The Orestia Trilogy of Aeschylus: Part I - Agamemnon
Written: Feb 07 '07 (Updated Feb 13 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: tense, well-constructed play examining the boundaries of justice and revenge
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: Agamemnon stands among the greatest of the Greek tragedies.
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| Pantagruel's Full Review: |
Agamemnon is the first in a trilogy of short plays known as The Orestia written by the Greek playwright Aeschylus (525 B.C.-456 B.C.) two years before his death. Taken together, the plays deal with the concepts of justice and vengeance. This first play opens in Argos as the citizens await King Agamemnon’s return home from Troy after he has succeeded in sacking that city.
Through a series of interludes as spoken by the Chorus of old men, we learn the background to the play’s setting. The Trojan War began when Paris, a prince of Troy, abducted Helen of Sparta. Helen was married to Menelaus. Menelaus appealed to his brother Agamemnon for help in bringing her home. Agamemnon assembled a large fleet from many Greek cities and awaited a fair wind to sail off to Troy. Unfortunately, the goddess Artemis had it in for Agamemnon and would not yield a friendly wind until she had been appeased. It was decided that he must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to win the goddess’ favour. Reluctantly, he did so, and the winds changed direction, allowing the fleet to sail.
Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, has been ruling Argos during her husband’s ten-year absence. She has also been plotting to kill Agamemnon ever since Iphigenia’s death. During his absence, she has taken on a lover, Aegisthus, Agamemnon’s cousin, who also wants the king dead to avenge the atrocities committed on his father by Agamemnon’s father, Atreus, years earlier.
Agamemnon arrives with his Trojan concubine, the prophetess Cassandra. Clytemnestra greets him and paves his way from his chariot to his throne with crimson tapestries, saying, “Do not set to earth, my lord, the conquering foot that trod down Troy.” (lines 906-907) At first, Agamemnon refuses to offend the gods with such an action, but his ego gets the better of him and he consents. At this, Clytemnestra lets out a victory scream, confident that her trap has been set and that she will have justice.
In addition to the Chorus, which was a common device used by Greek playwrights, Aeschylus introduces minor characters to foreshadow what will happen in the play. Agamemnon opens with a night watchman who feels something is not quite right in Argos, yet cannot put his finger on what it is. Later on a herald recounts the journey home from Troy and hopes that the future will be smoother than the previous ten years.
The title character is seen as more foolhardy and arrogant here than in Homer’s Iliad. Aeschylus does not depict Agamemnon to be the imposing general that led an army against Troy, but rather a wishy-washy figurehead who could be persuaded to sacrifice his daughter, or to defy the gods by walking on silk carpets. When he sailed for Troy, he led a fleet of hundreds of ships, yet he returns with just one ship—all the others having been lost at sea. He does not seem to grasp the meaning of the Chorus in his dialogue with them, nor can he win a battle of words with Clytemnestra. Also, Agamemnon does not receive much stage time during the play, appearing in only one scene, and briefly at that.
Instead, the main character of the play is Clytemnestra, and it can be argued that the play should have been named after her. Hers is a very masculine character, as noted by the Chorus. She is crafty, too, arranging for a series of beacons to be lit as a signal that Troy had fallen, thus learning the fate of that city well before Agamemnon’s arrival. And although the Chorus does not like it, there is little doubt that she has been in charge during Agamemnon’s absence. She feels there is justice in killing Agamemnon because he sacrificed their daughter, even though her action will continue to perpetuate the House of Atreus as a family cursed.
Since the theme of this trilogy concerns justice, it can be debated whether the Trojan War, which hovers over the events of this play, was a just war. Certainly, Aeschylus paints a less romantic view of the war than Homer, as the herald describes the many hardships the army had to endure. After all, the ten-year war was waged for the sole purpose to bring one woman back home. That another young woman was sacrificed at the outset adds credence to Clytemnestra’s fury.
Though Aegisthus also has reason to seek justice, it appears to be more of a “justice by association” than in Clytemnestra’s case. The fact that he does not commit the murder of Agamemnon and only reveals himself after the deed has been committed shows that he is of weak stock and can be easily manipulated by Clytemnestra. Indeed, the Chorus calls him a coward not only for refusing to go to war but also for hiding behind a woman’s actions.
Of all the characters in the play, Cassandra evokes the most sympathy. She has been cursed by the god Apollo in that he gave her the gift of prophesy, but on condition that no one believe her. In vain does she try to explain to the Chorus what will become of Agamemnon and her. It is only after her death that she can hope to be avenged and recognized as the wise prophet she was in life.
The Chorus is the only character that never leaves the stage once they have entered. Their purpose seems to be to provide a commentary on the past actions of the other characters and to foreshadow events that will happen later in the play. Their interaction with Cassandra is especially profound in their attempt to understand her prophecies, but equally illuminating is the way they begrudgingly submit themselves to Clytemnestra’s rule and refuse to recognize the usurper Aegisthus as their leader. They are old men and, like the Chorus of Old Men satirized by Aristophanes in his comedy Lysistrata, they are unable to act in times of crisis. The Chorus can only hope that Agamemnon’s son, Orestes, will return from exile and exact revenge, thus preparing us for the second play in the trilogy, The Libation Bearers.
Recommended:
Yes
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Pantagruel
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Location: Minneapolis, California, Philippines
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Unemployed again...which means more time to write reviews!
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