The character Clytemnestra develops dramatically over the course of the play. When Ag first arrives back home she presents herself as very sweet and innocent; “And he will find a home a wife as faithful as he left.” (662) She furthermore tries to convince him of how much she suffered without him there. Her goal by covering up her true feelings is to gain his trust. Clytemnestra makes the remark,“At a cruel message noosed my throat in a hung cord” in reference to when she was fearful of bad news from the war. (921) This act of innocence is all in hope to try to convince him to walk upon this red tapestry she has laid out for him. By him doing this she knows it will disgrace the gods and leave him at fault. This devious act of disloyalty to her …show more content…
This scene reveals how impressionable Agamemnon is by his wife. His actions also show his arrogance in thinking that he deserves this red carpet treatment after the war. Ag makes the remark jokingly that, “I have been subdued to obedience in this matter”, however; this statement is entirely true. (1008) He is blinded by his own pride into committing an injustice to the gods which he knew was wrong. This fault of his character being too vain leads to his demise. Therefore, Agamemnon’s trust in his wife allowed for her to more easily kill him.
The war had great influence on the murder of Agamemnon. While Agamemnon was away in Troy, Clytemnestra carried on an affair. Her lover and the affair were primary motives for Clytemnestra to kill her husband. Aegisthus, her lover, admits to being an influence on Clytemnestra 's actions; “To lure him to the trap was plainly women 's work; I, an old enemy, was suspect” (1718) His influence help to contribute to her act of disloyalty to her husband. This incident of an affair proves how she was conniving and had an outside motive. Clytemnestra can therefore be described as a cheater who longed for
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She describes to the chorus, “There spurted from him bloody foam in a fierce jet.” (1457) Her graphic description gives way to show how proud she is of what she has accomplished. Furthermore, this pride shows how savage and ruthless she had become. Her horrifying capability of being able to withstand the bloody gore of killing her own husband is tragic. The aftermath of the killing presents Clytemnestra as a proud woman who successfully achieved her goal. The remark of his blood “spreading, spattered me with drops of crimson rain” continues to develop this cynical nature that the thirst for vengeance had bestowed upon her. (1458) Her character is in full metamorphosis by the end of the play and she has flourished into this raging women. The transition of her demeanor suggests an insight on her true intentions and feelings when killing Agamemnon. Therefore, these intentions are to seek revenge for her daughter 's death.
In comparison of character, both Agamemnon and Clytemnestra felt pride in one instance or another in the play. Whether that being after a success on the battlefield or a murder in the bedroom. The two characters mirror each other actions and vengeful nature. With Agamemnon 's killing of his own daughter and then him being killed in return. The rise and fall of Agamemnon 's boastful demeanor allowed for Clytemnestra to transform into her true form. Therefore, the acts
All throughout the Roman comedy Cleostrata’s power over her husband Lysidamus and her ability to embarrass him is painfully obvious. In the beginning of Act II, when Cleostrata is going to visit Myrrhina her slave Pardalisca informs her that Lysidamus wants lunch ready for when he returns home. Cleostrata’s responded “I will not get things ready, and not a thing shall be cooked this day, either … I’ll punish him, the gallant – with hunger, thirst, hard words, hard treatment, - oh, I’ll punish him” (Casina, 150-155). Clearly, Cleostrata accurately illustrates the type of “unmastered creature” Marcus Porcius Cato
The Oresteia trilogy follows a series of murders among the family of Orestes. In the first play, Agamemnon, the blood of Orestes’ father, Agamemnon, and his father’s war prize, Casandra, spills at the hands of Orestes’ mother, Clytamnestra. Following suit, Orestes avenges his father’s cold-blooded murder in the second play, The Libation Bearer, by killing his mother and her lover, Aegisthus. The acts of revenge by Orestes come to a climax in the third and final play of the trilogy, The Eumenides. With a monumental trial between Orestes and the Furies, a question of justification arises. Did Orestes have a justified reason to commit matricide? Or did his actions reveal a dark, unjustified moment of kin murder? Orestes’ murder of his mother, Clytamnestra, is justified because of the gods’ interference throughout the Oresteia trilogy.
10. And indeed Clytemnestra could be seen as a physical agent of the principle of revenge in her killing of Agamemnon.
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 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 difference in Agamemnon’s and Odysseus’s approach of their homeland is a reason for their differing fates. Agamemnon, the king of Argos, returns from Troy after a safe journey. Once he lands on the shores of his native earth, his false sense of security renders him unsuspecting of the possible danger that lurks in his own home. His naiveté leads him to approach his home directly to show his people that he has returned. Since his subjects were no longer loyal to him, his exposure leads to his demise. Their disloyalty is revealed when Aegisthus, the man who plots to kill Agamemnon, gathers the town’s best soldiers to ambush the king. Agamemnon meets Aegisthus, who organized a banquet where the king and his company are mercilessly slaughtered. Because he fails to assess the danger that exists in his homeland, Agamemnon meets his end soon after his return.
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...
Odysseus on numerous occasions, is unfaithful to Penelope. Penelope however, remains loyal to Odysseus and she is praised by greek society for it while Odysseus is never seen as adulterous for his disloyalty. However, one could argue that Odysseus’s relationship with Calypso is non-consensual, as she used her power over him as a goddess to control him and keep him on the island. In the end, however, Penelope and Telemachus are the main reasons Odysseus continues his journey home to Ithaca. The other marriage we are introduced to is the relationship between Agamemnon and his wife Clytemnestra. When Agamemnon returned from war, his wife and her lover murdered him. He sees this as a cruel act of deceit, despite the fact that he killed their daughter. Agamemnon views Clytemnestra, and other women as evil and untrustworthy. In book eleven he tells Odysseus, “So, there’s nothing more deadly, bestial than a women set on works like these, what a monstrous thing she plotted, slaughtered her own lawful husband!” Agamemnon makes this generalization and doesn’t take into consideration that he also cheated on his wife and probably murdered numerous
Menelaos' brother, Agamemnon, does not have a healthy family relationship. His family is held up to everyone as what a family should not be. It is ironic that the marriages of two brothers, Agamemnon and Menelaos, to two sisters, Helen and Clytemnestra, should be such exact opposite in their outcome. During his absence during the Trojan War, Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra, took a lover, Aigisthos. Upon Agamemnon's return, Clytemnestra kills him and his slave-mistress, Cassandra.
... powerful, manipulative, and extremely smart, yet because she is a woman she has limited social power. She has no chance of being a hero because she acts out of hurt in her marriage and love turned to hate. In Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Agamemnon also kills his child, although it is not praised, he is still considered a hero after his death. Medea is portrayed as being a selfish and ruthless woman, making her unnatural. Nevertheless, the audience finds themselves uncomfortably admiring Medea and her strength as a woman. Medea’s madness portrays how one’s emotions can lead to detrimental results rather than using reason. She is driven by her desire for revenge and will stop at nothing to burn her husband Jason as he did her.
Clytemnestra has the ten years of the Trojan War to plan her revenge on Agamemnon. Upon his return Clytemnestra shows him some love. That love she showed quickly changes to rage and hatred when Clytemnestra she’s Agamemnon with his mistress Cassandra.
Regardless, Agamemnon resorted to his threat. When the men reach Achilles’ lodge, he is grief-stricken and allows for his wife to be taken. He is sad and reluctant, but lets them take her back to Agamemnon. No matter what he does, this event was inevitable. Agamemnon was provoking him making him “blazing … [to] [react] quickly” (line 341) showing that Achilles can be easily angered.
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.
...hought themselves the better man and considered themselves dishonored by each other. For this, they each sought vengeance. Agamemnon uses his power to take Achilles' prize from him. Achilles decides to not only stop fighting, but also to turn against the Grecians. He would rather them lose the war than be dishonored.
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.