Agamemnon agreed, but in turn he demanded that Achilles give up his own slave girl, Briseis, to compensate for Agamemnons loss. During this period, Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus took refuge with Tyndareus, King of Sparta. For example, Aeschylus in the Oresteia trilogy. Aegisthus and Clytemnestra then rule Agamemnon's kingdom for a time, Aegisthus claiming his right of revenge for Atreus's crimes against Thyestes (Thyestes then crying out "thus perish all the race of Pleisthenes! He is also later killed by his wife, Clytemnestra, who conspires with her new lover Aegisthus in revenge for the death of Iphigenia. [17] After the capture of Troy, Cassandra, the doomed prophetess and daughter of Priam, fell to Agamemnon's lot in the distribution of the prizes of war. In most traditions, he also succeeded his father-in-law as king of Sparta.[33]. by Patrick Garner The ancient Greeks dealt with the normal problems that still vex us today, but they faced the added complication of the Olympic gods intruding into their lives. Agamemnon Lines 680-913 Summary & Analysis | SparkNotes Agamemnon's family history is rife with misfortune, born from several curses contributing to the miasma around the family. Plagued by a century-long family curse, Mammoth Cave Wildlife Conservationist, Josie McKinley has a reason to distrust strangers. Eventually, Agamemnons son Orestes would go on to avenge his father by murdering both Aegisthus and Clytemnestra. In doing so, he awakened the Furies of the Underworld. Although not the equal of Achilles in bravery, Agamemnon was a representative of "kingly authority". Agamemnon Family | Shmoop Eventually, Agamemnon managed to reassemble the Greeks. Hesiod, Catalogue of Women frag. The continued miasma surrounding the house of Atreus expresses itself in several events throughout their lives. The Greeks killed the deer, and Iphigenia was spirited away to serve Artemis as a priestess.[38]. Cf. Collard, Christopher and Martin Cropp (2008b), This page was last edited on 25 June 2023, at 06:27. How to Know if Your Family is Cursed | by Patsy Fergusson - Medium This murder was the inheritance of the previous generation. By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Agamemnon is the first play in the Oresteia, the only trilogy of Greek tragedies that has survived intact from classical times. Furious, Chryses prayed to Apollo to punish the Greeks for Agamemnons behavior. [7] However, according to another tradition, Agamemnon and Menelaus were the sons of Atreus' son Pleisthenes, with their mother being Aerope, Cleolla, or Eriphyle. The fortunes of Agamemnon have formed the subject of numerous tragedies, ancient and modern, the most famous being the Oresteia of Aeschylus. The Agamemnon: Family Feud for the Ages Essay Example He extended his dominion by conquest and became the most powerful prince in Greece.[10]. Ovid: Agamemnon appears in some of Ovids poetry, such as the Metamorphoses (ca. The Prophet Calchas tells that the plague may be dispelled by returning Chryseis to her father. [13] Preparing to depart from Aulis, a port in Boeotia, Agamemnon's army incurs the wrath of the goddess Artemis, although the myths give various reasons for this. She is also one of two horses driven by Menelaus at the funeral games of Patroclus. After assembling the massive Greek forcetotaling over one thousand ships, according to the most famous accountsAgamemnon and Menelaus sailed to Troy. Once Agamemnon entered his palace, his wife and her lover Aegisthus stabbed him to death in the bathtub. A priest with the army said they must sacrifice Agamemnons young daughter, Iphigenia. In the end, the fleet split up: Menelaus and several others left without sacrificing (and were punished for their impiety with a storm sent by the gods), while Agamemnon stayed behind. After the Trojans took the horse into their city, the heroes inside stole out under cover of night and opened the gates to the rest of the army. Early Humans Were Weaving Baskets in the Philippines 40,000 Years Ago! And husband, and she stiffens with grief. These events make up the last eight books of the Iliad. After the death of King Tyndareus, Menelaus took over as the leader of Sparta. Euripides, Iphigenia in Aulis 1148ff; Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.18.2, 2.22.2ff; Apollodorus, Epitome 3.15. The Iliad ends with Hectors funeral in Troy.[45]. However, Agamemnon had unfinished business in his hometown. [30], In Homer's Odyssey Agamemnon makes an appearance in the kingdom of Hades after his death. However, this version is widely considered to be the work of an interpolator, and not Euripides himself. Touchefeu-Meynier, Odette, and Ingrid Krauskopf. Both men longed for the throne of Mycenae and would stop at nothing to attain their goal. ( Public Domain ). In painting and sculpture, he appeared in a variety of scenes, most of them related to the Trojan War.[9]. Pelops also had two sons, Atreus and Thyestes. 19K views Atreus and Thyestes According to Greek mythology, Atreus was the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus, the leaders of the Greek army during the Trojan War. By the age of 18, Alexander fought alongside his Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in ancient Greece? [1] According to modern scholars, however, the name is derived from either the Greek verb medesthai, meaning to think on, plan, or the Greek noun menos, meaning strength, might.[2]. In the end, the Greeks did heal Telephus (using shavings from Achilles spearthe wounder described by the oracle). Homer, Iliad 11.1744, trans. Agamemnon and Menelaus consider leaving Ajax's body to rot, denying him a proper burial, but are convinced otherwise by Odysseus and Ajax's half-brother Teucer. The ancient civilization of Greece is a historical period that has long been a subject of fascination and intrigue. After Hector's death, Agamemnon assists Achilles in performing Patroclus' funeral in Book Twenty-three. There was also a dark side to Agamemnons power and wealth. In this he was helped especially by his sister Electra. E.g., Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians 1; Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Greeks 2.38.2. But after a series of misfortunes and delays (including an accidental attack on Troys neighbor Mysia and stormy weather), the Greek fleet was scattered and forced to return home. The stage is now . She is currently getting her M.St. At the same time, various theories get put forward by different characters (especially the Chorus) about how a curse on Agamemnon's family was . Agamemnon and His Family: The Blood Cycle - movingworl.com He was eloquent, wise, and noble, a man richly endowed. The Family of Agamemnon - Odysseus: The Story Before the Journey In Greek mythology, Atreus ( / etris / AY-tri-s, / etrus / AY-trooss; [1] from -, "no" and , "tremble", "fearless", Greek: pronounced [atrus]) was a king of Mycenae in the Peloponnese, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. By forging a letter from Priam, king of the Trojans, and caching some gold in Palamedes tent, Odysseus has Palamedes accused of treason and Agamemnon orders him to be stoned to death.[15]. But the arrogant Agamemnon refused and rudely threw Chryses out of the Greek camp. Prompted four visits to Greece and more productions. In Book Nine, Agamemnon, having realized Achilles's importance in winning the war, sends ambassadors begging for Achilles to return, offering him riches and the hand of his daughter in marriage. In Book One, following one of the Achaean Army's raids, Chryseis, daughter of Chryses, one of Apollo's priests, is taken as a war prize by Agamemnon. Experts believe the citadel, not necessarily the oldest feature of the site, was built between the 17th and 16th century BC. Chryses then prays to Apollo for the safe return of his daughter. Smith, William. The House of Atreus: Breaking Free of Family Curse and - WebWinds He is an important character in novels such as Barry Unsworths The Songs of the Kings (2002), David Gemmells Troy trilogy (20052007), and Margaret Millers The Song of Achilles (2011); in plays such as Eugene ONeills Mourning Becomes Electra (1931); in poems such as Denton Jacques Sniders Agamemnons Daughter: An Epopee (1885); and in graphic novels such as Eric Shanowers Age of Bronze series (1998). Most modern adaptations of Agamemnon represent the character unfavorably. Regular readers will be well-aware of the bad blood flowing through, and often out of, the members of this unfortunate dynasty. The royal progenitor of this family, Tantalus, committed such an atrocity against the gods that his descendants were cursed forever. Tantalus punishment gave us the English word tantalizing., Tantalus banquet for the gods. This curseusually known as the Curse of Atreushaunted Agamemnon throughout his life; according to many traditions, it led him to sacrifice his daughter and ultimately die at the hands of his wife and her lover. Even though Greeks were embracing logic, the belief persisted that the guilt of a family member could be inherited by his descendants. Thus, he sent three of Achilles friendsOdysseus, Ajax the Greater, and Phoenixto apologize to Achilles on his behalf. "Spooked sources suggest the recent OceanGate . Whats your favorite ancient site or museum virtual tour? Agamemnon and His Family: The Cycle of Blood - TheCollector His childhood was defined by the feuding between Atreus and Atreus brother Thyestes. Ancient Origins 2013 - 2023Disclaimer- Terms of Publication - Privacy Policy & Cookies - Advertising Policy -Submissions - Contact us. In the earliest attested version, Agamemnon was ambushed by Aegisthus at a feast given in his honor and killed, along with many of his men and Cassandra. At the time of Atreus' death, he had two surviving sons: Agamemnon and Menelaus. Thyestes, on the advice of an oracle, then has a son with his own daughter Pelopia. Atreus | Greek mythology | Britannica In ancient art, Agamemnon was usually represented with the typical attributes of royalty: a diadem or his famous scepter. After flying into a rage and nearly killing Agamemnon, Achilles agreed to let him have his slave girlbut he refused to fight for him anymore.[40]. But Patroclus pressed his luck too far and was ultimately killed by Hector. He fought and killed Hector in single combat, depriving Troy of its best fighter and giving the Greeks the upper hand. [1] Legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area. Seneca: Agamemnon appears as a character in the tragedy Agamemnon as well as the Trojan Women (first century BCE or first century CE). Order Essay by Aeschylus The House of Atreus is one of the finest examples of uncontrollable fate in all of ancient literature. Thyestes thus became king of Mycenae, while Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus fled into exile. Each of the three great Greek dramatists, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, wrote a version of this story. Rose, H. J., and Jenny March. Note that Lucretius calls Agamemnons daughter Iphianassa, not Iphigenia. The House of Atreus family tree. Gantz, Timothy. His chief fault was his overwhelming haughtiness; an over-exalted opinion of his position that led him to insult Chryses and Achilles, thereby bringing great disaster upon the Greeks.[10]. Homer, Odyssey 1.29ff, 1.298ff, 3.306ff; Nostoi Argument; Pindar, Pythian Ode 11.36ff; Aeschylus, Libation Bearers, Eumenides; Sophocles, Electra; Euripides, Electra, Orestes; Apollodorus, Epitome 6.25; Hyginus, Fabulae 119; etc. [24], Athenaeus tells a tale of how Agamemnon mourns the loss of his friend or lover Argynnus, when he drowns in the Cephisus river. [5] He was also the commander-in-chief of the entire expedition. [62] There was also an important statue of Agamemnon at Olympia, the site of the Olympic Games. Clytemnestra | Greek mythology | Britannica The Chorus Character Analysis in Agamemnon | LitCharts Among the Greek myths that take place in the Heroic Age is the story of the House of Atreus. This cycle of never-ending, bloody retribution ultimately ended only with Orestes, who accepted the guilt of killing his mother and sought to . London: Spottiswoode and Company, 1873. On his arrival home, Agamemnon greeted his wife, Helens twin sister, Clytemnestra, while Cassandra stood nearby and predicted his imminent death. [19], In Homer's version of the story in the Odyssey, Aegisthus ambushes and kills Agamemnon in a feasting hall under the pretense of holding a feast in honor of Agamemnon's return home from Troy. This modpack uses OneBlock Reborn by Gamerz_Riot. [6] According to the common story (as told in the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer), Agamemnon and his younger brother Menelaus were the sons of Atreus, king of Mycenae, and Aerope, daughter of the Cretan king Catreus. ",[22] thus explaining Aegisthus' action as justified by his father's curse). The resurrected son of Tantalus, Pelops, went on to be worshipped in the region of lower Greece, which is named the Peloponnese after him. Throughout history, assassination has been a brutal and effective tool of power, used to eliminate rivals and shape the course of nations. Ancient Greece was in many ways a brutal society. But Atreus had a whole. Regardless, the family of Pelops would endure terrible tragedy. Their descendants were cursed to continually murder through accidents and revenge members of their own family tree. In the end, Orestes was acquitted and the family curse finally died. Aeschylus' Agamemnon offers further relevant cultural information in Clytemnestra's response to Agamemnon. Were building the worlds most authoritative, online mythology resource, with engaging, accessible content that is both educational and compelling to read. Kapach, A. Cypria Argument; Sophocles, Assembly of the Greeks (fragments); Euripides, Telephus (fragments); Propertius, Elegies 2.1.63ff; Ovid, Ex Ponto 2.2.6; Apollodorus, Epitome 3.20; Hyginus, Fabulae 101; Dictys of Crete, Journal of the Trojan War 2.10; scholia on Homers Iliad 1.59; scholia on Aristophanes Clouds 919. A. T. Murray. I am sure you are familiar with his legend which states that he was born in a manger surrounded by shepherds. . Their ethnic identity has been greatly contested, but they were a very powerful tribal confederation that Excavations in 1998 and 2019 unearthed hoards of ancient stone armor in and around the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (/mmnn/; Greek: Agammnn) was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. Ancestral sin Tools Ancestral sin, generational sin, or ancestral fault ( Koin Greek: ; ; ), is the doctrine that individuals inherit the judgement for the sin of their ancestors. This. Chryseis father, Chryses, an important priest of Apollo, offered Agamemnon a large ransom for his daughter. Fair and balanced reporting, as always. The Ancient Greeks often spoke of the Heroic Age, when nymphs and satyrs cultivated the mountains and gods played with mortals. The grandfather of Atreus was Tantalus, a son of Zeus who had the good fortune to banquet with the gods, dining on nectar and ambrosia. The army gathered with their fleet at the harbor town of Aulis, in east central Greece, opposite the large island of Euboea. But there are several reasons why Arkaim stands apart from other Bronze Age settlements in the area, leading to the idea it was built by a separate group. I first encountered this story in seriousness in George Shipway's novel "Warrior in Bronze". After all, mythology is storytelling at its finest. Cypria Argument; Hesiod, Catalogue of Women frag. 194, 195 M-W; Apollodorus, Library 3.2.2; Dictys of Crete, Journal of the Trojan War 1.1; John Tzetzes on Homers Iliad 1.122; scholia on Homers Iliad 2.249; scholia on Euripides Orestes 5. [20] Both Agamemnon and Menelaus are cursed by Ajax for not granting him Achilles's armor as he commits suicide. Other authors used Mycenae and Argos interchangeably: see Euripides, Iphigenia among the Taurians 508ff, Orestes 98, 101, 1246. Pelops banishes Atreus and Thyestes to Mycanae, where Atreus becomes king. Sophocles' Electra. 1, 25677. Then, two things happened: either Chaos or Gaia created the universe as we know it, or Ouranos and Tethys gave birth to the first beings. [41], Eventually, Agamemnon realized that the Greeks would continue to be pushed back by the Trojans (led by the brave prince Hector) as long as Achilles refused to fight. She asks him why he torments her and to what city he has brought her. Unfortunately, Apollo and Artemis heard Niobes boast, and they didnt appreciate her insulting their mother. Homer, Odyssey 11.421ff; Aeschylus, Agamemnon 950ff, 1035ff; Euripides, Trojan Women 42ff; Apollodorus, Epitome 5.23; etc. The Enigma of Cleopatra's Death: Was it Suicide or Murder? A. T. Murray. Pelopia tries to expose the infant Aegisthus, but he is found by a shepherd and raised in the house of Atreus. King Tantalus was beloved by the gods, who came to dine with him at his home on earth. [49] In Homers Odyssey, when Agamemnon meets Odysseus in the Underworld, he recalls that he was butchered even as one slays an ox at the stall.[50], In other versions, it was Clytemnestra (either alone or with Aegisthus help) who did the killing after trapping Agamemnon in a net or a robe while he was in his bath. Finally, with the help of Athena and Apollo he is absolved of his crimes, dispersing the miasma, and the curse on house Atreus comes to an end. Cf. The pair treacherously carried out the murders of Agamemnon, his comrades, and Cassandra. The rich historical tapestry of Greece has been dramatically expanded with the recent discovery of hunting tools dating back an astonishing 700,000 years. Apollo promptly responded by unleashing a terrible plague on the Greeks. Butler, Harold Edgeworth & Barber, Eric Arthur, eds. 531556. Thus misfortune hounded successive generations of the House of Atreus, until atoned by Orestes in a court of justice held jointly by humans and gods. Accidental Find of Impeccably Preserved Ming Dynasty Taizhou Mummy, Ambushes and Betrayals: 7 Assassinations that Shook the Ancient World, Stealing History: 10 of the Most Tragic Artifact Thefts in History, Empire Builders: Ancient Leaders Who Shaped History (Video), Dies Sanguinis: Rome's Day of Blood, Sacrifice & Military Might, Tall el-Hammam: Is This Ancient City the Real Sodom? Dares of Phrygia: Agamemnon appears in the History of the Fall of Troy (sixth century CE), which claims to be a firsthand account of the fall of Troy, originally composed by a Trojan priest. [16] In the Iliad itself, he is shown to slaughter hundreds more in Book Eleven during his aristea, loosely translated to "day of glory", which is the most similar to Achilles' aristea in Book Twenty-one. The curse begins with Agamemnon's great-grandfather Tantalus, who is in Zeus's favor until he tries to feed his son Pelops to the gods in order to test their omniscience, as well as stealing some ambrosia and nectar. Homer, Odyssey 4.271ff, 8.492ff, 11.523ff; Little Iliad (fragments); Sack of Troy (fragments); Virgil, Aeneid 2.13ff; Apollodorus, Epitome 5.14; Hyginus, Fabulae 108; Quintus of Smyrna, Posthomerica 12, 13; Tryphiodorus, Fall of Troy 57ff; Dictys of Crete, Journal of the Trojan War 5.9, 11ff; etc. Miriam Kamil graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Classical Languages and Literature and highest honors. One of my many productions of Greek drama at the University of Akron was the three-act HOUSE OF ATREUS. It included greaves fitted with silver ankle-pieces; a breastplate with bands of dark blue, gold, and tin; a sword whereon gleamed studs of gold, while the scabbard about it was of silver, fitted with golden chains; a powerful shield with circles of bronze, tin, gleaming white, and dark blue, decorated with a grim, glaring Gorgon; a helmet with two horns and with bosses four, with horsehair crest; and, finally, two mighty spears, tipped with bronze.[6], Agamemnon was also said to be in possession of a magnificent scepter fashioned by Hephaestus, the god of the forge.[7]. Like many of the other heroes of the Trojan War, Agamemnon had a brilliant suit of armor, described in detail in the Iliad. [10], In Sparta Agamemnon and Menelaus respectively married Tyndareus' daughters Clytemnestra and Helen. Homer, Iliad 9.142, 9.284; Apollodorus, Epitome 2.16; etc. He also tended to have a large beard; as a result, Agamemnon, lord of men, looked similar to Zeus, lord of the gods. Agamemnon was the commander-in-chief of the Greeks during the Trojan War. 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