Greek PantheonHero
Agamemnon
King of Mycenae and commander-in-chief of the Greek forces at Troy. His quarrel with Achilles opens the Iliad, and his murder upon returning home became the basis of Aeschylus's tragedy.
About Agamemnon
Commander of the Greeks
Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, led the combined Greek expedition to Troy to recover his brother Menelaus's wife Helen. Before the fleet could sail, he was forced by the goddess Artemis's anger (over an offense that varies by source) to sacrifice his own daughter Iphigenia to gain favorable winds, an act that poisons his household even before the war begins.
The Quarrel that Starts the Iliad
The Iliad opens with Agamemnon's dispute with Achilles: forced to give up his own war-prize to appease the god Apollo, he seizes Achilles's prize Briseis instead, driving Achilles to withdraw from the fighting and nearly costing the Greeks the war. Agamemnon is portrayed throughout as a capable but flawed leader, prone to poor judgment and stubborn pride.
Murder at Home
Agamemnon survives the ten-year war only to be murdered in his own home by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, in revenge for Iphigenia's sacrifice and for bringing home the captive prophetess Cassandra as a concubine. Homer's Odyssey has Agamemnon's ghost warn Odysseus, from the underworld, never to trust a wife with everything. The murder and its aftermath, including his son Orestes's revenge, form the plot of Aeschylus's Oresteia.
On parentage: Wholly mortal parentage, and heir to the Atreid line's long history of family curses.
Key deeds
- Commanded the combined Greek forces at Troy
- Sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to secure favorable winds for the fleet
- Seized Achilles's war-prize Briseis, provoking Achilles's withdrawal from battle
- Led the Greeks to victory after ten years of war
Fate
Murdered in his own home upon returning from Troy by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, an act later avenged by his son Orestes.
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Homer, Odyssey
- Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Appears in
Ancient and classical works featuring this figure.
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Hero legends were retold for centuries, and the sources often disagree on parentage, deeds and death. This entry follows the best-known versions and notes the main alternatives.
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