Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

The Tragedy of Agamemon

 

            In Aeschylus" tragedy Clytemnestra is portrayed as a strong willed woman, which was not very typical of her time. Early in the play Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter because the winds would not allow his ships to sail any further so by sacrificing Iphigenia the winds would blow in his favor. This action inevitably set the stage for Clytemnestra's lust for revenge since it was her daughter as well. Clytemnestra used her manly qualities to carefully and deceitfully plan the death of her husband; her lust for revenge was so immense that she wished for her husband to return so that she may kill him herself. Until their deaths in the play, both were convinced that the cycle of vengeance ended at Agamemnon's death because of the carefully thought out plans of Clytemnestra, but the cycle of vengeance is impossible to stop.
             When Agamemnon returns from his voyage and Clytemnestra first speaks to him, she explains why his son cannot be here to witness his arrival and be near his father. In those days there was a very close bond between father and son. "Because such tales broke out forever on my rest, many a time they cut me down and freed my throat from the noose overslung where I had caught it fast. And therefore is your son, in whom my love and yours are sealed and pledged, not her to stand with us today, Orestes. Strophius of Phocis, comrade in arms and faithful friend to you, is keeping him. He spoke of me of peril on two counts; of your danger under Illium, and here, of revolution and the clamorous people who might cast down the council - since it lies in men's nature to trample on the fighter already down. (874-885) Clytemnestra is telling her husband that she has sent their son away because she is worried that something might happen to him if he were to remain in Argos. The king had been away for 10 years and therefore the likelihood of the throne being taken or Agamemnon's son being killed was high.


Essays Related to The Tragedy of Agamemon