Agamemnon (1)

His name literally means Very Steadfast; he was the legendary king of the city of Mykenai (Mycenae) and the son of Atreus and brother of Menelaos (Menelaus) and Anaxibia.

When Menelaos’ wife, Helen, was enchanted by Aphrodite (goddess of Love) and taken to the city of Troy by Alexandros (Paris), Agamemnon formed an army and sailed to Troy to retrieve Helen and her dowry.

There were two major incidents that tested Agamemnon’s leadership:

1. When the Argive fleet had gathered at the island of Aulis and was preparing to sail to the city of Troy, Agamemnon offended the goddess, Artemis, and Boreas (North Wind) would not let the ships leave the harbor; the seer, Kalkhas (Calchas), said that unless Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter, Iphianassa, to Artemis, the fleet would not be allowed to leave Aulis; Agamemnon had Iphianassa brought to Aulis on the pretext that she was to marry Akhilleus (Achilles); when the time for the sacrifice came, Artemis took Iphianassa from the altar and substituted a deer in her stead; Iphianassa was saved from the cruel sacrifice but the deed would later come back to haunt Agamemnon and cost him the love of his wife and, consequently, his life.
2. The second incident to test Agamemnon’s leadership was when a young girl named Briseis was taken as a slave by the Greeks during the ninth year of the siege of Troy.

Briseis was awarded to Akhilleus (Achilles) as a “prize” but when Agamemnon took her from Akhilleus, the two men began a long and bitter feud; Akhilleus swore that he and his troops would not fight for Agamemnon and that no apology or act of contrition could end the dispute.

Finally, the Greeks were being overwhelmed by the Trojans and Agamemnon offered to return Briseis to Akhilleus with many other gifts including one of his daughters and a part of his kingdom; Akhilleus refused these offers until his life-long friend, Patroklos (Patroclus), was killed by the Trojans; at that point, he accepted Briseis and the other gifts that Agamemnon offered, although they meant nothing to him, donned his armor and entered the battle.

In the tenth year of the siege Agamemnon was finally able to trick the Trojans and gain entrance to the city; after his triumphant return from Troy he was murdered by his cousin, Aigisthos (Aegisthus), who was the lover of his wife Klytemnestra (Clytemnestra) and the instrument of her revenge for his long absence and the attempted sacrifice of their daughter.

Odyssey, book 1, lines 29-42

Iliad, book 1, line 392 and book 19, lines 260-300

Returns, fragment 1