{{Otheruses1|a character in Greek mythology}}

[[Image:MaskeAgamemnon.JPG|thumb|250px|right|The so-called '[[Mask of Agamemnon]]'. Discovered by [[Heinrich Schliemann]] in [[1876]] at [[Mycenae]]. Whether it represents an individual, and who, remains unknown.]]

'''Agamemnon''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: '''{{polytonic|Ἀγαμέμνων}}''' "very resolute") is one of the most distinguished of the [[Greek mythology|Greek heroes]]. He is the son of King [[Atreus]] of [[Mycenae]] and Queen [[Aerope]], and brother of [[Menelaus]]. Because of the antiquity of the sources, it is not clear whether Agamemnon is a historical or mythical figure.

In alternative traditions Agamemnon is said to be the son of [[Pleisthenes]] (son of Atreus) and Aerope, or of [[Pleisthenes]] and Cleolla, daughter of [[Dias (mythology)| Dias]], making him the grandson, rather than the son, of Atreus. [http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Agamemnon.html]

==Early life==

Atreus was murdered by [[Aegisthus]] and his wife, who took possession of the throne of Mycenae and ruled jointly with his own father [[Thyestes]]. During this period Agamemnon and his brother, [[Menelaus]], took refuge with [[Tyndareus]], king of [[Sparta]]. There they respectively married Tyndareus's daughters [[Clytemnestra]] and [[Helen]]. Agamemnon and Clytemnestra had five children: four daughters, [[Iphigeneia]], [[Electra]], [[Chrysothemis]], and [[Iphianissa]] and one son, [[Orestes (mythology)|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.

Agamemnon's family history, dating back to legendary king [[Pelops]], had been marred by [[pederasty|pederastic]] [[rape]], [[murder]], [[incest]], and [[treachery]]. The Greeks believed this violent past brought misfortune upon the entire [[House of Atreus]].

''
'''The Trojan War'''''
[[Image:300px-Iphigenia.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The sacrifice of [[Iphigenia]].]]
{{main|Trojan War}}

Agamemnon gathered the reluctant Greek forces to sail for Troy. Preparing to depart from [[Aulis]], which was a port in [[Boeotia]], Agamemnon's army incurred the wrath of the goddess [[Artemis]]. There are several reasons throughout myth for such wrath: in [[Aeschylus]]' play [[Agamemnon (play)|Agamemnon]], Artemis is angry for the young men who will die at Troy, whereas in [[Sophocles]]' [[Electra (Sophocles)|Electra]], Agamemnon has slain an animal sacred to Artemis, and subsequently boasted that he was Artemis's equal in hunting. 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 Agamemnon's daughter [[Iphigeneia]]. Classical dramatizations differ on how willing either father or daughter were to this fate, some include such trickery as claiming she was to be married to [[Achilles]], but Agamemnon did eventually sacrifice Iphigeneia. 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 that Agamemnon was prepared to kill his daughter, but that Artemis accepted a deer in her place, and whisked her to Taurus in [[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 was a dignified representative of kingly authority. As commander-in-chief, he summoned the princes to the council and led the army in battle. He took the field himself, and performed many heroic deeds until he was wounded and forced to withdraw to his tent. His chief fault was his overwhelming haughtiness. An over-exalted opinion of his position led 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 Agamemnon's lot in the distribution of the prizes of war.

==Return to Greece==
[[Image:The Return Of Agamemnon - Project Gutenberg eText 14994.png|thumbnail|right|300px|The return of Agamemnon, from an [[1879]] illustration from ''Stories from the Greek Tragedians'' by [[Alfred Church]].]]
After a stormy voyage, Agamemnon and Cassandra landed in [[Argolis]] or were blown off course and landed in Aegisthus' country. [[Clytemnestra]], Agamemnon's wife, had taken a lover, [[Aegisthus]], and they invited Agamemnon 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, her jealousy of Cassandra, and the possibility of going to war for Helen's affection are said to have been the motives for her crime. Aegisthus and Clytemnestra then ruled Agamemnon's kingdom for a time, but the murder of Agamemnon was eventually avenged by his son [[Orestes (mythology)|Orestes]] with the help of his daughter [[Electra]].

==Other stories==
[[Athenaeus]] tells a story of [[Argynnus]], an [[eromenos]] of Agamemnon: "Agamemnon loved Argynnus, so the story goes, having seen him swimming in the [[Cephisus]] river; in which, in fact, he lost his life (for he constantly bathed in this river). Agamemnon was struck with great grief. He buried him, honored him with a tomb and a shrine, and founded there a temple of [[Aphrodite]] Argynnis." (The Deipnosophists of Athenaeus of Naucratis, Book XIII Concerning Women, p.3) This episode is also found in [[Clement of Alexandria]] (Protrepticus II.38.2), in [[Stephen of Byzantium]] ''(Kopai'' and ''Argunnos),'' and in [[Propertius]], III with minor variations.

The fortunes of Agamemnon have formed the subject of numerous [[tragedy|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]].

Another account makes him the son of [[Pleisthenes]] (the son or father of [[Atreus]]), who is said to have been Aerope's first husband.

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.

==Agamemnon in fiction==
Writers of time travel and historical novels often attempt to show the Trojan War "as it really happened", based on the archeological evidence of [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] civilization. Such authors frequently use Agamemnon as the archetypical Mycenaean king, bringing life to old artifacts by dressing a familiar face in them.

Of particular interest is [[S. M. Stirling]]'s time-travel trilogy ''[[Island in the Sea of Time]]'', ''[[Against the Tide of Years]]'' and ''[[On the Oceans of Eternity]]'', where the fate that befalls the House of Atreus is every bit as horrific as that traditionally portrayed. The horror is arranged by a time-travelling villain who is very well aware of traditional accounts.

The [[nobility|noble]] [[House Atreides|Atreides]] family of the [[science fiction]] series ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' by [[Frank Herbert]] trace their lineage back to Agamemnon (note that the surname, Atreides, is derived from Agamemnon's father's name, ''[[Atreus]]''). An important Atreides ancestor also adopts the name [[Titan (Dune)#Agamemnon|Agamemnon]] in the series' [[back-story]].

Agamemnon makes an appearance in the film ''[[Time Bandits]]'', played by [[Sean Connery]], although his depiction in the film seems more reminiscent of [[Odysseus]]. Masks very similar to the famous [[Mask of Agamemnon]] are also used in the film.

He also appeared in the 2004 film ''[[Troy (movie)|Troy]]'', played by [[Scotland|Scottish]] actor [[Brian Cox]]. ''Troy'' departs from the traditional accounts in numerous places; in the case of Agamemnon, he is portrayed as power-mad, and is killed for his rapaciousness during the fall of Troy.

Agamemnon also appears in the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearean]] play ''[[Troilus and Cressida]]''.

Agamemnon appears in Microsoft Game Studios' ''[[Age of Mythology]]''. His role in the game broadly reflects his role in the Trojan War.

Agamemnon appears as a character in the novels ''[[Ilium (novel)|Ilium]]'' and ''[[Olympos (novel)|Olympos]]'' by [[Dan Simmons]], in the future replaying of the Trojan War.

In his book ''[[Where Troy Once Stood]]'', [[Netherlands|Dutch]]-born writer Iman Wilkens links Argos and Agamemnon with the [[Bible|Biblical]] [[Gog and Magog]].

In [[Christine Brooke-Rose]]'s novel ''Amalgamemnon'', she uses the world of Greek mythology to demonstrate a character oppressed by a male dominated society. As she feels confinied by many male conventions, the term "amalga" is added to the name, in order to signify an amalgamation of oppression.

[[David Gemmell]] in his recent [[Troy]] trilogy (see [[Troy series: Characters]]) takes the legends and myths of Troy portraying them in a realistic manner, allowing for the reader to see a golden grain of truth within the legend. Agamemnon in which is a devious character, hell bent on creating an empire of his own in the face of the Hittite and Egypto power. Using any excuse he can he rallies the Greeks in order to win back the subsidory character of Helen due to her elopement with Paris and ignorance of his command. By sacking the city of Troy he also takes the glory of Priam, the king of the greatest 'Golden City' on The Green.

==See also ==
* [[National Archaeological Museum of Athens]]
* [[Mycenae]]
* [[Troy]]
* [[Homer]]
The title of Terence Rattigan's Play "The Browning Version" (1948) was a reference to Robert Browning's translation of the Greek tradgedy, Agamemnon. The Play was made into a Film for Television in 1951. It starred Michael Redgrave as the unhappy schoolmaster, Andrew Crocker-Harris. In his youth Crocker-Harris himself had started a rather free translation of the great work, in rhyming couplets. His accidental discovery of the unfinished text, at a difficult time in his life many years later, forms part of the plot for this most poignant of stories.

== References ==
===Primary sources===
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Agamemnon}}
* [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'';
* [[Euripides]], ''[[Electra]]'';
* [[Sophocles]], ''[[Electra]]'';
*[[Seneca the Elder|Seneca]], ''Agamemnon''
* [[Aeschylus]], ''[[The Libation Bearers]]'';
* [[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' I, 28-31; XI, 385-464;
* [[Aeschylus]], ''[[Agamemnon (play)]]'' [http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/aeschylus/aeschylus_agamemnon.htm online];
*[[Apollodorus]], ''[[Epitome]]'', II, 15-III, 22; VI, 23.

===Secondary sources===
{{1911}}

{{Characters in the Iliad}}

[[Category:People of the Trojan War]]
[[Category:Mythological kings]]
[[Category:Pederastic heroes and deities]]
[[Category:Characters in the Iliad]]
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