Agamemnon

Origin. Early years

Agamemnon was the son of King Mycenaeus Atreus and the daughter of the Cretan king Katreya Airport . There was a long-standing feud between his father and uncle Agamemnon Fiesta , which influenced his life. There are two different myths about how Atreus gained royal power. According to one version, Eurystheus appointed him as manager for the time of his absence. After the king died in Attica , the inhabitants of Mycenae chose the temporary governor Atreus as their king ^{[2] [3]} .

According to another, more dramatic version, after the inhabitants of Mycenae were left without a king, the oracle ordered them to elect a new ruler from the descendants of Pelop . The townspeople invited his two sons, Atreus and Fiesta. During forgeries, including the use of various tricks and meannesses, such as Fiesta’s seduction of his brother’s wife, theft, the murder of Fiesta’s children with the preparation of dishes that were served to an unsuspecting father, and also with the direct influence of the gods, Atreus took the throne ^{[ 4] [5] [6]} .

Fiesta, desiring to take revenge on Atreus at all costs, turned to the Delphic oracle for prophecy. The Pythia replied that the wish will come true after his own daughter gives birth to a child from him. Fiesta, in fulfillment of the prophecy, dishonored his daughter Pelopia by hiding his face under a mask. The girl managed to steal a sword from the rapist. Soon the widowed Atreus arrived at Sikion , where Pelopia lived, and took her as a wife. The child born of her, Aegisthus, the Mycenaean king began to raise as his son ^[7] .

Agamemnon, along with his brother Menelaus, accidentally met Fiesta near the Delphic oracle, tied up and delivered to his father in Mycenae. Atreus ordered the seven-year-old Aegisthus to go and kill the imprisoned enemy. When the boy tried to kill Fiesta, he managed to dodge the blow and disarm the child. Fiesta recognized his sword and demanded that Aegisthus bring his mother. When Pelopia found out the truth, she grabbed the sword and committed suicide. Fiesta ordered his son and grandson Aegisthus at the same time to take the bloody sword to Atreus and say that the commission was completed. After the Mycenaean king lost his vigilance, Aegisthusesus killed him. Fiesta reigned in Mycenae ^{[8] [9]} .

Exile and Return to Mycenae

After Fiesta came to power, Agamemnon and Menelaus were forced to flee their hometown. According to one version described by Apollodorus, the nurse was carried out by the brothers, which is not consistent with the version about the capture of Fiesta by the sons of Atreus. First, they came to the court of King Scyon Polyphides. Then they were given in the care of the Aethenian Aetolian . After several years of wandering, the king of Sparta Tyndareus , defeating Fiesta in the war, returned to Agamemnon and Menelaus the father's throne ^{[10] [11] [12]} .

Fiesta with Aegisthus spared. The first fled to the island of Kythira , and the second took advantage of the hospitality of Tsarevich Argos ^[11] .

Having gained power in Mycenae, Agamemnon increased his possessions, becoming the most powerful ruler of Hellas. He was paid tribute to Sikion , Corinth , Cleons , Gelika and other cities. His strength and influence is evidenced by the fact that when the Trojan War began , Agamemnon was able to not only collect more ships than any other of the Greek rulers, but also as the most powerful of them became the supreme commander in chief ^{[13] [11]} .

During one of the campaigns, Agamemnon captured the family of King Tantalus , including his wife Clytemnestra , daughter of Tyndareus, with a child. Killing Tantalus with a child, he married the widowed daughter of the Spartan king. The latter’s brothers, Castor and Polydeus , went on a campaign to protect their sister. However, Agamemnon arrived at the court of his benefactor Tyndareus in time, received forgiveness and permission to leave Clytemnestra in his wives ^{[10] [14] [15] [11]} .

They had four children: the son of Orestes and the daughters of Iphigenia (Ifianassa ^[16] ), Electra (Laodika ^[16] ) and Chrysofemis . According to one version described by Pausanias , Iphigenia was Clytemnestra’s niece. When Helena , the uterine sister of Clytemnestra from Leda , was stolen by Theseus , the brothers Castor and Polydeus made a campaign against Attica. At the time of her release, Elena was pregnant. On the way to Lacedaemon, she gave birth to a daughter, Iphigenia, in Argos , whom she gave to her sister Klitemnestra, and she soon married her brother Agamemnon Menelaus ^{[17] [18] [19]} .

Before the Trojan War

In addition to Clytemnestra, Tyndareus had an adopted daughter Elena, who was famous for her beauty throughout Hellas. When the time came to marry her, several dozen kings and famous warriors came to Sparta, who wanted to get Helen as a wife. Tyndareus, seeing this situation, faced a difficult choice. Having received one friend and son in law, he risked simultaneously making his beautiful daughter’s hands and hearts his other enemies. On the advice of Odysseus, the Spartan king forced all the suitors to take an oath that they would recognize Elena’s future husband and, most importantly, undertake to come to his aid in case of danger and resentment ^{[20] [21] [18]} .

After the solemn promise, either Elena herself chose the brother of Agamemnon Menelaus ^{[22] [23]} , or made this choice for her adopted daughter Tyndare ^{[20] [18]} .

While Elena lived in Sparta, on Olympus and in the vicinity of Troy, events took place that influenced the future life of the Spartan princess and the whole of Hellas. The goddess of contention Eris threw to Hera , Athena and Aphrodite the apple of contention with the inscription "The Most Beautiful." Immediately, a dispute broke out between them about who to possess the apple. Then Zeus appointed the judge of the Trojan prince Paris . Each of the applicants, wanting to win, tried to bribe a judge. Hera promised to make him the most powerful king, Athena - a brave hero, and the goddess of love Aphrodite - to ensure the love and possession of the most beautiful woman. Aphrodite and received a contested apple ^[24] .

After some time, Paris sailed to Greece, where he took advantage of Menelaus' hospitality. A few days later, the owner had to go to Crete for the funeral of his maternal grandfather Katreya. Aphrodite told her son Eros to pierce Elena's heart with an arrow of love for Paris. Using the departure of Menelaus, he abducted the most beautiful woman and sailed from Sparta. The unfaithful wife took most of the property with her, leaving her nine-year-old daughter Hermione at home ^{[25] [26] [27] [28]} .

Menelaus, learning about the incident, went to his powerful brother with a request for help. An embassy was sent to Troy with a demand to give Elena and pay monetary compensation for the abduction. The Trojans refused the Hellenes their demands and reproached the kidnapping of Medea ^{[29] [30] [31]} . Then Menelaus sent messengers throughout Greece, reminding the former fiancés of Helena of their oath. Agamemnon traveled personally to Otissey to Ithaca ^{[32] [33]} . In addition, Agamemnon before the war turned for prophecy to the Delphic oracle, where, according to legend, the Pythian transmitted the words of the divine god Apollo . Although this god patronized the Trojans, the Mycenaean king received a true good sign ^[34] .

Trekking to Three

The army for the campaign on Troy gathered in Aulis . Before sailing, the Greeks sacrificed to Apollo. After that, they received a sign that the war would be successful and would last ten years. Under the command of Agamemnon, the ships sailed. The start of the campaign was unsuccessful. By mistake, Greek ships approached Mysiah . During the battle with the local king Telefus, the army of Agamemnon suffered significant losses. After they left this area, the ships fell into a storm. It took a long time to reassemble the army in Aulis ^{[35] [36]} .

While the army was gathering, Agamemnon managed to anger Artemis - either by the fact that he killed her sacred animal, or by his arrogant phrase: "Artemis herself would not have shot better." The annoyed goddess deprived the Greeks of a tailwind, and for many days they could not begin the campaign. The priest and soothsayer Kalkhant predicted that in order to propitiate the gods, it is necessary to sacrifice the daughter of Agamemnon Iphigenia ^[37] . At first, King Mycenae refused to make such a terrible sacrifice. When the army began to murmur, he was forced to agree, trying to cunningly save his daughter. Agamemnon’s attempts to prevent Iphigenia from being brought to Aulida were unsuccessful. The girl agreed to die for the glory of Greece and herself ascended to the block. According to one legend, touched by her act, Artemis transferred Iphigenia to Tauris , according to another - Achilles saved the girl and sent to Scythia . After these events, a fair wind blew and the Greeks sailed again on ships on a campaign to Troy ^{[38] [39] [40]} .

Under the Walls of Troy

In the "Iliad" of Homer, Agamemnon appears in two guises. On the one hand, he is a valiant warrior, on the other - the arrogance and intransigence of the commander became the source of many disasters for the Greeks. At the very beginning of the Iliad, a story is described that entailed the wrath of Apollo. During one of the campaigns, the Greeks captured the daughter of the priest Chris Chryseida . Agamemnon took her to his concubines. Father unsuccessfully requested to redeem his daughter from captivity. Then the old man prayed to his god with a request to take revenge on the Danai army. Apollo heeded his prayers and sent pestilence to the Greeks. Soothsayer Kalkhant determined the cause of the disease that befell the army. At first, Agamemnon refused to give his father his daughter, but after threats from Achilles he was forced to give in. Chryseida returned to her father pregnant with a boy, who after birth was named in honor of his grandfather Chrys ^[41] . At the same time, as compensation, Agamemnon took away the concubine Achilles Briseis . This caused Achilles indignation, and for a while he refused to participate in the war. The Greeks began to lose, during one of which the friend of Achilles Patroclus died. Agamemnon was forced to return Briseid to Achilles, after which he again took part in the hostilities ^{[42] [12]} .

In the eleventh song of the Iliad, entitled "The Feats of Agamemnon," King Mycenae is depicted in the front ranks of fighting warriors. During the war, according to Homer, he personally ^[43] , Elat ^[44] , Adrast ^[45] , ^[46] , ^[47] , the sons of Priam and ^[48] , the sons of one of the Trojan elders Antimach Hippolochus and Pisander ^[49] , ^{[50] [51]} and ^[52] . The latter wounded the king in his hand. Hyginus also leads among those killed by Agamemnon Glaucus ^[51] . According to Gigin, the Mycenaean king killed 16 Trojan soldiers with his own hands ^{[53] [12]} .

During funeral games for Achilles, Agamemnon participated in the competition of riders, in which he won. For this, Thetis presented him with a gift of armor ^[54] .

The capture of Troy, return and death

After the capture of Troy, Agamemnon, as the main commander, relied most of the booty. He was also struck by the beauty of the daughter of the Trojan king Priam Kassandra and took her as a concubine ^{[55] [56] [12]} . From Agamemnon, the former princess, according to Pausanias, gave birth to twin boys Teledam and Pelop, who died in infancy with their mother ^[57] .

According to versions of the late Antiquity period, sending the spoils to their native Mycenae, Agamemnon visited Tauris, where he met his daughter Iphigenia ^[58] . On the way back, the king fell into a storm. His ship escaped and was thrown on the coast of Crete . In memory of the victory, Agamemnon founded three cities on the island ^[59] . In Laconic, on Cape Onuagifon, laid the temple of Athena ^[60] .

At home Agamemnon was waiting for the legal wife of Clytemnestra. The woman had many hidden grievances against her husband. Even in his youth, Agamemnon killed her first husband and child, then sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia, was absent for more than ten years and did not differ in fidelity. From the campaign, Agamemnon brought his new slave concubine from the royal family of Kassandra with children ^[61] .

Agamemnon's cousin Aegisthus, who had been expelled earlier from Mycenae with his father Fiesta, took advantage of this. He not only became the lover of Clytemnestra, but also persuaded her to participate in the conspiracy. When Agamemnon arrived at his homeland, Clytemnestra pretended to be glad of his return, and took her to a bathhouse where young slaves heated water. Cassandra, possessing the gift of prophecy, was thrilled in ecstasy, foreseeing an imminent death. At one time, when Cassandra rejected the harassment of Apollo , having received the gift of prophecy, a curse was imposed on her: the Trojan princess was allowed to see the future, but all her predictions were ignored, which made her unhappy ^{[62] [63] [64]} . The same thing happened this time. When Agamemnon left the bathhouse, Clytemnestra was waiting for him with a towel. Instead of wiping her husband from moisture, she threw a cloth on the king’s head. Agamemnon caught twice struck the sword of Aegisthus. The king fell into the pool, after which Clytemnestra chopped off her husband’s head ^[65] .

Following Agamemnon, Kassandra was killed with the children, as well as warriors who arrived from a long campaign loyal to the former king. Only the driver Gales was saved , who subsequently moved to Italy and founded the city of Faleria . He was revered as the ancestor of the Falisque tribe and at the end of his life participated in the battle with the remnants of the Trojans, which, under the leadership of Aeneas, reached the west coast of Lacy ^{[66] [65]} . According to another myth, the shadow of Agamemnon tells Odysseus who descended into the kingdom of the dead that he was killed at a feast in honor of his return from the campaign ^[67] .

Plato’s book “The State ” describes the author’s ideas about the afterlife, including stories about the transmigration of souls. According to this ancient source, the soul of Agamemnon, as a result of suffering, was so hostile to people that after death it was embodied in an eagle to be away from them ^[68] .

Hittite sources mention a ruler named Akagamunas ( Hitt . Akagamunaš ), who ruled the country of Ahkhiyava ( Hitt . Ahhiyawa , literally. "Achaean land") in the XIV century BC. er ^{[69] [70] [71]} . This ruler is a likely historical prototype of Agamemnon. In the etymological dictionary of Robert Beckes, “Agamemnon” is deciphered as “very persistent”, “unconquered”. At the same time, the name can be considered as consisting of two parts: dr. Greek. Ἀγα - “very much” and others. Greek. μέμνων - “think about”, which corresponds to “thinking a lot” ^[72] .

The wealth of Agamemnon, his position among other Greek military leaders, according to modern antiquologists, reflect the rise of Mycenae in the XIV-XII centuries BC. e. and their supremacy among other Greek cities of the Peloponnese . The epithet “Zeus-Agamemnon” that has come down to us testifies to the fact that the historical prototype of the king eventually became a semi-divine protector of his people, whose functions after the rise of the Olympic dodecateon were transferred to the supreme god Zeus ^[12] .

Greek writer of the 2nd century AD e. and the creator of the ancient guide to Hellas Pausanias describes the tomb of Agamemnon on the ruins of ancient Mycenae ^[73] , as well as his grave monument in Amiklah ^[74] . Agamemnon was revered to one degree or another in various parts of Hellas, such as, for example, the Clazomenes located in Asia Minor ^[75] and the Boeotian Heronia . In the latter, the scepter of Agamemnon, created according to tradition by Hephaestus , was kept as a shrine. However, the Mycenaean king enjoyed the greatest reverence in Sparta, where they worshiped Zeus-Agamemnon ^[76] .

In the writings of a man who lived in the years 95-170 A.D. e. the historian Appian contains information testifying to the attitude towards Agamemnon in Roman society. So, Gnei Pompey was called "Agamemnon" because he allegedly deliberately delayed the battle with the forces of Julius Caesar , like the Mycenaean king, who owned the supreme royal power solely thanks to the war ^[77] .

In 1876, the world-famous archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered a group of burials during excavations of Mycenae. In one of them, he dug up a golden mask, which he identified as the posthumous image of Agamemnon. Inspired by the find, Schliemann sent a telegram to the King of Greece George I “ I am very happy to inform Your Majesty that I managed to find the burials in which Agamemnon, Kassandra, Eurymedon and their friends, who were killed during the meal by Clytemnestra and her lover Egistus , were buried .” Subsequently, the assumption that the artifact belonged to the legendary king was refuted, since the mask was created several centuries earlier than the estimated date of the destruction of Troy and, accordingly, the life of Agamemnon ^[78] . For 2019, it is kept at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens ^[79] .

From the dramatic works of the Ancient Greece and Rome, describing the tragic death of Agamemnon, the tragedies of the same name Aeschylus and Seneca survived to this day. The plot was developed from the 16th century by European playwrights Hans Sachs , Thomas Decker and others. In the second half of the 18th century, interest in the myth of the life of the legendary Mycenaean king led to the emergence of the tragedies of Agamemnon by Vittorio Alfieri , Louis Jean Lemercier and others. In the 19th and 20th centuries, history formed the basis of about 30 tragedies, among which the most significant is Gerhart Hauptmann tetralogy , , and ^[12] .

In ancient fine art, Agamemnon is a minor character that is found in various compositions, such as metopes of the north side of the Parthenon . The murder of Agamemnon is reflected in the paintings of ancient Greek vases and Etruscan funeral urns. In the paintings of European artists of the New Age, he is also located among other characters of ancient Greek mythology ^[12] .

In musical works, the plot of the assassination of Agamemnon formed the basis of the libretto of the following operas and cantatas ^[12] :

• Clytemnestra by Niccolo Piccinni ;
• Clytemnestra by Nicolo Antonio Zingarelli ;
• the Oresteia trilogy by S. I. Taneev ;
• Oresteia by Felix Weingartner ;
• Oresteia by Darius Millau ;
• "Agamemnon" Dimitrie Kuklin ;
• Clytemnestra by Ildebrando Pizetti ;
• Clytemnestra by Luigi Cherubini and others.

In honor of Agamemnon, the asteroid (911) Agamemnon , discovered in 1919, is named ^[80] . In addition, the name of the Mycenaean king was assigned to the HMS Agamemnon Navy , including two armadillos: the Inflexible citadel ^{[81] [82]} and one of the last two battleships of the pre-dreadnought era (such as Lord Nelson) ^{[83] [84 ] ]} .

Sources

• Apollodorus . Mythological Library / Translation, concluding article, notes, index V. G. Borukhovich. - L .: Science, 1972.
• Вергилий . Энеида // Буколики. Георгики. Энеида. — М. : Художественная литература , 1979.
• Гай Веллей Патеркул . «Римская история» Веллея Патеркула / Перевод и комментарии А. И. Немировского.. — Воронеж: Изд-во Воронеж. ун-та, 1985.
• Геродот. Фукидид. Ксенофонт. Вся история Древней Греции. — М. : Астрель, 2009. — ISBN 978-5-271-27404-6 .
• Hyginus . Myths / Translation from Latin, a comment by D. O. Torshilova, edited by A. A. Taho-Godi . - SPb. : Aletheia , 2000. - 360 p. — (Античная библиотека). - ISBN 5-89329-198-0 .
• Драконций Эмилий Блоссий . Мифологические поэты / Перевод с латинского, вступительная статья, комментарии, приложение и указатель В. Н. Ярхо. — М. : Лабиринт, 2001. — С. 224. — (Античное наследие).
• Квинт Смирнский . После Гомера / Вступ. ст., пер. с др.греч. яз., прим. А. П. Большакова. — М. : Университет Дмитрия Пожарского, 2016. — 320 с. — ISBN 978-5-91244-158-5 .
• Pausanias . Description of Hellas / Translation by S. Kondratyev, edited by E. V. Nikityuk. Responsible editor prof. E. D. Frolov .. - SPb. : Алетейя, 1996. — ISBN 5-89329-006-2 .
• Эсхил. Трагедии / Перевод Вячеслава Иванова. Издание подготовили Н. И. Балашов, Дим. Вяч. Иванов, М. Л. Гаспаров, Г. Ч. Гусейнов, Н. В. Котрелев, В. Н. Ярхо.. — М. : Наука, 1989.

Literature

• Graves Robert. Myths of Ancient Greece . - M .: Progress, 1992. - 624 p. - (Anthropology, ethnography, mythology, folklore). - ISBN 5-01-001587-0 .
• Ярхо В. Н. Агамемнон // Мифы народов мира / Главн. ed. S.A. Tokarev . — М. : Советская энциклопедия , 1990. — С. 26—27.