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Is Clytaemnestra Insane

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One of the most well-known plays for revenge is Aeschylus, Agamemnon. Numerous events happen that lead up to insane outcomes. We first have King Agamemnon who murders his own daughter in order to satisfy a God and get wind so that his ship will sail to Troy. The outcome of his doing was that his own wife Clytaemnestra ended up murdering him. The insane thing is that Clytaemnestra not only murdered Agamemnon but also Cassandra, an innocent girl she just met. Clytaemnestra wasn’t the only one who wanted revenge on Agamemnon thought, Aegisthus also wanted to see an extraordinary outcome. All these events happened in the play because the Greeks simply believed in revenge. The contrary to this is that they might have believed in revenge but was …show more content…

One source I found by Robert Parker talks about the process Athenian’s went through when they wanted revenge on another. Parker briefly summarizes that the defendant on an Athenian court had to take an oath “standing over cut pieces of a boar, a ram and bull that was slaughtered by the proper persons on that proper day” (103). The defendant also had to swear that he wouldn’t speak any false truth and that whoever voted for him, voted for what was justly. If the oaths in the Athenian courts were false, then it was up to the Gods to punish them. In Agamemnon, neither Clytaemnestra nor Aegithus brought their troubles with Agamemnon up to court. They both just took their grudges and played it out with their own actions. No remorse was even shown in the play as Clytaemnestra explains in line 1692, “What we did was destiny”. The law was nowhere in the characters minds during the play. One may argue that Clytaemnestra was just looking out for her daughter and that she was just acting out of quick frustration but she could have handled her frustration in a better manner. Clytaemnestra gives off vibes to everybody during the play that she is so in love with Agamemnon. In line 1369, Agamemnon suddenly says, “Struck deep- the death-blow, deep”, and this shows that Agamemnon had no chance to even plead his case. Agamemnon at least deserved a chance to be told how …show more content…

It was well-known that if you had a problem with another man and if you didn’t seek revenge or justice then you was known as a coward. Agamemnon on the other hand, didn’t even get to show how manly he was. In the play, the leader expresses to Aegithus how he feels by saying, “Coward, why not kill the man yourself?” Aegithus showed that he was a coward by getting Clytaemnestra to do his dirty work. These actions in the play don’t go towards Athenian customs because Agamemnon and Aegithus didn’t even get to fight man to man. Revenge was persuaded on Agamemnon secretly and therefore it was unjustly. In a journal by William Allan he expresses that, “If you didn’t seek revenge on someone who injured or insulted you then you was seen as unmanly and it diminished a man’s honor” (596). Agamemnon’s honor and manliness got stolen from him in the play and he deserved revenge just as much as Clytaemnestra and Aegithus did. William Allen also summarizes that revenge in Athens wasn’t just for maintenance of status but it was also relaxing because it released grief and anger. The worse part of it all is that Clytemnestra’s actions are portrayed as having grief for her daughter but was that all? In the play after killing Agamemnon she expresses that, “You and I have power now. We will set this house in order once for all”. Clytaemnestra now shows that she also wanted to have power with Aegithus

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