Asher Sisneros

Aeschylus was a Greek playwright. He wrote Agamemnon, which was about the tragedies surrounding Agamemnon, the king of Argos, and his household during the Trojan War. He and his brother Menelaus led the campaign against Troy. While King Agamemnon was successful in his siege, that victory had a price. Aeschylus went into extensive detail on all the victims and perpetrators, and how one crime led to dozens. This essay is about Aeschylus’ view on the Trojan War and the tragedies that fell on everyone—kings, queens, Trojans, and Achean (Greeks).

            As Agamemnon led his fleet to sack Troy, a divine wind resisted his warships. The Greek goddess Artemis sent a powerful gust that halted their progress. It was necessary to provide a human sacrifice of virgin blood to appease Artemis. In his lust for war and blood, Agamemnon didn’t hesitate to nominate his daughter, Iphigeneia. Since the military campaign was more valuable than his daughter’s life, King Agamemnon sacrificed her without remorse. While Iphigeneia strongly disagreed and pleaded for mercy and love, her father didn’t listen or care. As she was being sacrificed, the soldiers gagged her, so she couldn’t curse the household of Atreus (Agamemnon’s father).

            The siege on Troy was successful. All the Greeks killed and plundered the Trojans, taking concubines and gold. Metreus and Agamemnon won the war. On their return home, a terrible storm scattered the Greeks. Many of their warships were lost. All the treasure they won fell into the ocean and Metreus went missing, along with the war hero Odysseus. Broken and tattered, Agamemnon and his remaining ships returned to Argos, with nothing to show for the war.

            In one section of the play, Aeschylus pointed out that during the ten-year war, the soldiers abroad took many concubines. Their loyalty to their wives at home was fickle. Aware of this, the wives often grieved, lusting for their husbands to return. Unfortunately, many of them perished. The war brought devastation on Greek families and the promised treasure was lost.

            Upon Agamemnon’s return, his wife Clytaemnestra greeted him warmly. She adorned the ground with a red carpet for her husband. Then he showed her his war prize: Cassandra, his new concubine. She was the daughter of his enemy but possessed prophetic skills. After Agamemnon went inside his palace, Cassandra shrieked. Apollo gave her powers to see the future when he took her to be his bride. However, when she refused to bear him a child, he cursed her and nobody would ever believe her prophesies. All the people around her listened to her prophesy about Agamemnon’s death. Every specific detail was laid before them, but they refused to act. Shortly after that, Cassandra went into the palace with Clytaemnestra and Agamemnon.  

            As Cassandra prophesied, Clytaemnestra took a dagger and stabbed her husband in the bath. After that, she killed Cassandra. The two bathed in blood in the palace. When the chorus confronted Clytaemnestra, she pleaded innocence—not because she didn’t murder Agamemnon, but because he deserved it. She wanted to avenge her dead daughter; Agamemnon’s death was a retaliation.

            While Agamemnon was at war, Clytaemnestra fell in love with another man. Her husband was disloyal to her in taking Cassandra as a concubine. It drove her to madness and her love transformed into hatred. Iphigeneia’s death was the final straw.

            The man who stole Clytaemnestra’s heart wasn’t innocent, though. His love was strategic and calculated, not emotional. His name was Aegisthus and his father was Atreus’ brother. In other words, Agamemnon and Aegisthus were cousins. Clytaemnestra didn’t kill her husband solely for her vengeance; Her new lover persuaded her to kill him.

            Why? Atreus and his brother were challengers for the Argos throne. To solidify his rule, Atreus banished his brother. Then Atreus held a feast of illegitimate reconciliation. He deceived his brother. Atreus executed all his nephews and hid their body parts in the meal. Unknown to him, Atreus’ brother was eating his own children. Aegisthus was the only child that survived the slaughter. When the deception was revealed, Atreus was cursed by his brother. The curse wouldn’t be satisfied until Atreus’ whole line was destroyed.

            Aegisthus took it upon his duty to avenge his father and kill his cousin. With Agamemnon dead and Menelaus missing, Aegisthus assumed the throne.

            So, what was the reason for the Trojan War? It was merely to settle scores between two men—Agamemnon and Paris. When Agamemnon invited Paris, the son of Priam, to his house, he showed nothing but hospitality. However, Paris fell in love with Agamemnon’s wife, Helen. He persuaded her to run away with him back to Troy. She agreed. That single act infuriated Agamemnon and he wouldn’t settle until all the Trojans paid. His desire was to see the house of Priam burn.

            That is exactly what Agamemnon achieved. While the Greek victory was a win for Agamemnon, it was a loss for his people. In the end, the war’s blowback affected Agamemnon, his brother, his wife, and their daughter, along with all the heartbroken citizens. I believe Atreus’ conclusion on the war is that they all paid a heavy price for the zeal of a blood-thirsty king.