The Oresteia: Agamemnon

The Power of Clytemnestra

Agamemnon is the first part of the trilogy of Greek tragedies , The Oresteia . The tragedy completely depicts the arrival of Agamemnon from the 10-year trojan war . The tragic story also highlights the powers political and personal , present in the three major characters Agamemnon , Clytemnestra and Aegisthus (Grene Lattimore , 1953

Agamemnon , though not equal to the half-god Achilles in courage and might , is honorable in terms of kingly authority . As a soldier and a general , he actively participates in battles and refuses to stay on tents doing tactics

and strategy (Grene Lattimore , 1953 . The only flaw on Agamemnon as a ruler is his scornfully arrogance which is a liability on the battle field and on his kingship (Grene Lattimore 1953

Clytemnestra manifests her powers through her emotion driven actions Primarily , Clytemnestra 's deceptive nature and contmptuousness makes her a good schemer , notably , in her method of attracting Agamemnon to certain doom (Grene Lattimore , 1953 , when she manages to convince Agamemnon to walk into a purple tapestry where she ensnares him in a robe and strikes him with a double sided axe as the latter struggles to get free (Grene Lattimore , 1953

Aegisthus , meanwhile , manifests his power through treachery . Long before his rule as king of Mycanae , Aegisthus slew his own uncle Atreus , so his father , Thyestes , can immediately succeed as king . In a similar account , Aegisthus acquired kingship , again , via his affair with Clytemnestra and the murder of Agamemnon (Grene Lattimore , 1953

References

Grene , D Lattimore , R (Eds (1953 . Oresteia - Agamemnon , The Libation Bearers , and The Eumenides . Chicago : Chicago UP

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