Turns out, Agamemnon's brother's wife got snatched by some Trojan whippersnapper, and he's got to hop across the pond and get her back. Along with like, ten thousand ships. However, he's got to sacrifice his beloved daughter, Iphigenia, in order to set sail.
Surely, no father would jump into the task of slaughtering his own child without hesitating at first. Things are dire for King A, but his political obligations eventually outweigh his paternal affection. No one exactly teaches Agamemnon how to kill Iphigenia, but you don't have to go far back in his family tree to find a lot of child-killing. His great-grandfather, Tantalus, tried to kill Pelops, Agamemnon's grandfather, by cutting him up and serving him to the gods.
Similar atrocities were enacted upon kids. So perhaps Agamemnon's thinking back to his forefathers as he puts his daughter under the knife. He goes through with terrible deed, and there's no turning back. Now the Greeks are free to set sail for the most famous war in human history. While Agamemnon encounters his fair share of tests, allies and enemies while he's abroad cutting the heads off Trojans, it's when he returns home that he must face his wife Clytemnestra, who's still fuming over the fact that he killed their kid.
Can't this lady get over it already? Agamemnon enters his palace at Mycenae, having not set foot there for many years. Little does the poor idiot know, he's walking into a trap. The tragic irony is revved up by the face that he walks on a purple robe to his chambers, as if his royalty were being trampled with each step. Clytemnestra snares Agamemnon with a net in the bathtub before giving her hubby the coup de grace with a wallop from an ax.
We don't care who you are, that's a pretty crummy way to go, especially if you're a victorious general and the head honcho of the Greek world. She follows Agamemnon inside, expressing her joy at having him home again Outside the palace, the Chorus senses a sudden foreboding, despite Agamemnon's homecoming and the apparent restoration of order to Argos.
Clytemnestra re-emerges and orders Cassandra to participate in the sacrifices of thanksgiving, telling her that she should not be too unhappy with her fate since she will have kind masters.
Cassandra offers no reply, and the Chorus echoes the Queen's orders. When the Trojan princess remains silent, the Chorus suggests that perhaps she does not speak the language, but Clytemnestra declares that she is merely lost in "the passion of her own wild thoughts," and adds that she will waste no more time with the girl She retires within, leaving Cassandra alone with the Chorus. They express pity for the girl, and tell her gently to leave the chariot to "take up the yoke that shall be yours" Agamemnon has enough good sense to refuse to walk the carpet of purple robes, but his weakness of character is revealed in Clytemnestra's ability to degrade his resolve, to goad him into an act of ultimate hubris simply by saying "If Priam had won as you have, what would he have done?
Meanwhile, Agamemnon's request for kind treatment of Cassandra contrasts sharply with his cold behavior toward his own wife. It was customary in ancient Greece for a conquering king to take captives as his concubines, but the audience cannot help feeling that Cassandra's presence is extremely disrespectful to Clytemnestra, especially since during his absence she declared: "with no man else have I known delight" Clytemnestra's claim is false, of course; the Queen does have a lover of her own, so any sympathy she earns is baseless.
Clytemnestra's dream shows his plan will succeed. Orestes, claiming to be a messenger, says he is dead. Clytemnestra and her clan have fallen for Orestes' plan.
As soon as he moves off-stage, Orestes and Pylades kill him. Meanwhile, Orestes kills Clytemnestra off-stage. The Eumenides agree they would free Orestes if he were proven innocent.
Athena decides to gather a jury of Athenian citizens. The Eumenides begin their "cross-examination" of Orestes. She also sets up Athens as the world's center of justice. Timeline of Relevant Events. Aeschylus Help Page : Outline of Oresteia.
Outline of Aeschylus' Oresteia. Watchman sees Agamemnon's fleet approaching. Clytemnestra explains to the Chorus that the Greeks have sacked Troy. A herald proclaims Agamemnon's victory over Troy. Clytemnestra discusses plans for Agamemnon's glorious return. The herald and the Chorus talk about a storm that sank many Greek ships. Long choral monologue on Helen and the downfall of Troy. Agamemnon enters.
Clytemnestra explains that Orestes is elsewhere. Agamemnon debates whether he should walk on the carpet.
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