Everything about Clytemnestra totally explained
Clytemnestra (or Clytaemnestra) ‘‘(Eng. /klaɪtəm'nɛstɹə/
Greek: Κλυταιμνήστρα
Klytaimnéstra, "famed for her suitors") was the wife of
Agamemnon, king of the Ancient
Greek kingdom of
Mycenae or
Argos. In the
Oresteia by
Aeschylus, she was a
femme fatale who murdered her husband,
Agamemnon - said by
Euripides to be her second husband - and his
concubine Cassandra. However, in
Homer's
Odyssey, her role in Agamemnon's death is unclear and her character is significantly more subdued.
Background
Clytemnestra was the daughter of
Tyndareus and
Leda and mother of
Iphigeneia,
Orestes,
Chrysothemis and
Electra. According to the myth, Zeus appeared to Leda in the form of a swan, raping and impregnating her. Leda produced four offspring from two eggs;
Castor and Polydeuces from one egg, and
Helen and Clytemnestra from the other. Castor and Clytemnestra were fathered by Tyndareus whereas Pollux and Helen were fathered by
Zeus. In Euripides's
Iphigeneia in Tauris, Clytemnestra's first husband was
Tantalus, who was slain by Agamemnon, King of
Pisa (in the western
Peloponnese), who then made Clytemnestra his wife.
Mythology
Agamemnon was leading Greek forces in the
Trojan War in Troy, when consistently weak winds were preventing his ships from sailing. Through a subplot involving the gods, he was told that the winds would return if he sacrificed his daughter
Iphigeneia to the goddess
Artemis. He persuaded Clytemnestra to send Iphigeneia by deceptively telling her that the purpose of his daughter's visit was to marry her to
Achilles. When Iphigeneia arrived, she was sacrificed. This betrayal was a partial motive for his eventual murder.
Also during this period of his absence, Clytemnestra began a love affair with
Aegisthus, her husband's cousin (they produced a daughter;
Erigone). Whether Clytemnestra was seduced into the affair or entered it independently is debated. Nevertheless, together they plotted the murder of Agamemnon.
When Agamemnon returned from Troy, he brought the princess
Cassandra as his concubine, thus Clytemnestra's jealousy was another partial motive for his murder. Upon his arrival, he entered the palace for a banquet while Cassandra remained in the chariot. It is at this point that Clytemnestra (or Aegisthus, see "Controversy") fulfilled her plan by initially seducing him into a vulnerable position, then entangling him in cloth and finally murdering him.
Meanwhile, Cassandra, who had the gift of always true
prophecy, saw visions of Agamemnon's murder and her own. Her attempts to elicit help failed (she had been cursed by
Apollo; no one would believe her prophecies) and when she realized she was fated to die, she ran into the palace and was also killed by Clytemnestra. After the murders, Aegisthus replaced Agamemnon and ruled with Clytemnestra. She was eventually killed by her son
Orestes, who was the reluctant avenger of his father's death.
Controversy
- Different versions of the myth vary in their depiction of the murder; some suggest that Clytemnestra killed Agamemnon alone, others suggest that it was a joint effort with Aegisthus, or Aegisthus entirely.
According to some scholars, Cassandra wasn't murdered along with Agamemnon, but rather left Mycenae unharmed.
Clytemnestra's personality differs between tellings, as weak and submissive (Homer's Clytemnestra), or ruthless and manipulative (Aeschylus' Clytemnestra). This affects her role in the affair with Agamemnon.
Clytemnestra in the arts
Clytemnestra has been the subject of many artistic works.
Most notably, Aeschylus' play Agamemnon was the first piece to bring her to light.
The American modern singer and choreographer Martha Graham created a two-hour ballet, Clytemnestra (1958), about the queen.
Most recently, playwright/actor Corey Allen wrote a contemporary adaptation of Aeschylus' earlier work entitled Clytemnestra.
The story has also been adapted into an opera; Cromwell Everson a South African composer wrote the first Afrikaans opera, "Klutaimnestra", in 1967. It is an opera in four acts and premiered on November 7, 1967 in Biesenbach Hall, Worcester, Western Cape, South Africa.
Clytemnetra Sutpen was the daughter of Thomas Sutpen and his negro slave in William Faulkner's work Absalom, Absalom.Further Information
Get more info on 'Clytemnestra'.
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