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Ignorance In Agamemnon

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Agamemnon: Inside and Out

In the three part drama , Oresteia , there are characters that come and go , However there is one man in particular that has sailed seas, conquered lands, and let his city of Argos to victory time and time again. Agamemnon, he is characterized throughout the three greek plays we see him. Whether it be the ill-hearted that we fill sympathy towards for having to make one of the hardest decisions in greek tragedy in Iphigenia in Aulis , or in The Iliad the story of the great warrior , Achilles , where we feel hatred towards him for being so ignorant and childish towards the god who strikes from afar Apollo. However, no act characterizes him more than Agamemnon in which the man-hearted woman Clytemnestra after many years …show more content…

This is one of the instances in which we can see Agamemnon's child-like ignorance. Although he is a king with many luxuries he complains to his servant about how hard his life is. This theme of ignorance in Agamemnon is not bonded in this part only and can be see in The Iliad as well. Later on in the play Agamemnon realizes that his dilemma on whether to be a father or King cannot be ran away from any longer and must be dealt with. His decision to be loyal to Argos later influences his daughter , Iphigenia , to make her decision to sacrifice herself in the name of Argos. Although, from the outside he seems like he is okay with his decision Agamemnon is still having an internal struggle with the idea of sacrificing his own flesh and blood as seen here when the messenger tells Clytemnestra “And the king, seeing his daughter coming for her death, Groaned bitterly and turned his head away Holding his cloak to hide the falling tears” [168-171] . This part of the story shows the Argonian king’s inability to make decisions in hard situations. Overall, in Iphigenia in Aulis Agamemnon is characterized as a child, showing ignorance and lack of conviction in the phase of hard

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