Agamemnon: Encyclopedia - Agamemnon

Agamemnon

Agamémnon (Greek: Αγαμέμνων) ("very resolute"), 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 - Early life

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 four children: three daughters, Iphigeneia, Electra, and Chrysothemis, 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 rape, murder, incest, and treachery. The Greeks believed this violent past brought misfortune upon the entire House of Atreus.

Agamemnon - The Trojan War

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 by slaying an animal sacred to her, and by Agamemnon boasting 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, but Agamemnon did eventually sacrifice Iphigenia. 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 Iphigenia, and whisked her to Taurus in the 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 Agamamnon 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.

Agamemnon - Return to Greece

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).

Agamemnon - Other stories

Another account makes him the son of Pleisthenes (the son or father of Atreus), who is said to have been Aerope's first husband. 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.

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.

Agamemnon - Agamemnon in modern fiction and film

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.

He also appeared in the 2004 film Troy, played by Scottish actor Brian Cox.

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, a publication in the public domain.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Agamemnon", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki