides,
Electra;
*
Apollodorus,
Epitome, II, 15-III, 22; VI, 23.
*
Seneca,
AgamemnonTroy movie 2004 Directed by
Wolfgang Petersen
