The Ancient Greek poet Aeschylus’ play The Agamemnon is a tragic play about the House of Atreus and its curse. In this play two characters, Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, were both faced with difficult decisions. However, neither of their decisions are justified since their motives were not pure and they murdered their family members and expected to witness no retaliation. Agamemnon sacrificed his innocent daughter, Iphigenia, in order to lead his fleet to Troy, which was unjust and disrespectful in the eyes of Artemis. Clytemnestra killed Agamemnon for power over Argos, even though initially Power is an unjust motive and not a motivation of the blood feud, therefore Clytemnestra's only protection is extraneous. Both Agamemnon and Clytemnestra …show more content…
sin through their hubris, making their actions unjustified in the eyes of the gods and of the Greeks. This is supported by Aeschylus' personal view of the matter, whose opinions are expressed by the Chorus throughout the play. Agamemnon's sacrificing of his innocent daughter Iphigenia is unjustified and caused by his hubris. Although Artemis tells him to sacrifice his daughter if he wants to sail to Troy, she was testing him to see if recapturing his brother's wife was more important in his eyes than his daughter's life. “For the wrath of holy Artemis rests on the house... sacrifice a trembling mother with all her young unborn. She loathes such a feast of eagles” (Aeschylus 18-19). The wrath of Artemis had fallen on the House of Atreus because he sacrificed a young, innocent maiden capable of providing life. This goes against the moral laws of humans and is unjustified. “For to put faith in the shedding of blood is an obstinate delusion, whose base suggestion is the beginning of sin... he did not shrink from slaying a victim daughter in aid of war waged for a stolen wife, a spousal-rite to bind unto him his fleet” (20). The Chorus states that Agamemnon's hope that the spilling of blood will cause victory and good fortune is a delusion, for a common motif in The Agamemnon is that good fortune can not come from an evil act. His murder of his victim daughter through the spilling of blood constitutes more blood, not good fortune. Agamemnon's pride prevents him from seeing this, and so his actions are not justified. Clytemnestra also participates in unjust murder and spilling of blood.
Although her original motivation was vengeance for Iphigenia's death, her motives changed to her lust for power. She believed that by killing Agamemnon she would be secure to rule Argos. Her lust for power is not a righteous motive so her actions to obtain her goal are not justified. “And when he had fallen, I gave him yet a third stroke, and offering thanks to the nether god, to Hades, safe keeper of the dead.... You challenge me, supposed an unthinking woman” (44). Upon killing Agamemnon, she openly expressed her crimes to the people because of her hubris and her power. She believed no one could harm her because she was ruler of the land. She claimed that the blood feud killed Agamemnon and that she is justified as an instrument of that feud. However, power is irrelevant to the feud, so her defense of being safe is …show more content…
balderdash. Extensive self-pride is why both Agamemnon and Clytemnestra committed murderous crimes and expected no reprisal.
Aeschylus expresses his personal thoughts on the hubris of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra though the Chorus in The Agamemnon. Since the Chorus says several times throughout the play that Clytemnestra and Agamemnon have hubris, we can confidently state that Aeschylus believed that Clytemnestra's and Agamemnon's crimes are not justified because they were motivated by their immense pride and unjust reasoning. “Impiously was it said... how pregnant is the insolence of a too defiant pride” (23). By comparing Paris and Agamemnon, Aeschylus says that just as Paris fell because of his pride so will Agamemnon. Also, Clytemnestra’s pride clearly causes her homicidal actions, where she expects no retribution. “You are proud of thought and presumptuous is your note, for indeed the murderous stroke is maddening you” (45). Aeschylus is saying that Clytemnestra is not justified in her
actions. Agamemnon and Clytemnestra were solely responsible for their spilling of blood. Nothing but their hubris and their belief in false justice can be blamed for their destructive actions. Aeschylus agrees through the Chorus that Agamemnon and Clytemnestra are guilty and not justified by the gods nor man. In the end Clytemnestra and Agamemnon deserved their quietus, and the actions they took were more than unjust, they were prejudicial and detrimental. Those crimes never were and never will be justified with no atonement.
Like other heroes of the war, Agamemnon is a powerful king. He was able to raise men to follow him to Troy. He is referred to by the epithet “sheperd of people” (III, 156). In the underwold, Achilleus tells Agamemnon,
Odysseus and Agamemnon are heroes who fought side by side to take down the city of Troy during the Trojan War. In Homer’s The Odyssey, why is Agamemnon slaughtered when he arrives home while Odysseus returns to find his loved ones still waiting for him? The reasons for the heroes’ differing fates are the nature of their homecoming and the loyalty of their wives.
Agamemnon is the husband of Clytemnestra, father of three and the leading General in the Trojan War. The Prophet Calchas approach Agamemnon and tells him that the sacrifice of a virgin will send wind to allow his troop’s ships to get off to battle. Agamemnon decides to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia, to get the wind needed to go to battle. Iphigenia does not realize what is happening to her until it is too late. Although she tries to escape her fate, she still is given to Calchas as the virgin sacrifice.
In Aeschylus' trilogy, the Greeks' justice system went through a transformation from old to new ways. In the beginning of the trilogy, the characters settle their matters, both personal and professional, with vengeance. Vengeance is when someone is harmed or killed, and either the victim, or someone close to them takes revenge on the criminal. This matter is proven in the trilogy numerous times. For example, Clytemnestra murders Agamemnon as revenge for his sacrifice of their daughter Iphigeneia. Along those same lines, in the second part of the trilogy, Choephoroe, Orestes, who is Agamemnon son, murders Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. He does this in order to gain revenge on them for killing his father. It was by this way that people would deal with conflict, and it was thought to be not only a justice system, but also a honorable and fair. In fact, one of the principal purposes of the first play of the trilogy is to force us to recognize that justice based on revenge creates special difficulties, which in turn cannot be solved. It does not solve the problems that it is meant to, but only causes more problems that are even larger. As the third and last part of the trilogy begins, the system begins to evolve and change from vengeance to genuine justice. Instead of getting revenge on Orestes and killing him, they decide to put him on trial and have a jury decide whether or not he sho...
The Greek interpretation of what makes a man “civilized” and what makes him “savage” is a recurring theme throughout the ancient epics, battle narratives, and dramas, including Aeschylus’ Agamemnon. In this first installment of The Oresteia, the chorus of Argive elders expresses keen outrage at the killing of Agamemnon, which suggests that they equate savagery with the madness they see in Clytemnestra: “just as your mind is maddened by the bloody deed, the blood-fleck in your eyes is clear to see” (1426-1427). In many places throughout the play, however, Clytemnestra proves that she does not fit the description of savage that is defined in Homer’s literature, for example and instead gives evidence that she is a very complex, rational woman. The chorus ignores the many admirable qualities of their queen —her skill at running the estate and her compassion for those who have suffered, among other things— simply because she is a woman. These qualities may not entirely excuse Clytemnestra from taking a life, but they combine to form a more noble picture of the queen than the chorus chooses to portray. Clytemnestra has relatable motives and displays empathy and respect for many different people, including the husband who she just killed, which sets her apart from the classical Greek definition of a savage —a designation forced on Clytemnestra by the chorus, but not necessarily to be believed.
The thesis of the Oresteia proves to be the sacrifice of Iphigenia, for it is with the death of a woman that the tables of the curse on the house of Atreus start to unfold. The sacrifice of Iphigenia becomes the start of the continued curse within this particular generation of the house of Atreus. Agamemnon, a misogynist, did not value the life of his innocent daughter over the spoils of men. It is significant that an innocent woman, ready for marriage, an act that brings together two households, was not married but instead murdered. Her sacrifice shows a separation between men and women along with failure within the household.
The basileus finds himself entirely humbled by his misadventure of a speech. Agamemnon is drowning here and does what good leaders do, uses his teammates’ strengths. His commander Odysseus is known for his silver tongue. With the help of Agamemnon’s scepter, Odysseus is able to get the men to return, and list to their leader once more. By putting his pride aside for a moment to allow Odysseus to help him Agamemnon does what’s best for his community. In the eyes of the ancient Greeks, his action is one of the most beautiful things a person can do. By accepting help Agamemnon is able to understand and admit his own flaws; he tells his men “Achilles and I are quarrelling about this girl, in which matter I was the first to offend”(Gutenberg). In showing his humility, and being able to speak so soundly he gains a “roar of applause” from the men who just deserted him shows that Agamemnon has once again returned to his full glory as a Basileus
The act of revenge in classical Greek plays and society is a complex issue with unavoidable consequences. In certain instances, it is a more paramount concern than familial ties. When a family member is murdered another family member is expected to seek out and administer revenge. If all parties involved are of the same blood, the revenge is eventually going to wipe out the family. Both Aeschylus, through "The Oresteia Trilogy," and Sophocles, through "Electra," attempt to show the Athenians that revenge is a just act that at times must have no limits on its reach. Orestes and his sister Electra, the children of the slain Agamemnon, struggle on how to avenge their father's death. Although unsure what course of action they must take, both brother and sister are in agreement that revenge must occur. Revenge is a crucial part of Greek plays that gives the characters a sense of honor and their actions a sense of justice.
The Greek gods were not only intimately involved in the action of the Trojan War, they were also the impetus for the war. Although the overt cause of the war was Paris' abduction of Helen, this act was the result of quarrelling goddesses. The Trojan prince Paris was forced to choose the fairest amongst the goddesses Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena. Each goddess attempted to sway Paris with offerings, and Aphrodite's temptation was Helen; this leads to the war and the immortal alliances that overshadow its mortal activities. The story that the poem implicitly addresses is of the Achaen king Agamemnon and his daughter Iphigenia. The Achaen forces have gathered at Aulis before mounting their attack on Troy when one of Artemis' stags is killed; this, coupled with Agamemnon's boasting of the act, is why "Artemis is offended" (51). In retaliation, the goddess imprisons the troops at Aulis by preventing the wind from powering their fleet. In order to appease the goddess and begin the war, Agamemnon sacrifices his own daughter Iphigenia as "the child" who will become "the victim of Aulis." Although Artemis intervenes and makes Iphigenia one of her priestesses, only the goddess knows that Iphigenia escaped death.
In Aeschylus’ Agamemnon there are many different opinions about what kind of king and commander Agamemnon was. Some argued that he was good, while others dispute that his motives were wrong. Clytemnestra, Agamemnon’s wife, gained a strong hatred for him, after he sacrificed his own daughter so he could go to war. Many believe that this was not necessary and could have been overcome. The chorus seems to agree with this to an extent, and feels that Agamemnon could have prayed and requested that he not sacrifice his daughter.
The Achaeans are more concerned with personal glory and achievement rather than the well-being of the city. Two Characters who definitely display this characteristic are Agamemnon and Achilles. Agamemnon is selfish and is only concerned with his own honor. This is seen almost immediately in the poem. In book one, during the tenth year of battle, Chryses visits Agamemnon and offers ransom for his daughter, Chryseis who was taken as plunder early in the war. Although the ransom is attractive, Agamemnon refuses the money because the girl represents power and glory and that is far more important than wealth. Plunder represents victory; therefore, the more women Agamemnon possesses, the more glorified and powerful he feels. Eventually, Agamemnon returns the girl to her father; however, he insists that someone give him a female to compensate for his loss and restore his honor. He views the situation as a challenge to his authority and complains, "I alone of the Argives go without my honor. That would be a disgrace" (1.139-40). Agamemnon demands, the "Argives will give me a prize, a match for my desires, equal to what I have lost, well and good. But if they give me nothing I will take a p...
Antigone’s own excessive pride drives her to her defeat. Her arrogance and strive for self-importance blinds her to the consequences of her actions. Ismene, Antigone’s sister, rejects to take part in the crime leaving Antigone all on her own. Ismeme declares “why rush to extremes? Its madness, madness” (Sophocles 80). Ismene fails to comprehend the logic behind her siste...
She explained that Agamemnon killed their daughter and yet received no punishment calling her actions: “a masterpiece of justice” (Agamemnon line 1430). With this information alone, Clytemnestra’s actions can be understood.
In Aeschylus’ The Agamemnon, Agamemnon and Clytemnestra have to make tough decisions throughout the play, decisions they believe are justified. The actions of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra are not justified because they are caused by their blinding hubris and desire for power. Agamemnon makes the choice to kill his daughter just so he could lead his troops to Troy. Clytemnestra kills her husband, not just for revenge, but for his position and power as king of Mycenae. They make selfish choices and do not believe they will be punished for them. By exposing their true motives, Aeschylus makes it clear they are not justified in their actions.
Agamemnon is the first part of the trilogy known as the Oresteia. Agamemnon is a story where the main character sacrifices his own daughter to a God, Artemis to win a battle and then his wife revenge him for the sacrifice. The concept of fate plays an important role in the tilogy Agamemnon which led to the tragic endings of the play. According to the meaning of fate it means the development of events outside a person’s control, regarded as predetermined by a super natural power. Fate is what send Agamemnon to the war with Menelaus to fight against Paris, fate is what predetermined Agamemnon to sacrifice his own blood for the sake of his ship and companions and fate is what determined Cassandra his wife to plot to kill him and to revenge him for her daughter.