Agamemnon Essay examples - 713 Words

Agamemnon Agamemnon is the first book in the Orestiean Trilogy written by the famous Greek tragedy writer, Aeschylus. Agamemnon is a story of justice and revenge. The story takes place in a city called Argos. It starts with Agamemnon, the king of Argos, away at the Trojan War. The city is eagerly awaiting the news of their king’s welfare and the outcome of the war. Watchmen are posted in the city, watching for the beacon that would report the capture of Troy and Agamemnon’s return. Beacons are set up from Troy to Argos; when one beacon is lit, the next one will be lit, until the last. The play starts when a palace watchman discovers the beacon and tells Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, the good news. The chorus enters relating the story†¦show more content†¦Clytemnestra goes into the palace threatening Cassandra and leaves her alone with the chorus. Alone with the chorus, Cassandra starts going into trances. She seems to break down, asking why Apollo has brought her to Argos just to destroy her again. She then talks about a woman entrapping a man. She says, â€Å"The treacherous water’s poured, the lustral bath is full; she holds him in a trap made like a gown- she strikes! He crashes down! Listen! It is treachery, treachery, I say!† Cassandra walks fearfully into the palace, then the chorus hears Agamemnon’s cry for help. After some deliberation of what to do, they go into the palace only to see Clytemnestra over the dead bodies of Agamemnon and Cassandra. Clytemnestra tells that the reason for this seemingly wrong act was to do justice for Agamemnon sacrificing their daughter. Clytemnestra’s lover and partner in crime, Aegisthus, enters the palace with an armed bodyguard and justifies his part in the crime. He tells of Atreus’, Agamemnon’s father, sinful act against Thyestes, Aegisthus’ father. The chorus finds Aegisthus guilty of the treasonous act of killing the king and just hopes for Agamemnon’s son, Orestes to return and end this injustice. Agamemnon has a good story line; it is a story about the meaning of justice and the carrying out of revenge. However, the way the story was written, with many long discourses byShow MoreRelatedEssay on Agamemnon959 Words   |  4 PagesAgamemnon 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)Read MoreAgamemnon-Christian Perspective1307 Words   |  6 PagesAgamemnon Justice And Vengeance. Justice delivers the just recompense or payment for wrongdoing or transgression of a law. Justice evokes the feeling of equality and fairness. Wrongs done – wrongs rewarded. In so doing we live life as law abiders and not law breakers and have a reasonable expectation of abiding in civility, and not rebellious mayhem. Vengeance, on the other hand, is the emotional response to a perceived wrong without regard for how it stands up against the rule of law. ItRead MoreMedea And Agamemnon1445 Words   |  6 PagesAncient expectations for women include always putting the responsibilities of being a mother above all else, as shown in Euripides’ Medea and Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, as well as Euripides’ Iphigenia at Aulis. Both Clytemnestra and Medea exhibit motherly love and tend to those responsibilities, but commit atrocious, unladylike acts, which jeopardize the sympathy felt for them by an audience. 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A watchman watching for a flare in the distance spots a light in the distance, signaling that the end of the war has finally come after many years. After the King comes home, the â€Å"chorus† (high authorities I think?) talks about the war and about the fact that it was fought over a woman. Around this time, the chorus isRead MoreThe Story Of Odysseus And Agamemnon1191 Words   |  5 Pagesother until they meet. The story of Odysseus and Agamemnon has striking similarities, not meeting until one point, where the stories barely brush up against each other. But that small window of meeting shows an entire other story which has already been told, with a different set of names, places and problems. Homer created these character parallels as a way to explain things, to say things twice, to really help us understand. Odysseus and Agamemnon posses a great deal of qualities that seem almostRead MoreAgamemnon And Achilles Essay1279 Words   |  6 Pagesthe battle logs during the time of conflict between Agamemnon and Achilles, the text’s tragic protagonist. The heroic outlook on life, in Iliadic terms, is exemplified through the construction of one’s honor through hard work. Being an aspect of the heroic outlook of life, this value is demonstrated through his contribution and dedication to the Trojan War, his experience with neglect from the deities, Achilles’ overall disdain towards Agamemnon, and, lastly, his longingness towards Briseis, his dearRead MoreAgamemnon Essay examples600 Words   |  3 PagesAgamemnon Agamemnon is the first play of Aeschylus’ trilogy, the Oresteia. Aeschylus was the first of Athens’ three great tragedians; the others: Sophocles; Euripides. The Oresteia was also the first Greek tragedy trilogy written. As Greeks of this epoch focused on humanist ideas, so did Aeschylus. He devoted his genius to serious contemplations of humanistic questions, such as the nature of justice. Other humanistic values are honor, truth, compassion, loyalty, devotion to family andRead MoreThe Tragedy Of Agamemnon By Sophocles Essay1800 Words   |  8 Pagesdiscussing Greek tragedies, there is a theme of anger and revenge that is somewhat underling in many texts of this tragic nature. In Agamemnon by Aeschylus the main character Agamemnon faces these constructs head on mostly as a direct result of his decision to sacrifice his daughter. However, this is not the only case where anger and revenge is exhibited in the tragedy of Agamemnon as in truth it runs rampant througho ut the text. Another tragedy that exhibits these traits is that of Medea written by EuripidesRead MoreEssay about Agamemnon742 Words   |  3 Pages In Aeschylus’ Agamemnon there are many different opinions about what kind of king and commander Agamemnon was. Some argued that he was good, while others dispute that his motives were wrong. Clytemnestra, Agamemnon’s wife, gained a strong hatred for him, after he sacrificed his own daughter so he could go to war. Many believe that this was not necessary and could have been overcome. The chorus seems to agree with this to an extent, and feels that Agamemnon could have prayed and requested that he