Irlandos: /* References */

2005-10-01T08:37:29Z

References

Irlandos at 18:49, September 23, 2005

2005-09-23T18:49:14Z

Irlandos at 14:43, September 23, 2005

2005-09-23T14:43:50Z

Irlandos at 10:08, August 1, 2005

2005-08-01T10:08:55Z

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Mythological king of [[Mycenae]], brother of [[Menelaus]], who led the Greeks in the [[Trojan War]]. Upon his return to [[Mycenae]], Agamemnon was murdered by his wife, [[Clytemnestra]], and her lover [[Aigisthos]]. His death was avenged by his son, [[Orestes]].

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	[[Category:People who fought in the Trojan War]]		[[Category:People who fought in the Trojan War]]
	[[Category: Greek mythological people]]		[[Category: Greek mythological people]]
		+	[[Category:Characters in the Iliad]]

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−	~~Mythological king~~ of [[Mycenae]], brother of [[Menelaus]], who ~~led the Greeks in~~ the [[~~Trojan War~~]]. ~~Upon his return to~~ [[~~Mycenae~~]], Agamemnon ~~was murdered by his wife~~, [[~~Clytemnestra~~]], and ~~her lover~~ [[~~Aigisthos~~]]~~. His death was avenged by his~~ son, [[Orestes]].	+	'''Agamemnon''' ([[Greek language\|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]].
		+	==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 of Troy\|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, and treachery. The Greeks believed this violent past brought misfortune upon the entire [[House of Atreus]].
		+
		+	==The Trojan War==
		+
		+	Agamemnon gathered together the Greek forces to sail for [[Troy]]. Preparing to depart from [[Aulis]], a port in [[Boeotia prefecture\|Boeotia]], Agamemnon's army incurred the wrath of the goddess [[Artemis]] by slaying an animal sacred to her. 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 Tauris 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 Agamemnon 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 is a dignified representative of kingly authority. As commander-in-chief, he summons the princes to the council and leads the army in battle. He takes the field himself, and performs many heroic deeds until he is wounded and forced to withdraw to his tent. His chief fault is his overweening haughtiness. Due to an over-exalted opinion of his position, which leads 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.
		+
		+	==Return to Greece==
		+
		+
		+	After a stormy voyage, Agamemnon and Cassandra landed in [[Argolis prefecture\|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. The murder of Agamemnon was avenged by his son [[Orestes]].
		+
		+	==Other stories==
		+	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.
		+
		+
		+	== References ==
		+	* [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'';
		+	* [[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' I, 28-31; XI, 385-464;
		+	* [[Aeschylus]], ''[[Agamemnon (play)]][http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/aeschylus/aeschylus_agamemnon.htm]'';
		+	* [[Aeschylus]], ''[[The Libation Bearers]]'';
		+	* [[Sophocles]], ''[[Electra]]'';
		+	* [[Euripides]], ''[[Electra]]'';
		+	*[[Apollodorus]], ''[[Epitome]]'', II, 15-III, 22; VI, 23.
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		+	[[Category:People who fought in the Trojan War]]
	[[Category: Greek mythological people]]		[[Category: Greek mythological people]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:43, September 23, 2005
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	Mythological king of [[Mycenae]], brother of [[Menelaus]], who led the Greeks in the [[Trojan War]]. Upon his return to [[Mycenae]], Agamemnon was murdered by his wife, [[Clytemnestra]], and her lover [[Aigisthos]]. His death was avenged by his son, [[Orestes]].		Mythological king of [[Mycenae]], brother of [[Menelaus]], who led the Greeks in the [[Trojan War]]. Upon his return to [[Mycenae]], Agamemnon was murdered by his wife, [[Clytemnestra]], and her lover [[Aigisthos]]. His death was avenged by his son, [[Orestes]].
		+
		+	[[Category: Greek mythological people]]

Agamemnon - Revision history

Irlandos: /* References */

Irlandos at 18:49, September 23, 2005

Irlandos at 14:43, September 23, 2005

Irlandos at 10:08, August 1, 2005