Agamemnon, son of Atreus, is the commander in chief of the Greek forces, and also the leader of the contingent from Argos and Mycenae in the Trojan war. The war is documented by Homer in the Iliad and showcases the character of the leaders within both the Trojan ranks and the Greek ranks. As the commander in chief of the Greeks, Agamemnon’s actions are constantly under the scrutiny of other people’s opinions as he makes decisions that impact the lives of the soldiers that fight against the Trojans
Agamemnon Agamemnon is a confusing tale of the people that are waiting for the soldiers to get home from the Trojan war. Most of the play is the chorus singing about many of the things that happened during the war. The play also shows the disrespect the men had for women in that time period. In front of Agamemnon's palace, a watchman wishes his shift would end. He is tired and wants to sleep but he must stay awake. He awaits news from Queen Clytemnestra. The Chorus of Argive elders enters, singing
Agamemnon Agamemnon is the first book in the Orestiean Trilogy written by the famous Greek tragedy writer, Aeschylus. Agamemnon is a story of justice and revenge. The story takes place in a city called Argos. It starts with Agamemnon, the king of Argos, away at the Trojan War. The city is eagerly awaiting the news of their king’s welfare and the outcome of the war. Watchmen are posted in the city, watching for the beacon that would report the capture of Troy and Agamemnon’s return. Beacons are set
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
Agamemnon Agamemnon is the first play of Aeschylus’ trilogy, the Oresteia. Aeschylus was the first of Athens’ three great tragedians; the others: Sophocles; Euripides. The Oresteia was also the first Greek tragedy trilogy written. As Greeks of this epoch focused on humanist ideas, so did Aeschylus. He devoted his genius to serious contemplations of humanistic questions, such as the nature of justice. Other humanistic values are honor, truth, compassion, loyalty, devotion to family and gods
Agamemnon Communication In Aeschylus’s, Agamemnon, there is a great possibility that the death of Agamemnon could have been prevented, had the Chorus simply listened to Cassandra’s prophecy. But the words spoken between the two parties seem to have loss it’s meaning when it fell upon the Chorus; yet, they were obviously hearing what she was saying. But while they were hearing what she had to say, they did not listen to her words. Ironically, in this story, it is the women who posses all the
In the tragic play the Agamemnon, Aeschylus portrays Clytemnestra as a dominant, independent and cunning Queen. When her husband Agamemnon sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia in exchange for favorable winds, she sought vengeance on her husband and goes to extreme lengths to obtain it. Her use of manipulation plays a significant role in leading up to her triumph at the end of the play. Clytemnestra cleverly manipulates Agamemnon to attain her goal of murdering him. Clytemnestra's manipulative abilities
Fate in Agamemnon 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
Agamemnon is a Greek play that has a wonderful balance of drama and action. Despite all of the thrilling and impressive dialect, the story remains a tragedy. It has several deaths mentioned and recalled, as well as thick plots being plotted, and a gripping storyline. All of these things are tragedies because of the human emotion behind them. It is what makes this story interesting. One of the tragedies in this play is that Agamemnon kills his own daughter. When the gods demanded her life in exchange
When Agamemnon was put in command he dropped all the friends he didn’t need, and shut himself in. He got what he wanted, and didn’t care about those around him that may have helped him. In this way he wants to be thought superior, and wont associate with any lesser people. Menelaos tries to be the bigger person and tells Agamemnon not to kill his child for his sake, making it seem like he’s doing him a favor. Clytemnestra wants to be there for her daughter’s supposed wedding, She wants to be the
Josh Dao Mr. Kubus English IV – 01 April 22, 2014 “Agamemnon” or Clytemnestra in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon The role of women in ancient Greece when put side by side with the role of men is relatively insignificant, yet in Greek tragedies such as Agamemnon, Oedipus the King and Orestes, the women are often given the title of “main character,” thus revealing the ideal standards of how women are treated and thought of in society at the time. Many, if not most of the popular Greek tragedies have several
Analysis of Aeschylus Agamemnon Characters- The Watchman Clytaemnestra The Herald Agamemnon Cassandra Aegisthus The Chorus 1). The Watchman: • The watchman sets the time and place for the play (Agamemnon’s palace in Argos, the house of Atreus); he describes the many miserable nights he has spent on the rooftop of the palace watching for the signal fires that will herald the fall of Troy. • The watchman is one Aeschylus’s small characters, but like the herald he serves an important
the years, history has tried to examine how gender roles have changed over time and views of how women should be have changed. However there are many examples of current stereotypes of women that linger in today's society. Following the play Agamemnon we will examine the three female characters and how their stereotypes apply to the current day society. A watchmen being the person who must stay awake to watch out for any urgencies quotes a few key factors that show the stereotypes of women
Aeschylus’ well-known tragedy of Agamemnon allows one to closely look at the treasured polytheistic religious ideas of Ancient Greece and how the Grecians relied heavily on the thought of free will versus fate determined by their gods. With the play being set and written in Greece, the polytheistic lifestyle is apparent and unabashed as the culture of the time would have seen the play to be easily believable; the entire audience would have been familiar with the various gods and goddesses as well
In the play Agamemnon, Aeschylus depiction of gender roles are both typical and atypical of a standard male or female behavior in the culture and era because male characters in ancient Greece resemble the powerful nature of a warrior. They are seen as the head of the household where the male role is to go out and do hard labour to provide for the family and bring honor to the country, while females are to stay home to tend the kids and do house chores. This is most typical when looking at the gender
In Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, as well as, in Shakespeare’s Othello, the audience sees the tragic downfall of the protagonist, which is the question of fate or justice. If one refers to the titles of these plays; Agamemnon and Othello are the protagonists. First Agamemnon thinks more as a king than as a father, when he chooses to kill his daughter to take Troy. Then the general Othello commits suicide having assassinated his wife, whom he loved so much. Indeed, these changes from a good to a bad destiny
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 family curse in Aeschylus ' the Orestia functions as an underlying theme throughout the trilogy being most prevalent in the first two plays of said trilogy, Agamemnon and The Libation Bearers. The curse is established well before the start of the trilogy beginning three generations before Orestes ' time, beginning with Pelops. The significance of the family curse for the context of the Orestia however starts with two of Pelops ' sons, Atreus and Thyestes. Atreus and Thyestes ' impact on the
and Agamemnon of The Oresteia trilogy, Aeschylus constructs an over-arching metaphor for elements of the new Athenian democracy. The chorus in each play represents the people who feel under-represented and disrespected, by the society's changing values. In The Eumenides, the chorus of Furies is frustrated with the younger gods and infringements on their power; in Agamemnon the chorus fears more the control of an effective woman in Clytemnestra rather than the leadership of fruitless Agamemnon. Both
had read about Clytemnestra and her want of either justice or revenge against Agamemnon due to the fact that he killed Iphigenia, their daughter. Clytemnestra wants to then kill Agamemnon because of this hideous crime that he committed. After stabbing Agamemnon to death, she claims that the only reason that she did this was not for revenge, but in the name of justice for what he had done. Clytemnestra feels that Agamemnon must pay for what he has done, and this is the only fair way to handle this