AGAMEMNON

in Greek legend, king of Mycenae or Argos. He was the son (or grandson) of Atreus, king of Mycenae, and his wife Arope and was the brother of Menelaus. After the murder of Atreus by a nephew, Aegisthus (son of Thyestes), Agamemnon and Menelaus took refuge with Tyndareus, king of Sparta, whose daughters, Clytemnestra and Helen, they respectively married. By Clytemnestra, Agamemnon had a son, Orestes, and three daughters, Iphigeneia (Iphianassa), Electra (Laodice), and Chrysothemis. Menelaus succeeded Tyndareus, while Agamemnon recovered his father's kingdom. After Paris (Alexandros), son of King Priam of Troy, carried off Helen, Agamemnon called on the princes of the country to unite in a war of revenge against the Trojans. He himself furnished 100 ships and was chosen commander in chief of the combined forces. The fleet assembled at the port of Aulis in Boeotia but was prevented from sailing by calms or contrary winds that were sent by the goddess Artemis because Agamemnon had in some way offended her. To appease the wrath of Artemis, Agamemnon was forced to sacrifice his own daughter Iphigeneia. After the capture of Troy, Cassandra, the daughter of Priam, fell to Agamemnon's lot in the distribution of the prizes of war. On his return he landed in Argolis, where Aegisthus, who in the interval had seduced Agamemnon's wife, treacherously carried out the murder of Agamemnon, his comrades, and Cassandra. The Greek poet and dramatist Aeschylus, however, attributed the murder to Clytemnestra alone. The murder was avenged by Orestes, who returned to slay both his mother and her paramour. Agamemnon may have been a historical character, the overlord of the Mycenaean or Achaean states of the Greek mainland.