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Essay on Agamemnon

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Agamemnon was the son of Atreus, the brother of Menelaus and the brother-in-law of Helen; he was told to sacrifice his daughte

Agamemnon was the son of Atreus, the brother of Menelaus and the brother-in-law of Helen; he was told to sacrifice his daughter
Iphigenia to atone for the killing of a deer sacred to Artemis so that the Greek fleet could have wind to sail to Troy. However, Artemis snatched Iphigenia away at the last second and transported her to
Tauris (now known as the Crimea) to serve as her priestess. In his absence, his wife, Klytemnestra, openly took a lover, Aegisthus, and plotted Agamemnon's murder in revenge for his "murder" of Iphigenia.
After the defeat of Troy, Agamemnon received the Trojan princess …show more content…

But Greek society did value success in war and the increase of honor.
Hence when Ag returns home, even though the chorus has been cursing him earlier, all is forgiven because he returns victorious. (See the
Chorus' speech at 351-474)

On the other hand, society puts a check on outrageous excess with the concept of divine punishment for being too hubristic. This leads to a somewhat schizophrenic mentality. The imperative is to achieve, but not too much. Difficult line to walk.

2. Agamemnon's Return and Walking on the Carpet:

Clytemnestra invites Ag to step on the carpets she strews in his path.
At first he outright refuses. He says all the right things, but he does give in. Why?

Clyt. tempts his pride and he can't resist. By mentioning Priam she is in effect saying "you are the conqueror, so don't you have the right to this?" And her answer to his fear of being envied is "He who goes unenvied is not admired." (See lines 905-949 for the whole scene.)

Ag's walking on the carpet is a symbol of his sacrilege. Ag has trampled on the carpets as he has trampled on his daughter. (See ll.
369-372)

The Threat of Clever Women

The problem of relations between men and women, and more specifically the problem of Greek society with strong women, is brought up by the character of Clytemnestra.

Clytemnestra is characterized as a masculine woman. She is shown to govern the household (l. 10: "a lady's male

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