Meaning Of Aeschylus 'Agamemnon'

The story of Agamemnon is merely the introduction of the Oresteia trilogy. The trilogy follows with The Libation Bearers and ends with The Eumenides. Aeschylus, author of said trilogy, lived around 524 – 456 B.C. passing before the Persian Wars. He wrote about ninety plays but sadly only seven have survived till today. Agamemnon discusses the events that occur due to Agamemnon returning from his victory of the Trojan War, which lasted ten strenuous years. This play and trilogy is written in a chronological order beginning with the falling of Troy, continuing with the return of Orestes, and ending with his fate in Artemis’s hands. There are numerous characters within this dramatic play but only a few can be considered significant. First, Agamemnon, King of Argos, can be seen as

To begin, Clytemnestra demands for the crimson tapestries to be spread between the king and the palace doors, note that these are tapestries only fit for deities. Thankfully, Agamemnon notices this and begins to rebuke his wife for doing such a thing as if setting him up to commit a hubris act. Thus, he says, “Give me the tributes of a man and not a god, a little earth to walk on, not this gorgeous work” (lines 918 - 920). As he takes his stance against Clytemnestra she even begins to question his ideals and the what-ifs of him losing to the Greeks as she says, “Priam – can you see him if he had your success?” (930). Now, we can see that Agamemnon is getting tired of this rebuttal because he tries to stab her ego with, “Victory in this . . . war of ours, it means so much to you?” (937). In an ingenuous way, this quarrel ends with Clytemnestra seeking Agamemnon’s freewill that he unknowingly hands over as he enters and summons the palace slaves to assist in removing his