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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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Thersites criticism of Agamemnon does not compare to that of Achilles in part because Thersites is consider to be an outcast due to disfigurement, “ugliness and physically challenged”. (Lattimore 2011). Due to his appearance and his outwardly criticism of Achilles of being selfish he was rejected the Achians. This would command different outcomes Achilles, who was portrayed as a courageous man, and Thersites. Achilles would lead a life being idolized while Thersites would lead a life as being

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While one may initially believe that his wife, Clytemnestra, would be happy to see her husband return after a long and brutal time away, we learn this is far from the truth. In fact, she intended to do what the war itself failed to and that was to murder him. She wasn’t however simply doing it due to some disdain for him. She was doing it for revenge. Agamemnon had previously sacrificed their daughter, Iphigenia, so in an attempt at perhaps getting justice for her, a masquerade for vengeance for herself, had, along with her lover Aegisthus, collaborated on a plot to see Agamemnon dead.

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With all this on the table, Achilles still decides to decline. This dialogue reveals that Achilles concludes that he cannot be bought and sold like some type of commodity. He does not want to be traded in such a manner. This is almost just as much of an insult as anything that Agamemnon has done before. This dialogue also reveals that Achilles has felt like king Agamemnon has not given him the riches and respect that a warrior of his status commands.

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He remained headstrong, stubborn and selfish in his actions, even warranting rebuke from the men on certain occasions. This is seen in the very first conflict that is witnessed on the pages of The Iliad. Agamemnon is faced with the request to give up his war prize, and immediately and indignantly decides against all the council of the army in order to keep his prize of a woman (28). With this decision, he sought his own desires selfishly and disconnected himself from the men he was meant to lead. Granted, he possessed a strong will, a thing very necessary for good leadership.

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