Aeschylus & Agamemnon

Aeschylus:

 5th BC; more than 90 plays;13 prize winner; 6 survived; father of Greek tragedy

Greek Tragedy:

 Based on Greek mythology; Trojan wars; Paris (son of Trojan King) abducts Helen (wife of Meneleus- brother
of Argos’ King Agamemnon); A. leads army ‘Achaean’; gets stuck in storm; prophet Calchas tells goddess
Artemis is angry; sacrifice daughter; 10 years wars; Trojan horse
 Structure: Household set (skene); chorus; actors; description of violent scenes; metaphoric language; Greek
tragedy: Prologos or prologue- Parodos, or Entrance Ode- Episodes (interaction with chorus)- Stasimon
(stationary song after each episode)- Exodos, or Exit Ode; chorus strophy (right to left), antistrophy (left to
right)

Agamemnon

 First play of ‘Oresteia’; named after main character ‘Agamemnon’ though most influencing characters is that
of Clytemnestra

Characters’ name:

 King Atreus- sons Agamemnon (H. of Clytemnestra & F. of Iphigenia) & Menelaus (H. of Helen)
 King Priam- son Paris (Abducts Helen) & daughter Cassandra (captured by Agamemnon)
 Aegisthus: son of Thyestes cousin of Agamemnon; lover & future husband of Clytemnestra
 Watchman; Artemis (goddess of hunting; sister of Apollo); Calchas (Prophet of Apollo)

The Story:

 A watchman on the roof waiting for the signal fire; he is afraid of ‘masculine’ Clytemnestra & future of the
house; Watches fire, rejoices & then gets serious about return of Aga.; informs Clytemnestra
 Chorus enters; tells its revenge against Paris; tells how Artemis made A. sacrifice his daughter to win the war
on the prophecy of Calchas; worry about future; Cly. optimism & confirms they have won; on repeated in
query she explains the fire signal; hopes gods will be happy; Chorus thinks her manly wisdom.
 Chorus thanks Zeus; Zeus has helped against Paris’ prideful stealing; worries about public resentment on
deaths & gods’ resentment of misdeeds of soldiers
 Herald comes, thanks Zeus & announces Aga. is on the way home after victory; Chorus shows fear but doesn’t
tell Herald about specific fear; He tells about his adventures & survival; Cly. Enters, scorns chorus disbelief;
claims she is a faithful wife happy to welcome Aga.
 Chorus asks about Menelaus; Herald tells about the storm & leaves; Chorus recalls Helen going & subsequent
war; Chorus fears cycle of evil after revenge
 Agamemnon enters with Cassandra; Chorus attends warmly but afraid of suspected wrong at home; Aga.
makes a speech; Thanks gods & shows pride; will make an assembly for solutions; Cly. Tells about her grief &
sending her son to a friend; asks Aga. to walk on ‘purple tapestry’ as winner; he says it shows arrogance but
on her insistence walks on it; she shows herself a faithful wife
 Chorus fears change of fortune; prays for the best; Cly. asks Cassandra to come in; she remains mute; mute,
mad, or needs interpreter; Chorus asks; gives prophesy; children being eaten; woman killing the man; she is
second prey; she is Apollo’s beloved & given prophecy that people won’t believe; explicitly tells Cly. will
murder Aga.; Her son will kill her; She herself will be killed by Cly.
 Chorus considers the prophecy & believes it just as wheel of fate; a sudden scream; Cly. accepts it; chorus asks
her to banish; she says it double standard they didn’t banish Aga. on killing her daughter; reveals love for
Aegisthus & blames her husband being unfaithful; Chorus blames Helen, Cly. defends her; she justifies her
claim; chorus says now she is also part of curse
 Aegisthus enters; rejoices the death; justifies by relating what happened to his father; chorus blames him for
not fighting & doing it womanly; He threatens chorus; Cly. pacifies both; chorus prays for Orestes’ return to
elevate the sufferings.

Themes: Fate & Man; Revenge; War; Gender Roles; Evil deeds
Motifs: Ships and Sailing; Prophecy
Figure of speech: Metaphor, Personification, Paradox, Hyperbole, Synecdoche

Symbols: The Purple Tapestry: Overreaching; god vs man

Important Quotes:

 Chorus: What's destined to come will be fulfilled, and no libation, sacrifice, or human tears will
mitigate the gods
The man who sins is sinned against, the killer pays the price.
The scales of Justice move to show wisdom comes through suffering.
 Clytemnestra: There is the sea. Who will drain it dry?