Agamemnon and Clytemnestra - Characters of Ancient Greek Mythology

The following sample essay on Agamemnon and Clytemnestra – Characters of Ancient Greek Mythology tells of the queen of Clytemnestra, who killed her husband Agamemnon and the prophetess Cassandra.

After the slaying of Agamemnon and Cassandra. Clytemnestra efforts to warrant her actions in a response to the accusals of the chorus. The aggressive stance that Clytemnestra takes in the beginning of this transition is clearly a reversal of genders. It shows the strength of her character every bit well as the dichotomy.

Explaining her ground for slaying Agamemnon she logically inquiries the chorus inquiring how they dare justice her particularly because Agamemnon has killed more people than she has killed.

She so falls back into the traditional function of a Grecian adult female by moving like a female parent. Uncovering the necessity of the actions she committed as an adult male. Her ability to travel between the features of both male and female emphasizes the dichotomy of her character as shown in her address.

Without this subdivision of the drama Aeschylus’s representation of reversed gender functions would non be really important. In the first stanza. Clytemnestra demonstrates indignation at the thought that the chorus feels they have the audaciousness to judge her and her actions.

Agamemnon Essay

That the mere suggestion that she should be banished from her place exposed to the hatred and expletives of the public when Agamemnon was ne’er punished for his similar offenses was intolerable. Clytemnestra asks what charges were of all time brought against Agamemnon for the killing their girl deducing that the forfeit of Iphigenia should hold been slain but he was non charged with an offense.

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Be it because he was an adult male, therefore above such judgement? The chorus seemed to go through a rough judgement on Clytemnestra because she dared to perpetrate slaying, which was seen to be a man’s title.

Now you pass judgement! Exile from this land the hate of the people public expletives. But him! What charges did you of all time convey against him? ” (Aeschylus 1411-14). The word expatriate derives from Old French exile; all based on Latin exilium ‘banishment’ from exul “banished person”. Exile refers to the province of being barred from one’s native state typically for political or punitory grounds. The usage of this word establishes the utmost penalty by the chorus for Clytemnestra’s slaying of Kyrios Agamemnon or carpet of the family and the misdemeanor of Xenia in the slaying of Cassandra.

The word expletives harmonizing to the OED is a grave vocalization intended to raise a supernatural power to bring down injury or penalty on a person or something. The feeling of expletives in this stanza signifies the effect of the slayings. The public or people of the land would cuss or show injury or hardship to be chance Clytemnestra because most work forces (chorus) would fear and detest the adult female who would contaminate (pollutes) her household and community by slaying her hubby She uses the forfeit of her girl to elaborate on her murder of Agamemnon.

Harmonizing to Clytemnestra’s point of position. Agamemnon’s forfeit of Iphigenia was fiddling equated to the slaughter of an animate being (sheep) with no concern or grieve given to it. He had many others from which to take that he could hold sacrificed in topographic point of her girl the girl she bore with great parturiency. Yet he sacrificed Iphigenia however, utilizing her decease to pacify Zeus and salvage the lives of the criminal in the fleet (Aeschylus 225-26). “For all he cared he might every bit good have been killing an animate being.

Oh, he had plentifulness of sheep to take from but he sacrificed his Ain kid, my labor of love to capture away the barbarous storm-winds of Thrace. ” (Aeschylus 1417-18). “He was the one you should hold banished from this land as a penalty for the pollution he brought to us.” (Aeschylus 1419-20) The word sheep harmonizing to the OED is an individual who is excessively easily influenced or led. In this stanza. Clytemnestra uses the term to account for the battalion of people (individuals) that Agamemnon could hold chosen topographic point of utilizing Iphigenia as a forfeit to Zeus.

Sheep besides implying that both Agamemnon and Clytemnestra see this person to be of no or small effect, particularly at their degree in society and would non be missed every bit much as their girl. The word pollution late In-between English: from Latin pollution from the verb power. Pollute which derives from Latin pollute – ‘soiled defiled’ from the verb power based on the root of lithium ‘mud’: Represents a taint or the presence in our debut into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or toxicant effects. Pollution is used to typify the effect of the slaying (forfeit) of Iphigenis.

Clytemnestra created her on the pollution the slaying of Agamemnon in response to Agamemnon’s the forfeit of Iphigenia. Once more Clytemnestra provinces her belief that Agamemnon should hold been banished for the pollution the befoulment he brought to us (Aeschylus 1420) connoting that he has violated the Torahs of nature and an adult male with the forfeit of Iphigenia. “But when you hear of what I have done, you judge so harshly travel on endanger off! “ (Aeschylus 1421) In this line Clytemnestra once more expresses indignation at the chorus for its unforgiving edict pressing them to go on to endanger her.

Implying she is non afraid of them or their judgement. With the chorus’s menace of ostracism (expatriate). Clytemnestra all but invites them menace stating she is prepared to run into their judgement and if they win therefore turn out she has dishonored the house so so be it. But if she should predominate and the Gods side with her so she will retain her place as queen. At the terminal she infers that she doesn’t care how old (wise) they are she will hold the power to cover with them proposing that she will hush their voice. I’ll run into you Lucifer if you overthrow me so you win, but if the Gods have ordained another result, so you will learn discretion nevertheless old you are” (Aeschylus 1423). The word discretion derived from Discern is Middle English (in the sense ‘discernment’): via Old French from Latin discretio (n-) ‘separation’ (in late Latin ‘discernment’)  from discernere means to comprehend or acknowledge (something) or to separate (something or person) with trouble by sight or with the other senses.

Discretion is the manner in which one’s behavior or mode of address is done to avoid doing discourtesy or uncovering private information or the freedom to make up one’s mind what should be done in a peculiar state of affairs. The usage of discretion in this stanza refers to how Clytemnestra declares that they (chorus) will learn how to carry on themselves and obey her should the Gods favor her. This transition of the drama gives an added deeper to Clytemnestra’s character. Without it, she would hold seemed to be a brain-sick unreasonable adult female. However, this subdivision offers logical consciousness for her actions a “method to the madness” so to talk.

Ultimately Clytemnestra’s wrangle with the chorus non merely shows the function reversal Aeschylus intended to expose but besides making it more pertinent to existential life. His ability to demo that Clytemnestra’s avenge wasn’t merely lunacy, but was a logical result in her head to the slaying of Iphigenia. As she grieves for the loss of her girl you are compelled to experience sorry for Clytemnestra which serves to make her appear more fallible. The hurting of the loss of a kid is cosmopolitan which serves to do the Agamemnon a powerful piece of literature, assisting to make a connection between the reader and the character.