AGAMEMNON

In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of king Atreus and queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra and the father of Iphigenia, Electra, Orestes and Chrysothemis Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area !hen "elen, the wife of Menelaus, was abducted by #aris of $roy, Agamemnon commanded the united Greek armed forces in the ensuing $ro%an !ar On Agamemnon&s return from $roy he was murdered 'according to the fullest (ersion of the oldest sur(i(ing account, Odyssey )) *+,-)). by Aegisthus, the lo(er of his wife Clytemnestra In old (ersions of the story/ 0$he scene of the murder, when it is specified, is usually the house of Aegisthus, who has not taken up residence in Agamemnon&s palace, and it in(ol(es an ambush and the deaths of Agamemnon&s followers too0 In some later (ersions Clytemnestra herself does the killing, or they do it together, in his own home Agamemnon&s family history had been marred by rape, murder, incest, and treachery, consequences of the heinous crime perpetrated by his ancestor, $antalus, and then of a curse placed upon #elops, son of $antalus, by Myrtilus, whom he had murdered $hus misfortune hounded successi(e generations of the "ouse of Atreus, until atoned by Orestes in a court of %ustice held %ointly by humans and gods Athenaeus tells a story of how Agamemnon mourned the loss of his friend Argynnus, when he drowned in the Cephisus river. He buried him, honored with a tomb and a shrine to Aphrodite Argynnis. This episode is also found in Clement of Alexandria,[8] in Stephen of Byzantium (Kopai and Argunnos), and in Propertius, III with minor variations. The fortunes of Agamemnon have formed the subject of numerous tragedies, ancient and modern, the most famous being the Oresteia of Aeschylus. In the legends of the Peloponnesus, Agamemnon was regarded as the highest type of a powerful monarch, and in Sparta he was worshipped under the title of Zeus Agamemnon. His tomb was pointed out among the ruins of Mycenae and at Amyclae. Another account makes him the son of Pleisthenes (the son or father of Atreus), who is said to have been Aerope's first husband. In works of art there is considerable resemblance between the representations of Zeus, king of the gods, and Agamemnon, king of men. He is generally depicted with a sceptre and diadem, conventional attributes of kings. Agamemnon's mare was named Aetha. She was also one of two horses driven by Menelaus at the funeral games of Patroclus.