ipl-logo

What Is Agamemnon's Thirst For Power

648 Words3 Pages

Aeschylus’ The Agamemnon displayed how man’s thirst for power can lead him to commit heinous crimes. The decisions of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra were difficult but not justified, because they derived from selfish intentions and the sin of hubris. Agamemnon’s crime occurred because he could not bear the thought of losing power while Clytemnestra sought to gain it through the use of’ deception. Aeschylus showed that they had committed morally unjust crimes against nature by depicting their true intentions.
Agamemnon hid under the guise of humble king and acted as if the decision to kill his daughter was for the good of the people. The true intentions of Agamemnon’s actions stemmed from his selfish desires. “How can I fail my fleet and lose …show more content…

It is because she tried to rise above her station in life that her intentions soon changed and her actions could not be justified. During the Trojan War Clytemnestra ruled Argos and tried to take the place of her husband. “This is to be commanded by a woman, who brings her quick hopes into the business of men!” (16). It is because Clytemnestra tried to rise above her station in life that her cause for killing Agamemnon changed. Killing Agamemnon was no longer only to avenge the death of Iphigenia but also to attain the ability to rule. “If no I contradict all that a suit the moment I said before I feel no shame” (44). Clytemnestra’s decision to kill Agamemnon could no longer be justified because it was stemmed from the desire to rule and she felt no shame for the lies she …show more content…

Aeschylus showed his disapproval for their actions by depicting these two qualities throughout the play. Agamemnon’s pride prohibited him from saving his daughter so Aeschylus illustrated this through the chorus. “For whosever are guilty of lives, upon them god’s eyes are fixed…Glory too high is dangerous; it is upon the peak hat thunder strikes” (25). Aeschylus displayed how his crime did not go unseen and he would soon fall because his hubris caused him to have too much pride in himself. The sin of hubris caused Clytemnestra to see the faults in Agamemnon as she gained power but not see the crimes she was committing “You are proud of thought, and presumptuous is your note” (45) The chorus condemned Clytemnestra as they saw that hubris caused her to commit crimes that were unjust. It is through the chorus that Aeschylus showed that the crimes of both Clytemnestra and Agamemnon were not justified because they stemmed from

Show More
Related

Anachronism In The Trojan War: An Analysis

890 Words | 4 Pages

One such argued anachronism is the influence of the polis on the government style depicted within the story. Although scholars can interpret that the 8th century polis changed the 12th century story, through considering the intricacies of war time leadership it seems unlikely that this occurred. Instead, it seems that the groups of people disagreeing with Agamemnon represent dissidence within the ranks, which is not uncommon, and that the council of kings represent military strategy meetings. One of the first scenes in the epic details a meeting between all of the Greek kings and their leader Agamemnon. A problem had arisen due to Agamemnon not honoring the supplication of Chryses, in which he asked for the return of his daughter.

Read More

Examples Of Leadership In The Iliad

933 Words | 4 Pages

Along these lines, Agamemnon ignored his side commanders when they offer him advice that would most likely help his reputation as a ruler. Also, Agamemnon would let his emotions get the best of him and make drastic decisions when it was critical. An example of this is when Nestor tells Agamemnon to hold on Briseis taking Achilles of which he doesn’t listen and then because of his emotions getting the best of him and him lacking, this sets up a chain reaction resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Achaian soldiers. He fails to realize when he is depressed that not everything is about himself and cannot retreat to his own wants and needs when he wants to, he is still a

Read More

The Cyclops In The Odyssey

448 Words | 2 Pages

In Greek culture, honor was immensely important and the Cyclops has none. In contrast, Odysseus brags about the great feats of Agamemnon yelling, “So great a city he sacked, such multitudes he killed”(9.298-299) That Odysseus sees pride in killing, shows that the Greeks valued killing, but only if honorable. There is a stark contrast between the killings of the Cyclops and those of King Agamemnon. In the eyes of the Greeks, Agamemnon’s killings were for his country, his people, and the greater good of society. These murders had a selfless purpose.

Read More

Honor And Shame In The Iliad

445 Words | 2 Pages

Another aspect that hinders the Achaians is that Achilleus, their best fighter, refuses to fight. With this, the Achaians go into a sort go loosing slump, as the Trojans gain speed and more success. In book two, Zeus’, in order to fulfill Achilleus’ request, sends a treacherous dream to Agamemnon that says, “He might take the wide-eyed city of the Trojans” (92). In the dream Nestor tells Agamemnon that if he attacks Troy immediately at full strength, then it will fall.

Read More

Extreme Pride And Hubris In The Iliad

394 Words | 2 Pages

But, while all the kings gathered in Greece, the gods would not send a fair wind for the ships to sail. Agamemnon said, “Give me a fair wind and a hope of glory if it will cost me my kingdom and my life.” He is then told by the Greek prophet, Calchas, that the king would have to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia at the temple of Artemis in order to sail. Agamemnon was shocked, and refrained from doing anything. Yet, when the days grew long and the kings began to blame Agamemnon, he feared the kings would leave.

Read More

Oresteia And The Odyssey Essay

1334 Words | 6 Pages

In contrast, in the Oresteia, the myth demonstrates an overwhelming theme of justice. Agamemnons’ death here shows the curse hunting his household from generation to generation, starting from Agamemnon’s father

Read More

Comparison Of Oresteia And Agamemnon

734 Words | 3 Pages

Eventually, Agamemnon ended up deciding that he would sacrifice his daughter, rather than give up his whole army and victory and keep his daughter. When the Chorus speaks of Agamemnon, they illustrate in the reader's mind a moral character who was caught in a moral dilemma: He had to choose whether or not he was going to kill his daughter for the good of his state. In Euripides' Iphigenia, we see that Agamemnon shows some remorse in one of his speeches: "What do I become? A monster to myself, to the whole world, and to all future time, a monster, Wearing my daughter's

Read More

Comparing Achilles, Agamemnon And Gilgamesh

721 Words | 3 Pages

Agamemnon showed lack of emotion and trust in his army when they headed out for the Trojan war. Being the Greek army’s commander-in-chief, he was respected but not liked by his subjects. He is depicted in the Iliad as a person who tried to get something for himself in any given situation regardless of the costs. Homer, Dawkins, and Homer (2017) point out that

Read More

Justice In Agamemnon And The Libation Bearers

703 Words | 3 Pages

In Aeschylus' two plays Agamemnon, and The Libation Bearers, he demonstrates that a crime committed cannot go without the proper justice served. As read in Agamemnon, Clytemnestra believed she had to take matters into her own hands and get justice for her daughter because he was away at war for ten years, sacrificed their daughter Iphigeneia, and was unfaithful to Clytemnestra. This form of justice served was also seen when Orestes slayed his mother, Clytemnestra and her lover in The Libation Bearers, due her killing Agamemnon. Both of Aeschylus' plays show the idea of justice being served throughout them all by way of murder, and was driven by revenge and vengeance. The violent acts committed by members of this family are heinous and continue

Read More

Agamemnon Anger Analysis

1065 Words | 5 Pages

Agamemnon further shows a weakness when he commands his soldiers to retreat from the Trojans. He exclaims to the Argives, “‘Cut and run! Sail home to the fatherland we love! We’ll never take the broad streets of Troy’” (9.28, 31-32).

Read More

Agamemnon's Leadership In The Iliad

662 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Agamemnon Is Better Than Clymestrea

677 Words | 3 Pages

Clytemnestra shows none of these traits. Agamemnon was selfless. This is apparent when he sacrificed his daughter. When he had to make his decision he said: “Oh but doom will crush me once I rend my child, the glory of my house- a father's hands are stained, blood of a young girl streaks the alter. Pain both ways and what is worse?

Read More

Similarities Between Odyssey And Agamemnon

1119 Words | 5 Pages

The story of the death of Agamemnon is told in both the Homeric epic Odyssey and in Aeschylus’ tragic trilogy the Oresteia. Although the basic plot remains the same, differences in presentation, emphasis, and details show how myth is fluid and can be adapted to suit a particular author, performance, and audience. This myth serves in the Odyssey as an example of failed nostos caused by the breakdown of the hero’s household, and so it provides a foil for the successful return home of the epic hero Odysseus to his intact household. On the other hand, in the Oresteia, the myth illustrates the overarching theme of the nature of justice. Here the death of Agamemnon both illustrates the curse on his household and also provides the necessary background for Orestes’ important role in the transformation of justice from oikos-based revenge to polis-based trial by jury.

Read More

Essay On Achilles In The Iliad

1051 Words | 5 Pages

Achilles only wishes to get revenge on Agamemnon, no matter the consequences for his

Read More

Greek Values In The Iliad

1381 Words | 6 Pages

If I stay here and fight before the city of Troy, there will be no home- coming for me but my fame shall never die; if I go home to my native land, there will be no great fame for me, but I shall live long and not die an early death.” (Homer 110) This shows that he is selfishness and fearful at the same time of losing and dying in the war. In the very beginning of the Iliad, King Agamemnon and Achilles have an argument for a couple of different reasons. After, the Achians won a battle against a city that was allied with the Trojans each of them received a prize consisted of a young woman from the war.

Read More

More about What Is Agamemnon's Thirst For Power

Related Topics

Open Document