But the gods were not fooled. Eventually, the clever Greek king Odysseus came up with a plan to get past Troys impregnable walls and win the war: the Trojan Horse, a hollow wooden horse in which a handful of Greek heroes hid while the rest of the army pretended to retreat. When Aegisthus reaches adulthood Thyestes reveals the truth of his birth, and Aegithus then kills Atreus. But there are several reasons why Arkaim stands apart from other Bronze Age settlements in the area, leading to the idea it was built by a separate group. Smith, William. He is also later killed by his wife, Clytemnestra, who conspires with her new lover Aegisthus in revenge for the death of Iphigenia. Agamemnon received hero worship in many parts of the Greek world, and was sometimes even equated with Zeus. Lycophron, Alexandra 1122; Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.16.6; John Tzetzes on Lycophrons Alexandra 1369; Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians 1; Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Greeks 2.38.2. A. T. Murray. Homer, Odyssey 11.45456, trans. By forging a letter from Priam, king of the Trojans, and caching some gold in Palamedes tent, Odysseus has Palamedes accused of treason and Agamemnon orders him to be stoned to death.[15]. Agamemnon married Tyndareus daughter Clytemnestra after murdering her first husband, a man called Tantalus, along with her newborn child. Homer, Odyssey 3.193ff, 4.529ff, 11.404ff; Nostoi Argument; Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.16.6. Agamemnon, was the first of a trilogy of plays ( the Oresteia ), performed back to back during the Great Dionysia of 458BC; it focused on two generations of 'The Cursed House of Atreus'. Prag, A. J. N. W. The Oresteia: Iconographic and Narrative Tradition. He then commits suicide in shame for his actions. All three wrote plays that depended on thorough familiarity with a central myth, the House of Atreus: Aeschylus' Agamemnon, Libation Bearers (Choephoroi), and Eumenides. In the earliest attested version, Agamemnon was ambushed by Aegisthus at a feast given in his honor and killed, along with many of his men and Cassandra. The Chorus tells her she is in the house of the Atreidae, the home of Agamemnon's family. Together they plotted to murder Agamemnon. [10], In Sparta Agamemnon and Menelaus respectively married Tyndareus' daughters Clytemnestra and Helen. Aeschylus: The myth of Agamemnons death and its aftermath are the subject of the Oresteia, a trilogy made up of the tragedies Agamemnon, the Libation Bearers, and the Eumenides (458 BCE). Hector even managed to break through the Greeks defenses and started to burn their ships. Sophocles: Agamemnon is a character in the Ajax (probably 440s BCE), in which the hero Ajax goes mad and tries to kill Odysseus and Agamemnon. But Atreus had a whole. [1] According to modern scholars, however, the name is derived from either the Greek verb medesthai, meaning to think on, plan, or the Greek noun menos, meaning strength, might.[2]. The continued miasma surrounding the house of Atreus expresses itself in several events throughout their lives. [14] Hesiod says she became the goddess Hecate. Most modern adaptations of Agamemnon represent the character unfavorably. In its precursor, the Iliad, Agamemnon was known as the King of Mycenae, who waged war on Troy to take his brother Menelaus's wife, Helen. Agamemnons brutal murder also forms the background of Sophocles Electra (probably 410s BCE). I first encountered this story in seriousness in George Shipway's novel "Warrior in Bronze". 'Twas she who gave the king a father's name. The Ancient Greeks often spoke of the Heroic Age, when nymphs and satyrs cultivated the mountains and gods played with mortals. . Agamemnon is the protagonist and Thyestes is not a sympathetic character and comes to a sticky end, incarcerated in a cave to starve. Who would you pick for the best military leaders of all time? The gory saga of Atreus and Thyestes rivalry is summarized (in slightly different ways) in Apollodorus, Epitome 3.10ff and Hyginus, Fabulae 84ff. Surprisingly, the myths about Agamemnon do not end with his death: he makes two post-mortem appearances in Homers Odyssey. Kirk (1985:127) noted no direct indication of a family feud or curse in these lines. Homer, Odyssey 11.421ff; Aeschylus, Agamemnon 950ff, 1035ff; Euripides, Trojan Women 42ff; Apollodorus, Epitome 5.23; etc. He is an important character in novels such as Barry Unsworths The Songs of the Kings (2002), David Gemmells Troy trilogy (20052007), and Margaret Millers The Song of Achilles (2011); in plays such as Eugene ONeills Mourning Becomes Electra (1931); in poems such as Denton Jacques Sniders Agamemnons Daughter: An Epopee (1885); and in graphic novels such as Eric Shanowers Age of Bronze series (1998). Collard, Christopher and Martin Cropp (2008a). After Hector fell, the Trojan War dragged on a bit longer, with both sides suffering important losses (e.g., Penthesilea, Memnon, and Paris on the Trojan side, and Achilles and Ajax the Greater on the Greek side). We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. . Some sources say that he expanded his power by conquering neighboring Greek kingdoms. The Greeks felt their cause for war was just, but the winds would not propel the sails of their warships. in Greek and Latinat Oxford. After Troy had been burned and sacked, the Greeks divided the spoils and prisoners among themselves. Due to this altered political landscape, many classical authors moved Agamemnons kingdom from Mycenae to the neighboring Argos, a much more important power during their time. In the end, the fleet split up: Menelaus and several others left without sacrificing (and were punished for their impiety with a storm sent by the gods), while Agamemnon stayed behind. The resurrected son of Tantalus, Pelops, went on to be worshipped in the region of lower Greece, which is named the Peloponnese after him. Note that Lucretius calls Agamemnons daughter Iphianassa, not Iphigenia. [3] The word comes from * (*Agamdmn) from , "very much" and , "think on". After assembling the massive Greek forcetotaling over one thousand ships, according to the most famous accountsAgamemnon and Menelaus sailed to Troy. Other authors used Mycenae and Argos interchangeably: see Euripides, Iphigenia among the Taurians 508ff, Orestes 98, 101, 1246. For a discussion of the house of Tantalus see Gantz, pp. His family carried a terrible curse, originally incurred by the cruel and violent feuding between Agamemnons father, Atreus, and uncle, Thyestes. Finally, with the help of Athena and Apollo he is absolved of his crimes, dispersing the miasma, and the curse on house Atreus comes to an end. Stesichorus, frag. It was almost perpetually at war, slavery was routine, and women could only expect a low status in society. Accessed on 3 Jul. Some variants of the name Agamemnon are known from antiquity, mostly from Attic vases. . The lineage of Atreus is steeped in the spilling of family blood starting with Tantalus and continuing with Agamemnon. Cf. Fact or Fiction? Agamemnon laid claim to a number of important epithets in Greek literature. Skyblock Family Edition is a One Block Challenge modpack that lets you experience Minecraft in a whole new way. [49] In Homers Odyssey, when Agamemnon meets Odysseus in the Underworld, he recalls that he was butchered even as one slays an ox at the stall.[50], In other versions, it was Clytemnestra (either alone or with Aegisthus help) who did the killing after trapping Agamemnon in a net or a robe while he was in his bath. After the murder, Orestes was pursued by the Erinyes (also known as the Furies) until he was eventually purified by Apollo.[52]. Homer, Iliad 9.142, 9.284; Apollodorus, Epitome 2.16; etc. 2023. The story of his familythe House of Atreusis virtually unrivaled in antiquity for complexity and corruption. Although not the equal of Achilles in bravery, Agamemnon was a representative of "kingly authority". Summary & Analysis Further Study Summary Lines 680-913 Summary After delivering the unhappy news about Menelaus, the Herald departs. His chief fault was his overwhelming haughtiness; an over-exalted opinion of his position that led him to insult Chryses and Achilles, thereby bringing great disaster upon the Greeks.[10]. Agamemnon. Mythopedia, December 08, 2022. https://mythopedia.com/topics/agamemnon. The curse caused Atreus to kill one of his sons by accident, not knowing his identity. But the arrogant Agamemnon refused and rudely threw Chryses out of the Greek camp. He was the son (or grandson) of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Iphigenia, Electra, Laodike, Orestes and Chrysothemis. The Curse of the House of Atreus One of Worst in Greek Mythology Later, Orestes, the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, returned home from abroad and found his sister Electra pouring ritual libations at their fathers grave. Apollo gave her the gift of prophecy, but when she refused to bear him a child, he punished her by making all around her disbelieve her predictions. Agamemnon and Menelaus, fearing for their lives, fled into exile. He felt, however, that this omission was meant to avoid distracting detail, since the principal point of the passage is kingship passing from Zeus . Battle in the Palace of Priam by Jean Mignon (15351555). Their Origins May Surprise You, The Truth Behind the Christ Myth: Ancient Origins of the Often Used Legend Part I, Do you dare enter a fairy ring? In film, these include Robert Douglas in Helen of Troy (1956), Nerio Bernardi in The Trojan Horse (1961), Mario Petri in The Fury of Achilles (1962), Sean Connery in Time Bandits (1981), and Brian Cox in Troy (2004). [41], Eventually, Agamemnon realized that the Greeks would continue to be pushed back by the Trojans (led by the brave prince Hector) as long as Achilles refused to fight. Ancient Greece was in many ways a brutal society. Eventually, though, the Chorus tells us, "he put on the yoke-strap of compulsion" (218) and decided to go through with the sacrifice. In the earliest sources, he ruled over the city of Mycenae and its surroundings. [24], Later, using his relationship with Poseidon, Pelops convinces the god to grant him a chariot so he may beat Oenomaus, king of Pisa, in a race, and win the hand of his daughter Hippodamia. The Christ And The Buddha: How Can You Explain the Uncanny Similarities? The Sacrifice of Iphigenia by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1757). Euripides, Iphigenia among the Taurians, Iphigenia in Aulis; Apollodorus, Epitome 3.12; etc. Gantz, Timothy. Agamemnon ( , Agammnn) is the first of the three plays within the Oresteia trilogy. Thyestes and Atreus c. 1400. When Cassandra rejected Apollos advances, he cursed her so that she could see the future, but no one would ever believe what she saw. Agamemnon was a descendant of a cursed line, stemming from the legendary Pelops. Agamemnon has also appeared in film and television, with various actors taking on the role. [23] This begins the cursed house of Atreus, and his descendants would face similar or worse fates. By the age of 18, Alexander fought alongside his Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in ancient Greece? A "terrible curse" destroyed the Titan submersible as it dived toward the Titanic wreckage, apparently. Sweden's Great Lake monster, often referred to as "Storsjodjuret" or the Storsj Lake Monster. Seneca: Agamemnon appears as a character in the tragedy Agamemnon as well as the Trojan Women (first century BCE or first century CE). They came with bows and arrows and shot all of her sons and daughters to death. The Djoser Step Pyramid, the oldest pyramid in the world, stands as a testament to the brilliance of ancient Egyptian civilization. The curse of the House of Atreus began with King Tantalus, a mythological son of Zeus. Odysseus is forced to stop acting mad in order to save his son and joined the assembled Greek forces. There was also a dark side to Agamemnons power and wealth. During this period, Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus took refuge with Tyndareus, King of Sparta. Greece Agamemnon in The Odyssey: The Death of the Cursed Hero Agamemnon in The Odyssey is a recurring character in the form of several cameos across Homer's Classic. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. He also tended to have a large beard; as a result, Agamemnon, lord of men, looked similar to Zeus, lord of the gods. When his brother's wife, Helen, ran off with a handsome prince from Troy, Agamemnon raised a huge army to get her back. [19], In Homer's version of the story in the Odyssey, Aegisthus ambushes and kills Agamemnon in a feasting hall under the pretense of holding a feast in honor of Agamemnon's return home from Troy. Clytemnestra Hesitates before Killing the Sleeping Agamemnon by Pierre-Narcisse Gurin (1817). Agamemnon's mare is named Aetha. She said that surely she was more worthy of worship. In ancient art, Agamemnon was usually represented with the typical attributes of royalty: a diadem or his famous scepter. As commander-in-chief, he summoned the princes to the council and led the army in battle. Their descendants were cursed to continually murder through accidents and revenge members of their own family tree. After all, this civilization gave birth to the famed Olympics, which still exist today. Ancient Gods and Monsters Quiz After the capture of Troy, Cassandra, Priam's daughter, fell to Agamemnon's lot in the distribution of the prizes of war. "[5], Agamemnon was a descendant of Pelops, son of Tantalus. A ranked list might thus be: 1) Achilles; 2) Ajax the Greater; 3) Diomedes; and 4) Agamemnon. [42], In the days that followed, the battle continued to rage. ( Public Domain ). Classical dramatizations differ on how willing either father or daughter are to this fate; some include such trickery as claiming she was to be married to Achilles, but Agamemnon does eventually sacrifice Iphigenia. Who Is Agamemnon in The Odyssey? According to the accounts given by Pindar and the tragedians, Agamemnon is slain in a bath by his wife alone, after being ensnared by a blanket or a net thrown over him to prevent resistance. London: Thames and Hudson, 1974. Graves, Robert. Meanwhile, their daughters were Iphigenia, Chrysothemis, and Electra. The ancient civilization of Greece is a historical period that has long been a subject of fascination and intrigue. What happens next? Pindar, Pythian Ode 11.2223; Aeschylus, Agamemnon 109ff; Sophocles, Electra 565; etc. Euripides, Iphigenia in Aulis 1148ff; Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.18.2, 2.22.2ff; Apollodorus, Epitome 3.15. Tantalus punishment gave us the English word tantalizing., Tantalus banquet for the gods. But out of secretly held spite against the immortals, Tantalus murdered his son and fed the Olympians cooked human flesh. Because of this, the Greek heroes did not all arrive home at the same time.[48]. Homer, Odyssey 1.29ff, 1.298ff, 3.306ff; Nostoi Argument; Pindar, Pythian Ode 11.36ff; Aeschylus, Libation Bearers, Eumenides; Sophocles, Electra; Euripides, Electra, Orestes; Apollodorus, Epitome 6.25; Hyginus, Fabulae 119; etc. I had read about this version by John Lewin. [30] Eventually, they were able to drive Thyestes out of Mycenae, and Agamemnon became king of the city that had once been his fathers. Agamemnon is a character in William Shakespeare's play Troilus and Cressida, set during the Trojan War. Cypria frag. Aeschylus' Agamemnon offers further relevant cultural information in Clytemnestra's response to Agamemnon. Clytemnestra (1882) by John Collier. A Handbook of Greek Mythology. She invited him to come with her to the palace. Breaking Free from Family Curse and Conditioning Posted on the Ancient Sites Oresteia board, copyright 2000 by Tracy Marks, M.A. As Greek mythology goes, the universe was once a big soup of nothingness. In some stories (such as Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides) Clytemnestra was already married to Tantalus, and Agamemnon murders him and the couple's infant son before marrying Clytemnestra. See, for example, Apollodorus, Epitome 3.3ff. Menelaus's wife, Helen of Troy, runs away with Paris, ultimately leading to the Trojan War. After the Trojans took the horse into their city, the heroes inside stole out under cover of night and opened the gates to the rest of the army. Throughout history, assassination has been a brutal and effective tool of power, used to eliminate rivals and shape the course of nations. Oedipus' Family Tree: What You Need to Know - Ancient Literature Though Agamemnon did finally sack Troy after a ten-year war, he did not get to enjoy his glory for long. Aegisthus and Clytemnestra then rule Agamemnon's kingdom for a time, Aegisthus claiming his right of revenge for Atreus's crimes against Thyestes (Thyestes then crying out "thus perish all the race of Pleisthenes! In most traditions, he also succeeded his father-in-law as king of Sparta.[33]. The House of Atreus family tree. Homer laid out the extent of Agamemnons impressive dominion in the Iliad: And they that held Mycenae, the well-built citadel, and wealthy Corinth, and well-built Cleonae, and dwelt in Orneiae and lovely Araethyrea and Sicyon, wherein at the first Adrastus was king; and they that held Hyperesia and steep Gonoessa and Pellene, and that dwelt about Aegium and throughout all Aegialus, and about broad Helice,of these was the son of Atreus, lord Agamemnon.[3]. During the war, but before the events of the Iliad, Odysseus contrives a plan to get revenge on Palamedes for threatening his sons life. ( Public Domain ) The resurrected son of Tantalus, Pelops, went on to be worshipped in the region of lower Greece, which is named the Peloponnese after him. In works of art, there is considerable resemblance between the representations of Zeus, king of the gods, and Agamemnon, king of men. Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife, has taken Aegisthus, son of Thyestes, as a lover. But Patroclus pressed his luck too far and was ultimately killed by Hector. Breaking McKinley's Curse|Paperback - Barnes & Noble [1] Tantalus is then banished to the underworld, where he stands in a pool of water that evaporates every time he reaches down to drink, and above him is a fruit tree whose branches are blown just out of reach by the wind whenever he reaches for the fruit. Privacy Policy, https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D9%3Aentry%3Dagamemnon-bio-1. Despite the warnings of his captive Cassandrawho had been given the ability to see the future by ApolloAgamemnon walked into his wifes trap. [4] Depending on the source, Agamemnon was thus either king of Mycenae or of Argos. [39], The prophet Calchas soon revealed Agamemnons role in the Greeks suffering. Agamemnon had captured a girl named Chryseis during a raid. Agamemnon agreed, but in turn he demanded that Achilles give up his own slave girl, Briseis, to compensate for Agamemnons loss. In retaliation, Atreus murdered Thyestes children and invited his unwitting brother to dinner. [58] At both sites, Agamemnon was said to have been buried together with the Trojan Cassandra, who died with him. Though Agamemnon is an important character in many surviving works of ancient literature, many other sources for his myth no longer survive (for example, the epics of the Trojan Cycle, Stesichorus Oresteia, and Hesiods Catalogue of Women). Misfortunes, including a plague and a lack of wind, prevent the army from sailing. Niobe wept until she turned to stone. Richard Rutherford, in John Davie (tr. 2022 Wasai LLC. [36], The sacrifice thus completed, Artemis gave the Greeks a favorable wind, and they sailed for Troy once again. He was the son (or grandson) of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Iphigenia, Electra, Laodike, Orestes and Chrysothemis. However, Agamemnon demands a new prize from the army as compensation and seizes Achilles' prize, the beautiful captive Briseis. Chryseis father, Chryses, an important priest of Apollo, offered Agamemnon a large ransom for his daughter. When Agamemnon refuses to return Chryseis to her father Chryses, he brings plague upon the Greek camp. An excellent article. In anger, Pelops throws Myrtilus off a cliff, but not before Myrtilus curses Pelops and his entire line. Mythology & Curse - Video & Lesson Transcript - Study.com A. T. Murray. .blond, large, and powerful. During the fighting, Agamemnon killed Antiphus and fifteen other Trojan soldiers, according to one source. Agamemnon and Menelaus both became very powerful kings. After growing to adulthood and being pressured by Electra, Orestes vows to avenge his father Agamemnon by killing his mother Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. [6] According to the common story (as told in the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer), Agamemnon and his younger brother Menelaus were the sons of Atreus, king of Mycenae, and Aerope, daughter of the Cretan king Catreus. There aren't many families in ancient greek Mythology that were quite as unlucky as the house of Atreus and the multiple curses that plagued the household over multiple generations. Regular readers will be well-aware of the bad blood flowing through, and often out of, the members of this unfortunate dynasty. Helen and Paris by Charles Meynier (19th century). Her death appeases Artemis and the Greek army set out for Troy. Agamemnon's family history is rife with misfortune, born from several curses contributing to the miasma around the family. Agamemnon led the Greek forces against Troy in the famous Trojan War that became the theme of both the , our. The Heroes of the Greeks. A Woman Cursed. The House of Atreus is named for the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus, famous figures from the stories of the Trojan War, but the family line is normally traced back to Tantalus, and then on through a further four generations, until the time of Orestes, a son of Agamemnon. He would stop at nothing to win the glory of conquering Troy, even sacrificing his own daughter Iphigenia in exchange for a favorable wind for his fleet. Agamemnon Musters the Greek Troops at Aulis (from the Story of Iphigenia), designed by Pieter Coecke van Aelst (153548). In this tradition, Pleisthenes dies young, with Agamemnon and Menelaus being raised by Atreus. In Aeschylus's play Agamemnon, part of his Oresteia trilogy, Clytemnestra is driven to murder Agamemnon partly to avenge the death of her daughter Iphigeneia, whom Agamemnon had sacrificed for the sake of success in the war, partly because of her adulterous love for Aegisthus and partly as an agent for the curse on Agamemnon's family, the . Aegisthus. Order Essay by Aeschylus The House of Atreus is one of the finest examples of uncontrollable fate in all of ancient literature. The Chorus Character Analysis in Agamemnon | LitCharts [27] This episode is also found in Clement of Alexandria,[28] in Stephen of Byzantium (Kopai and Argunnos), and in Propertius, III with minor variations.[29]. [1] Legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area. A Visual Tour (Video), Behind the Scenes of Ancient Greece: Exploring the Daily Life of its People (Video), Trove of Ancient Artifacts Discovered in Paestum Include Dolphin Statuette of Eros, TheiaGreek Goddess of Light, the Sun, the Moon, and Wisdom, Greeces East Attica In Antiquity: Playground Of Gods, Heroes And Heroines, Genghis Khan: The Man Who Forged the Most Feared Empire in History (Video), Mighty Queens: 8 Royal Powerhouses Who Shaped History (Video), Ashurbanipal: The Most Powerful Man on Earth (Video), How Leonardo da Vinci Made a "Satellite" Map in 1502 (Video), The Enigma of Sweden's Great Lake Beast (Video), Mystery of the Latin Inscribed Artifacts Found in Arizona (Video), Haunting Tales: Exploring 4 of the Most Famous Ancient Ghost Stories. I had a brilliant cast with a stunning set in the former Kolbe Theatre (proscenium). According to Sophocles's Ajax, after Achilles had fallen in battle Agamemnon and Menelaus award Achilles armor to Odysseus. This murder was the inheritance of the previous generation. Chryses then prays to Apollo for the safe return of his daughter. The etymology of the name Agamemnon is uncertain. But by the Classical period (490323 BCE), Mycenae had become little more than a backwater. It is particularly famous for its distinctive fortifications, built of tightly-fitted boulders (also known as Cyclopean masonry), and its imposing Lions Gateall of which still stand today. ( Public Domain ). Orestes fulfilled his filial duty to his father and murdered his mother Clytemnestra. Regardless, the family of Pelops would endure terrible tragedy. She dropped; nor might avail her now that first. Apollodorus: The myths of Agamemnon are summarized in the Library and Epitome, representing a single mythological handbook from the first century BCE or the first few centuries CE. After all, mythology is storytelling at its finest. The Hell of Tartarus, Ancient Greek Prison of the Damned This cycle of never-ending, bloody retribution ultimately ended only with Orestes, who accepted the guilt of killing his mother and sought to . In Book Nine, Agamemnon, having realized Achilles's importance in winning the war, sends ambassadors begging for Achilles to return, offering him riches and the hand of his daughter in marriage. This curseusually known as the Curse of Atreushaunted Agamemnon throughout his life; according to many traditions, it led him to sacrifice his daughter and ultimately die at the hands of his wife and her lover. One of my many productions of Greek drama at the University of Akron was the three-act HOUSE OF ATREUS. 1 (Zurich: Artemis, 1981), 25677; A. J. N. W. Prag, The Oresteia: Iconographic and Narrative Tradition (Warminster: Aris and Phillips, 1985).
Queens University Kids Summer Camp, 2605 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, Oh 44115, Mutual Break Up And Stay Friends, Michigan Veterans Housing, Articles A