Agamemnon by Aeschylus (458)
Aeschylus's *Agamemnon* opens at night before the royal palace at Argos, where a Watchman on the roof, weary from a year-long vigil, awaits a beacon-fire signalling Troy's fall. The flame appears, and he raises the alarm; Clytemnestra, the Queen, kneels at the altar in prayer as the news spreads. A Chorus of Argive Elders assembles and recalls how Menelaus and Agamemnon, the two sons of Atreus, sailed against Troy ten years before to avenge the wrong done by Paris in taking Helen. They recount an omen seen at the army's outset — two eagles devouring a pregnant hare — which the seer Calchas read as foretelling Troy's capture, but also warning of Artemis's wrath. That wrath halted the fleet at Aulis with contrary winds, and Calchas declared that Agamemnon must sacrifice his own daughter, Iphigenia, to appease the goddess. The Chorus recalls the King's anguished choice and the girl's helpless death at the altar, and reflects that suffering teaches wisdom under Zeus's law. Clytemnestra confirms to the Elders that Troy has indeed fallen, describing the chain of beacon-fires that carried the news from Mount Ida to Argos. The Chorus sings of Troy's destruction as divine justice on Paris's sin, then of Helen as a bringer of ruin, and warns that ill-gotten glory breeds retribution. A Herald arrives, exhausted from the war, confirming victory and Agamemnon's imminent return, though he reveals that Menelaus's ship was separated in a storm and his fate is unknown. Clytemnestra sends word welcoming her husband home and proclaiming her constant fidelity during his absence. Agamemnon then enters in a chariot, accompanied by the captive prophetess Cassandra, daughter of Priam, taken as his war-prize. The Elders greet him with guarded praise, admitting they once doubted the war's cause. Agamemnon credits the gods for Troy's fall and speaks cautiously of loyalty and envy. Clytemnestra welcomes him extravagantly, ordering crimson tapestries spread for him to walk on; Agamemnon resists such honour as fit only for gods, but she persuades him to yield, and he enters the palace treading the fabric, after commending Cassandra to her care. Left outside, Cassandra falls into prophetic anguish, invoking Apollo and foreseeing bloodshed within the house — envisioning past horrors of the family (children slaughtered and served as a feast) and foretelling Agamemnon's imminent murder and her own death. The Elders cannot fully grasp her warnings. Cassandra predicts that an avenger will come after her death to punish the killers, then goes inside to meet her fate, accepting it with grim resolve. Cries are heard from within: Agamemnon has been struck down. The Elders debate helplessly what action to take, then the palace doors open to reveal Clytemnestra standing over the bodies of Agamemnon and Cassandra, wrapped in a robe, an axe in hand. She proclaims she planned and executed the killing herself, ensnaring Agamemnon in a robe and striking him three times, calling it just vengeance for Iphigenia's sacrifice. The Elders condemn her, but she defends the act as retribution and invokes the spirit of vengeance (the Daemon) haunting the house of Atreus, tied to ancestral crimes. She also reveals contempt for Agamemnon's treatment of Chryseis and Cassandra. The Chorus laments the King's death and debates whether Clytemnestra is truly free of guilt or merely an instrument of an older curse upon the house. Mourners grieve within, while Clytemnestra insists Agamemnon's death was just payment, and speaks of her own child's memory. Amid the lament, Aigisthos enters triumphantly, revealing himself as the surviving son of Thyestes, who was fed his own children by Agamemnon's father Atreus in a horrific feast of vengeance. Aigisthos claims credit for orchestrating Agamemnon's death as retribution and now asserts his intent to rule. The Elders confront Aigisthos, accusing him of cowardice for having Clytemnestra commit the murder rather than acting himself, and threaten that Orestes, Agamemnon's son, will one day return to avenge his father. Aigisthos summons armed guards, and the Elders draw their swords in defiance; violence nearly erupts. Clytemnestra intervenes, urging peace and declaring that enough blood has been spilled. The Elders reluctantly withdraw, still invoking hope for Orestes's return, while Aigisthos and Clytemnestra remain together, asserting their new joint rule over the house, as the play ends with the Spearmen in control of the palace.
By Aeschylus · First published 458 · Genre: Tragedy, Drama, Classical Literature · 25,410 words
First lines
The Scene represents a space in front of the Palace of Agamemnon in Argos, with an Altar of Zeus in the centre and many other altars at the sides. On a high terrace of the roof stands a Watchman. It is night.
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Agamemnon is listed on Textopian as a play by Aeschylus, dated 458 CE.
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- Work type: Play
- Author: Aeschylus
- Date: 458 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Tragedy, Drama, Classical Literature, Poetry, Historical Fiction
- Length: 25,410 words
- Structure: 1 section, 511 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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Similar titles
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- A Fragment From The Agamemnon Of Aeschylos by Oscar Wilde
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- Hecuba by Euripides
- Orestes by Euripides
- Iphigenia At Aulis by Euripides
Genres
- Tragedy — The work embodies the characteristics of Greek tragedy, focusing on themes of fate, justice, and the consequences of human actions.
- Drama — It is a dramatic narrative that explores intense emotional conflicts and moral dilemmas among its characters.
- Classical Literature — It is a significant work within the canon of classical literature, reflecting the cultural and philosophical ideas of ancient Greece.
- Poetry — The text employs poetic language and structure, utilizing meter and imagery characteristic of poetic forms.
Tags
Tragedy · Greek Drama · Ancient Greek Literature · Mythology · War Story · Heroic Epic · Cyclical Structure · Chorus · Verse · Iambic Pentameter · Ancient Greek Theatre · Drama of Fate