Does Aeschylus' Agamemnon deserve to die?
The Agamemnon, by Aeschylus, forms the opening third of the lone Greek trilogy to survive till this day; the Oresteia. The play explores the reasons for the death of Agamemnon, a Trojan general who despite returning victorious from Troy finds himself surrounded with animosity on his homecoming. However, Aeschylus maneuvers the original legend in order to stress the hazards associated with power. Unlike the Homeric myths, however, Aeschylus does not outwardly suggest that Agamemnon's death was as a result of Clytemnestra's seemingly endless desire for power, but in fact there were a range of underlying reasons for Agamemnon's murder.
The first reason, and probably the most significant reason offered for the death of Agamemnon was the sacrifice of Iphigenia. The Achaean forces were unable to sail due to the winds which had been stopped by the will of Artemis. The seer Calchas found the apparent solution when he recommended Agamemnon sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. By doing so, not only would they sail to Troy, but they would sack the city. If they did not, they would not be able to sail. It is one of the major reasons Clytemnestra puts forward for her murder of her husband. She immediately challenges the chorus, who never openly condemned the murder of Iphegina, yet condemn Clytemnestra for her actions.
The household itself is generally associated with ill feeling and treachery. As the watchman notes at the start, there is something wrong with the home. Although for generations the house has been the scene of evil deeds, the deeds of Agamemnon's and Menelaus father, Atreus are the actions that will dominate the background of the play. After learning of Thyestes adultery with his wife Aerope, Atreus killed Thyestes sons, save their hands and feet, and served them to Thyestes. Thereafter Thyestes consulted an oracle, who advised him that if he had a son by his daughter, he would ...
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The household itself is generally associated with ill feeling and treachery. As the watchman notes at the start, there is something wrong with the home. Although for generations the house has been the scene of evil deeds, the deeds of Agamemnon's and Menelaus father, Atreus are the actions that will dominate the background of the play. After learning of Thyestes adultery with his wife Aerope, Atreus killed Thyestes sons, save their hands and feet, and served them to Thyestes. Thereafter Thyestes consulted an oracle, who advised him that if he had a son by his daughter, he would slay Atreus.
The child was Aigisthus, who was abandoned by his ashamed mother and was given to Atreus by a shepherd. As he entered adolescence, Thyestes revealed the truth of his origin to him, and he killed Atreus, although not before Atreus had fathered two children, Menelaus and Agamemnon. Therein lies Aigisthus' reason for the murder of Agamemnon - to wipe the away the seed of the evil Atreus who wronged his father and siblings.
However, Aigisthus is given a very effeminate role in proceedings. He is seen in the background, and does not murder Agamemnon himself. Rather, he relies on Clytemnestra to take centre stage. This is in stark contrast to the Homeric myth, where Clytemnestra is presented as little more than a woman who gives into her weaknesses and Aigisthus is presented as the evil usurper who grabs his opportunity to take over the city of Argos and plans the downfall of Agamemnon. He is often at odds with the Chorus who are not very fond of him and by the end of the play he is little more than a puppet in the sinister hands of Clytemnestra.
Another reason offered by Clytemnestra for the murder of Agamemnon is his captive mistress, Cassandra. She was formerly Apollo's lover, who bestowed upon her the talent of prophecy. However, their relationship soon came under strain and Apollo punished her making all those around her ignore her predictions. She predicts her death, as well as Agamemnon's, and the actions of Orestes. Cassandra is a representation of Agamemnon's lust and her presence only aggravates Clytemnestra further, making her desire vengeance all the more.
The actions of Agamemnon when he first arrives also lead to a reason for his death. He is eventually persuaded to walk to his doom on a purple cloth. Agamemnon is initially hesitant to do so, since such actions are associated with those of an Asiatic despot. Furthermore, Agamemnon also mentions the fact that he does not wish to resemble the actions of the gods by not having to walk on the ground, especially so soon after such a costly incident involving the Olympians.
Agamemnon's death leads to a series of speeches from Clytemnestra. The Chorus are forced into recognizing what has happened and they should speak out, after all they are the educated, well respected elders of the city. For the first time here, they speak out against Clytemnestra; their responses are dominated by emotion, since the murder of the king must be wrong.
Rather than taking up the challenge offered by the Chorus, Aigisthus and Clytemnestra retire to their quarters, and thus avert a potential civil war. Despite their enmity for each other, the pair possesses a series of similarities. Their objectives are to satisfy their immediate desires and passions. The faults of the city take second precedence in both their minds. Their powerful egos are emphasized by the range of personal pronouns apparent in their speech; 'I', 'me' and 'mine'.
Agamemnon himself has committed a range of war atrocities whilst away at Troy. The capture of Cassandra is his not only war crime, without doubt many Trojan soldiers would have fallen below his blade. During the sack of Troy, not only was Agamemnon responsible for the death of many soldiers, but also for innocent women and children, who were abused physically and treated with little to no respect. Therefore it could be argued that Agamemnon had this coming after all.
As one can see, there are a range of reasons as to why Agamemnon deserved to die. Aeschylus' primary objective whilst writing this play was probably to present all the causes to the audience who would in turn decide the most convincing cause for themselves, whilst simultaneously presenting tragic situations which need contemplative deliberation. A wily playwright in his time, he maneuvers the legend to match his didactic ideas, which include the hazards of allowing a woman to have serious power, highlighting the terrors of war and the outcomes of disobeying the gods.
To what extent do you feel that Agamemnon deserved to die? In your answer you should include discussion of the reasons given for his murder both by Clytemnestra and by others in Aeschylus' Agamemnon
