I agree with many of the posts: clearly both Agamemnon and Clytaemestra had motives for committing murders. Moreover, they both are confident that they did the right thing.
When Agamemnon returns from war, he's too busy thanking the gods to show any remorse for brutally killing his own daughter. In fact, the first thing he says is "I must give due greeting; they [the gods] have worked to bring me home." Agamemnon obviously doesn't feel too upset that Iphegenia is dead, and that she died in a brutal way. The Chorus says, "Her [Agamemnon's daughter] supplications and her cries of father were nothing, nor the child's lamentation to kings passioned for battle." That's harsh, Agamemnon.
Clytaemestra neither denies nor regrets killing her husband. She says, "Thus have I wrought, and I will not deny it now... this man deserved, more than deserved, such sacrament." This murder was definitely planned out and Clytaemestra seems willing to let people judge her actions. The Chorus is all "your speech is clamor of pride" because Clytaemestra feels good about what she did.
Although Clytaemestra was having an affair with Aegisthus while Agamemnon was away, I still think her motives for killing are better than Agamemnon’s. Agamemnon killed Clytaemestra’s daughter and then has the nerve to come home with some sex-slave woman. Not cool. Agamemnon should have definitely checked with his wife, the mother of his children, before killing his daughter. I know women don’t have much authority or rights during this time, but Clytaemestra and Agamemnon were married. In a marriage there are certain things you should discuss, like what type of school your daughter attends, when she should go on her first date, and whether or not she should be sacrificed so the gods give you favorable winds.
Also, it is not clear to me whether Iphegenia needed to be sacrificed for this battle. Why her? At least for the biblical Abraham, God tells him that he must sacrifice his son Isaac (even though God was just testing Abraham’s loyalty and then saves Isaac). Do the gods say to Agamemnon “you must sacrifice your daughter”? I don’t think so. If Agamemnon really wants good winds and cares so much about war, then he should be walking the plank. He should sacrifice himself for the gods. Agamemnon sucks.
I see what you are saying about Agamemnon sacrificing his daughter instead of himself. It is a pretty terrible thing to sacrifice a child. Also it was brought up in class that one of Agamemnon’s justifications for going to war was to get his brother’s wife back. If Agamemnon was willing to sacrifice his daughter to get his brother’s wife back I think his priorities are a little out of order, but then again the argument goes back to whom should he show more loyalty; the country or the family.
ReplyDeleteCarly,
ReplyDeleteNice post! I just have a few questions and one suggestion. First, the suggestion. You can just give your post a title. In this case, maybe something like "Family First" would be appropriate.
Second, is your estimation of Agamemnon's guilt based on the fact that he wasn't a very good husband and father or that he murdered an innocent member of the community? From your analysis, it sounds like you might forgive the murder if Agamemnon had consulted with Clytaemestra first.
Third, is there a difference between Agamemnon's infidelity and the murder of his daughter? Why is it that we normally think of one of those acts as a crime and the other as simply "not cool?"
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ReplyDeleteI agree completely. Agamemnon should be sacrificing himself and not his innocent daughter. She had nothing to do with the war. His actions were selfish. The war was selfish. I believe that his family should have come first regardless of the situation.
ReplyDeleteResponse 1:
ReplyDeleteI agree that Agamemnon should have sacrificed himself if he truly wanted favor with the gods. However, I disagree about the statement regarding Agamemnon’s concubine, Cassandra. I do not think that it would have bothered Clytaemestra much since it was a common practice in those days for a king to possess sex slaves.