Agamemnon, king-leader of the Achaeans in the Trojan War

Agamemnon- the character of Greek myths and the Iliad of Homer, the son of Atreus and Aeropa, the Mycenaean king, the leader of the united Achaean troops in the Trojan War.

A proud and domineering, mighty and brave warrior and at the same time a suspicious egoist who gets lost in difficult situations - this is how Agamemnon appears in Homer, Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles, in the novels and plays of modern authors; his character both attracts and repels us, and his tragic fate evokes compassion.

Agamemnon was born in Mycenae, where his father, Atreus, came to power after the death of King Eurystheus, who left no descendants. The childhood of Agamemnon and his younger brother Menelaus passed in an atmosphere of intrigue and power struggle between Atreus and his brother Fiestos.

As a child, Agamemnon witnessed the hideous crime of his father, who killed Plisthenes and Tantalus, the sons of Fiesta; later, in front of Agamemnon, Atreus was killed by Aegisthus, the son of Fiesta.

When Fiestos came to power in Mycenae, Agamemnon and Menelaus fled to Sparta, under the protection of King Tyndareus. However, at the first opportunity, Agamemnon returned to avenge his father's death. After killing Fiesta, Agamemnon became king of Mycenae, as the rightful heir of Atreus.

Agamemnon became one of the most powerful and wealthy Achaean rulers. He lived in friendship with all kings and even reconciled with his father's murderer, Aegisthus. His residence was spoken of in no other way than the "gold-rich Mycenae". He was also a happy husband and father.

When his brother Menelaus took Elena (the Beautiful) as his wife, Agamemnon married her half-sister Clytemestre, who bore him a son Orestes and daughters Chrysothemis, Electra and Iphigenia (in older sources, Laodice is named instead of Electra, and Iphianassus instead of Iphigenia).

Agamemnon lived in his palace calmly and happily, enjoying universal respect, and only one thing threatened him: that he would enter myths without any glory.

But then disturbing news came to Mycenae: from Menelaus, who after the death of Tyndareus became king of Sparta, the Trojan prince Paris had kidnapped his wife. Soon Menelaus himself arrived in Mycenae and asked Agamemnon to help him return Helen. After all, she was the most beautiful of all mortal women, her father was Zeus himself, and the insidious Paris kidnapped her, being a guest of Sparta. And not only that: at the same time, he also took the treasures of Menelaus.

It was a gross violation of hospitality, a grave insult to the king, spouse, man. Such treachery could never go unpunished.

Agamemnon advised his brother to go with some experienced mediator, best of all - with the king of Ithaca, Odysseus, to Troy and there to turn for justice to the father of Paris, the Trojan king Priam, who, of course, would settle the whole matter. Menelaus did just that, but he got nothing. Paris was ready to return the stolen treasures, but did not want to talk about the return of Elena.

Then Menelaus and Odysseus threatened the Trojans with war, but Paris stood his ground, and Priam supported him. Upon learning of this, Agamemnon sent out ambassadors to all the Achaean kings, urging them to help Menelaus and punish Paris.

The expedition, led by Agamemnon, promised glory and rich booty to the participants. In the harbor of Aulis, 1186 ships and 100 thousand soldiers gathered, ready to march against Troy.

The article uses frames from the 2004 film "Troy". Brian Cox plays Agamemnon.

Conscious of his responsibility as the commander-in-chief, Agamemnon was ready for any sacrifice, if only the gods were supportive of the campaign. He sacrificed his own daughter Iphigenia to Artemis in order to atone for the insult he once inflicted on the goddess.

After a dangerous voyage full of unforeseen obstacles, the Achaean fleet finally landed on the shores of Troy. Although a mighty army awaited them there, led by Priam's eldest son Hector, the Achaeans managed to land at Troas. However, the Greeks did not manage to take the high walls of Troy by storm and rolled away from them like waves from an indestructible dam. Then Agamemnon ordered to break up a fortified camp and from it began new and new attacks of Troy - for nine whole years, but all in vain!

In the tenth year, a long-accumulating discontent was openly manifested in the Achaean army. The warriors dreamed of returning home, and the generals lost hope of booty and glory. In addition, when the disappointment with the hopeless war reached its limit, a dispute arose between Agamemnon and the best Achaean fighter Achilles, the leader of the Myrmidons.

The reason was a woman: during one of the military expeditions to the neighboring kingdoms of Troy, Achilles took possession of several captives, including the daughter of Chris, the priest of Apollo; when dividing the spoils, Chryseis went to Agamemnon.

Soon her father came to the camp and asked Agamemnon to return his daughter to him for a rich ransom. But Agamemnon did not agree, since he liked the girl, and he expelled her father in disgrace. Then Rhys turned to Apollo with a plea for vengeance. Apollo, offended in the face of his priest, descended from Olympus and with the help of his arrows fired from a silver bow, scattered the fatal pestilence in the camp of the Achaeans.

Since Agamemnon did nothing to appease Apollo, Achilles intervened. He called a popular assembly to decide what they should do. Agamemnon was offended by this, since he believed that the right to convene a meeting belonged to him alone. He came to the meeting, but with anger in his soul and with the intention to demonstrate to Achilles his power and strength. At a meeting of the Achaean warriors, the army soothsayer Kalhant said that Apollo could only be pacified if the daughter of Chris was returned to her father, but without any ransom and with an apology.

Agamemnon attacked Kalhant, and when Achilles intervened, Agamemnon shouted at him and grossly insulted. After a sharp skirmish, in which neither one nor the other chose words, Agamemnon finally announced that in the interests of the army he was refusing Chryseis, but in return he would take another captive from one of the leaders - and chose Briseis, the concubine of Achilles. Achilles obeyed the decision of the commander-in-chief, no matter how reckless and unjust it was, but made his own conclusions from this. He proclaimed that he would not participate in the war until Agamemnon and all the Achaeans who spoke in his defense asked him for forgiveness and removed his dishonor.

In vain did the rest of the leaders persuade Achilles, especially the king of Pilos, the old man Nestor, the brave Diomedes from Argos and the cunning Odysseus from Ithaca. He stood his ground and thus brought trouble to the army: when the Trojans learned that Achilles, who terrified them, would not fight them, they made a sortie from the city, forced the Achaeans to retreat and began to prepare for a crushing assault on their camp.

Agamemnon sent ambassadors to Achilles with apologies and a proposal to make peace. He promised to return Briseis to him with seven other captives to boot, and with rich gifts. However, Achilles could not forget the insult and rejected both the offer of peace and the gifts. The Achaeans had to fight without Achilles and his troops.

Despite stubborn resistance, the Trojans pushed the Greeks to the sea itself. Agamemnon fought bravely in the forefront, as befits a leader, but when, due to injury and loss of blood, he had to leave the battlefield, he invited the rest of the Achaean leaders to abandon further struggle and save the lives of the soldiers by flight. However, the soldiers continued to fight bravely, and with them all the leaders.

Finally, they waited for a new turn of events: seeing that Hector had already begun to set fire to the Achaean ships, Achilles allowed his friend Patroclus to join the battle at the head of the Myrmidons and lent him his armor. The Trojans decided that Achilles himself had come out against them, and in fear fled.

But Patroclus, who thus saved the ships and the camp of the Achaeans, did not return from the battle; he died in single combat with Hector, who was assisted by the god Apollo. Then Achilles decided to join the battle to avenge his friend. He accepted Agamemnon's offer of reconciliation and fought under the walls of Troy until his heroic death.

We know that the Achaeans eventually took Troy by cunning. At the suggestion of Odysseus, they built a huge wooden horse, inside which the most brave warriors hid. Then Agamemnon ordered to set fire to the camp, put the army on ships and sailed with the whole fleet to the west. However, he did not sail to Greece, as the Trojans believed, but took refuge behind Cape Tenedos and returned with the onset of darkness with the entire army.

Meanwhile, the Trojans brought the horse into the city - and even dismantled part of the city wall for this, since the gates were too narrow. Too easily the Trojans believed the story of the Greek warrior Sinon, whom he left on the shore of Odysseus, supplying him with appropriate instructions. Sinon said that the giant wooden horse was dedicated by the Achaeans to the goddess Athena and could serve as the protection of the city.

At night, the hidden soldiers got out of the horse, overcame the unsuspecting guards, and Sinon gave the agreed sign to Agamemnon, who invaded the city with an army through a gap in the wall. In the morning, only the smoking ruins reminded of the once glorious Troy.

The victorious Agamemnon returned to Mycenae, his ships were overloaded with gold, silver, bronze, and slaves. Entering his native land, he kissed it with emotion and made a grateful sacrifice to the gods. Then Agamemnon ordered a huge fire to be lit on the coastal mountain - before leaving for the war, he promised his wife to notify her in this way about his return. Clythemester was impatiently awaiting the agreed signal, but she was not alone.

While Agamemnon was fighting at the walls of Troy, his cousin Aegisthus appeared in Mycenae and seduced his wife. True, at first she resisted, but then succumbed to his flattery, and now they already had a jointly developed plan on how to get rid of Agamemnon.

Aegisthus solemnly greeted him, led him into the banquet hall, and when the feast was in full swing, Aegisthus gave a sign to the hidden soldiers, and they killed Agamemnon along with all his companions (as Homer said: nursery "). Then Aegisthus ordered to hastily bury Agamemnon outside the city walls, married Clytemestra and proclaimed himself king of Mycenae.

The story about Agamemnon does not end there. The last word was said in 1876 by the German archaeologist G. Schliemann. In the photo: the so-called "mask of Agamemnon" from forged gold, made in the XIV century BC. The golden mask was discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 in Mycenae. It is now kept in the National Museum in Athens.

After in 1871-1873. Schliemann excavated the ruins of Troy, the existence of which was doubted by most scientists of that time, he went to Mycenae in search of the tomb of Agamemnon. Schliemann relied on information from Homer's Iliad, Aeschylus' Oresteia, Euripides' Electra, and Pausanias' Description of Hellas, who visited Mycenae in the 2nd century BC. BC e.

Indeed, on a fenced site near the fortress walls, at a depth of about 8 meters, Schliemann found five tombs with the remains of fifteen people, literally strewn with gold and jewelry. Their decorations and weapons matched Homer's description. The faces of the dead were covered with golden masks that reproduced their features; Schliemann could be convinced of this, because under one of the masks he discovered the intact, naturally mummified face of the Mycenaean ruler.

The enthusiastic archaeologist decided that this is Agamemnon himself: "I discovered the tombs that Pausanias, relying on tradition, considers the tombs of Agamemnon, Cassandra, Eurymedon and their friends, killed by the treacherous Aegisthus and the treacherous Clytemestre."

However, later studies showed that the people whose remains Schliemann discovered in Mycenae lived about two and a half centuries before the death of Troy, and therefore before the death of Agamemnon.

True, in order for Agamemnon to die, he first had to live - however, we have no direct evidence of his existence, therefore, even after Schliemann's discoveries, Agamemnon remains a hero from myths.

The Mycenaean treasures are now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. They occupy almost the entire entrance hall there, and their radiance testifies that Homer did not speak in vain about "the golden rich Mycenae". The name Agamemnon is mentioned there at every step, in particular in front of the golden mask, which Schliemann attributed to him.

In addition to the above-mentioned Attic tragedies of the 5th century. BC e. Seneca's tragedy "Agamemnon" is dedicated to him.

In modern times, the fate of Agamemnon formed the basis of dozens of different works; Let us name only the tragic tetralogy of G. Hauptmann and the opera-trilogy "Oresteia" by SI Taneyev.

A.S. Pushkin in the poem "It was time: our holiday is young ..." (1836) Agamemnon - Emperor Alexander I:

“Do you remember how our Agamemnon
From captive Paris, he rushed to us. "

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Agamemnon Agamemnon

(Agamemnon, Άγαμέμνων). King of Mycenae, brother of Menelaus. He married Clytemnestra, who bore him Iphigenia, Crisothemis, Laodice (among the tragedians of Electra) and Orestes. He was the most powerful king in all of Greece. When Paris took Helen away and the Greek kings, at the call of Menelaus, decided to take revenge on the Trojans, Agamemnon was elected leader of the entire army. Still, Agamemnon is not the hero of the Iliad, since he is lower than Achilles in valor and nobility. After the capture of Troy, he got the spoil of Cassandra, the daughter of Priam, with whom he returned home. Here he is killed by Aegisthus, who in the absence of Agamemnon lived with Agamemnon's wife Clytemnestra; Clytemnestra kills Cassandra. Agamemnon's son Orestes subsequently avenges his father's death and kills his mother and Aegisthus.

(Source: "Concise Dictionary of Mythology and Antiquities". M. Korsh. St. Petersburg, edition of A. Suvorin, 1894.)

(Άγαμέμνων), in Greek mythology, the son Atreus and Airs, the leader of the Greek army during the Trojan War. After killing Atreus Aegisthus A. and Menelaus were forced to flee to Aetolia, but the king of Sparta Tyndareus, going on a campaign to Mycenae, forced Fiesta cede power to the sons of Atreus. A. became king in Mycenae (which ancient tradition often identifies with neighboring Argos) and married Tyndareus' daughter Klitemestre. From this marriage A. had three daughters and a son Orestes. When Paris kidnapped Elena and all her former suitors united in a campaign against Troy, A., as the elder brother of Menelaus and the most powerful of the Greek kings, was elected head of the entire army. The Iliad portrays A. as a valiant warrior (a description of his exploits is given in the 11th book), but does not hide his arrogance and intransigence; it is these characteristics of A.'s character that are the cause of many calamities for the Greeks. Having once killed a doe while hunting, A. boasted that such a shot could have been the envy of Artemis; the goddess became angry and deprived the Greek fleet of a tailwind. The Greeks could not leave Aulis for a long time (until A. sacrificed his daughter to the goddess Iphigenia; by this fact the Greek tradition explains the enmity of Clytemestra towards her husband) (Apollod. epit. Ill 21 next). Having captured Chryseis during one of the raids on the outskirts of Troy, A. refuses to return her for a large ransom to the father Chrys, the priest of Apollo, and God, heeding Chryse's pleas, sends a pestilence to the Greek army. When the true cause of the disaster is revealed and Achilles demands from A. the return of Chryseis to her father, A. takes away from Achilles his captive Bryseida, which leads to a prolonged self-removal of the offended Achilles from the battles and to heavy defeats for the Greeks (Noah. P. I 8-427; IX 9-692). The further fate of A. was described by the epic poem "The Return" (7th century BC) and "Oresteia" by Stesichor that did not come down to us. After taking Troy A., having received huge booty and Cassandra, returned to his homeland, where death awaited him in his own home; according to an older version of the myth, he fell during a feast at the hands of Aegisthus, who managed to seduce Clytemestra during the absence of A. (Not. Od. III 248-275; IV 524-537). Since the middle of the 6th century. BC e. Clytemestra herself came to the fore: meeting A. with hypocritical joy, she then threw a heavy veil over him in the bathtub and inflicted three fatal blows (Aeschyl. Agam. 855-1576).
The fabulous wealth of Albania and its prominence among the Greek leaders, mentioned in the myth, reflect the rise of historical Mycenae in the 14th and 12th centuries. BC e. and their dominant role among the early states of the Peloponnese. The surviving ritual epithet "Zeus-Agamemnon" shows that A. was probably originally one of those semi-divine patron heroes of his tribe, whose functions were transferred to Zeus with the formation of the Olympic pantheon.
in. n. Yarkho.

From the dramatic works of antiquity, dedicated to the murder of A., the tragedies "A." Aeschylus (the first part of the Oresteia trilogy) and Seneca. The plot was developed in European drama from the 16th century. (G. Sachs, T. Decker and others). Interest in myth awakened again in the second half of the 18th century. (tragedies "A." V. Alfieri, L. Zh. N. Lemercier and others). In the 19-20 centuries. the plot formed the basis for about 30 tragedies, dramatic tetralogy by G. Hauptmann (Iphigenia in Delphi, Iphigenia in Aulis, Death A., Electra).
In ancient fine art, A. is a minor character in multi-figured compositions (metopes of the northern side of the Parthenon, etc.). A.'s murder was embodied in the painting of a number of Greek vases and in the reliefs of several Etruscan burial urns.
In European musical drama, the plot of A.'s death formed the basis for the libretto of a number of operas from the 18th to 20th centuries. ("Clytemestra" by N. Piccini; "Clytemestra" by N. Cingarelli; "A." by D. Treves; opera trilogy "Oresteia" by S. I. Taneyev; "Oresteia" by F. Weingartner; "Oresteia" by D. Millau; "Clytemestra "R. Prochazki;" A. "D. Kuklin;" Clytemestra "by I. Pizzetti and others) and cantatas (" Clytemestra "by L. Cherubini and others).

(Source: Myths of the Nations of the World.)

In the Iliad, the king of Mycenae and Argos, the leader of the Achaean army in the Trojan War. He was famous for his courage and wealth, at the same time he was distinguished by power and arrogance. The son of the king of Mycenae Atreus and Aeropa. Spouse of Clytemnestra (daughter of Leda and the Spartan king Tyndareus). Brother of the Spartan king Menelaus, who was married to Clytemnestra's sister Elena the Beautiful. Under Troy, Agamemnon was the supreme leader of the allied Achaean army. On the day of his return home, he was cunningly killed by Clytemnestra, who, while her husband was fighting at Troy, had a relationship with his cousin Aegisthus. Father of Orestes, Iphigenia, Laodice, Chrysothemis and Electra.

// Jose Maria de HEREDIA: Death of Agamemnon // Nikolay GUMILEV: Warrior of Agamemnon

(Source: "Myths of Ancient Greece. Reference Dictionary." EdwART, 2009.)

See what "Agamemnon" is in other dictionaries:

Historical Dictionary

1. the hero of Homer's Iliad (VIII century BC), the tragedies of Aeschylus “Agamemnon” (458 BC), Sophocles “Alke” (c. 455 445 BC), Euripides "Iphigenia at Avli de" (408-405 BC). A. was the hero of epic songs about the Trojan War back in ... ... Literary heroes

- (Greek). Male name: very firm, persistent. This was the name of the king of Mycenae, the leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov AN, 1910. AGAMEMNON Greek. and husband. name: very hard, ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

AGAMEMNON, in Greek mythology, the king of Mycenae, the leader of the Achaean army in the Trojan War, brother of Menelaus. Sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to Artemis. After taking Troy, he returned home, where he was killed by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus ... Modern encyclopedia

In the Iliad, King Mycenae, leader of the Achaean army in the Trojan War. He was famous for his courage and wealth, at the same time he was distinguished by imperiousness and arrogance. Insidiously killed by his wife Clytemnestra ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Noun., Number of synonyms: 3 asteroid (579) character (103) king (32) ASIS synonym dictionary ... Synonym dictionary

One of the main heroes of the ancient Greek national epic, the son of the Mycenaean king Atreus and Eropa and the brother of Menelaus. He fled, killing his father by his nephew Aegistus, the son of Tiestes and the accession of the latter, together with his brother to Sparta. Here are the brothers ... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

Return of Agamemnos ... Wikipedia

Agamemnon- in the myths of the ancient Greeks, the leader of the Greek army during the Trojan War. After the assassination of his father Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaus fled to Aetolia, but the king of Sparta Tyndareus, going on a campaign against Mycenae, forced Fiesta to cede power to the sons of Atreus. ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary "World History"

Agamemnon was born in Mycenae, where his father Atreus came to power after the death of King Eurystheus, who did not leave behind him. The childhood of Agamemnon and his younger brother Menelaus passed in an atmosphere of power struggle and intrigue between Atreus and his brother Fiestos.

When Agamemnon was a child, his father killed the sons of Fiesta - Plisthenes and Tantalus, later another son of Fiesta - Aegisthus killed Atreus.

After the murder of his father, Agamemnon, together with his brother Menelaus, fled to Sparta, where he sought refuge with the Spartan king Tyndareus. Here the brothers married the daughters of Tyndareus, Agamemnon to Clytemnestra, Menelaus to Helen. After the death of Tyndareus, the throne passed to Menelaus. With the help of his brother, Agamemnon, having killed Fiesta, became king of Mycenae, as the rightful heir of Atreus.

Subsequently, he significantly expanded his possessions and became the most powerful ruler in all of Greece. His residence was spoken of in no other way than the "gold-rich Mycenae".

He was also a happy husband and father. His children: son Orestes and daughters Iphigenia, Electra and Chrysofemis.

Trojan War

Everything was fine until the moment when the Trojan prince Paris kidnapped his wife from Menelaus. And not just a wife, but also the most beautiful of all mortal women, whose father was Zeus himself. Worst of all, Paris kidnapped her, being a guest of Sparta, and at the same time took the treasures of Menelaus.

It was both a gross violation of hospitality and a grave insult to a spouse, a king, or a man. Such a crime could never go unpunished

Menelaus asked Agamemnon to help him get Elena back. Agamemnon advised his brother with some experienced mediator, best of all - with the king of Ithaca Odysseus, to go to Troy and there for justice to turn to the father of Paris, the Trojan king Priam, who, of course, will settle the whole matter. But in an amicable way, Menelaus did not achieve anything. Paris agreed to return the stolen treasures, but he categorically did not want to give Helen, and Priam supported his son.

The only way to resolve the issue was war.

Agamemnon sent out ambassadors to all the Achaean kings, urging them to help Menelaus. He stood at the head of the Achaean army. The hike promised fame and rich booty to the participants. In the harbor of Aulis, 1186 ships and 100 thousand soldiers gathered, ready to march against Troy. Before the war, Agamemnon visited the oracle at Delphi.

Agamemnon was a valiant warrior, but he had an arrogant and unyielding character, which caused many calamities for the Greeks.

Why couldn't the Greek ships leave Aulis for a long time? Because Agamemnon angered the goddess Artemis. Having once killed a doe while hunting, he boasted that Artemis could have envied such a shot; the goddess became angry and deprived the Greek fleet of a tailwind. And until Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess, the Achaeans could not hit the road. With this fact, Greek tradition explains the enmity towards the husband of Clytemestra, who did not know that Iphigenia at the last moment was saved by Artemis.

The Achaean fleet, after a dangerous voyage full of unforeseen obstacles, finally landed on the shores of Troy. A mighty army was already waiting for them, led by Priam's eldest son Hector, but the Achaeans were still able to land at Troas. But the Greeks failed to take the high walls of Troy by storm.

Then Agamemnon ordered to set up a fortified camp and from it he undertook more and more attacks of Troy - for nine whole years, but all in vain!

In the tenth year, the long-accumulating discontent openly manifested itself in the Achaean army. The commanders lost hope for booty and glory, and the warriors simply dreamed of returning home. When the frustration of the hopeless war reached the limit, a dispute arose between Agamemnon and the leader of the Myrmidians, the best Achaean fighter Achilles.

During one of the raids, having captured Chryseis in the vicinity of Troy, Agamemnon refused even for a large ransom to return her to her father Chrys, the priest of Apollo, and, heeding Chryse's pleas, God sends a plague on the Greek army. When the true cause of the disaster became clear, and Achilles demanded that Chryseis return to his father from Agamemnon, Agamemnon took away from Achilles his captive Briseis, which led to a prolonged withdrawal from the battles of the offended Achilles and to severe defeats for the Greeks.

The Trojans, being sure that Achilles, who terrified them, was not fighting the Achaeans, made a sortie from the city, forced the Greeks to retreat and began to prepare for a crushing assault on their camp.

During this assault, the Trojans pushed the Achaeans to the very sea. As befits a leader, Agamemnon fought bravely in the forefront, but when, due to injury and loss of blood, he had to leave the battlefield, he suggested that the rest of the Achaean leaders abandon the further struggle and flee to save the lives of the soldiers. However, the soldiers continued to fight bravely, and with them all the leaders.

When Hector had already begun to set fire to the Achaean ships, Achilles allowed his friend Patroclus to join the battle at the head of the Myrmidons and lent him his armor. The Trojans decided that Achilles himself had turned against them, and in fear they fled.

Patroclus managed to save the ships and the camp of the Achaeans, but he himself did not return from the battle; he died in a duel with Hector, who was assisted by the god Apollo.

To avenge his friend, Achilles decided to join the battle. He fought under the walls of Troy until his heroic death.

In the end, the Achaeans took Troy by cunning. They built a huge wooden horse, the bravest warriors hid inside it. Then he ordered Agamemnon to set fire to the camp, put the army on ships and sailed westward with the whole fleet. The Trojans decided that he sailed to Greece, while the Greeks took refuge behind Cape Tenedos and returned with the onset of darkness with the whole army.

Only the Greek warrior Sinon remained on the shore, to whom the appropriate instructions were given. Sinon told the Trojans who approached that the giant wooden horse was dedicated by the Achaeans to the goddess Athena and could serve as the protection of the city.

The Trojans too easily believed Sinon's story. They brought the horse into the city, and even for this they dismantled part of the city wall, since the gates were too narrow. At night, the hidden soldiers came out of the horse, overcame the unsuspecting guards, and Sinon gave the agreed sign to Agamemnon, who, through a gap in the wall, invaded the city with an army. In the morning, only the smoking ruins reminded of the once glorious Troy.

Death of Agamemnon

Agamemnon returned in triumph to Mycenae, his ships were overloaded with silver, gold, bronze, slaves. He was carrying as a captive the daughter of the king of Troy - Cassandra. But his wife was not happy about his return. While Agamemnon was fighting at the walls of Troy, his cousin Aegisthus appeared in Mycenae and seduced his wife. They already had a joint plan to get rid of Agamemnon.

The meeting in Mycenae was solemn, and after a while the inhabitants of the city learned about the death of Agamemnon. According to an older version of the myth, he fell during a feast at the hands of Aegisthus. Starting from the middle of the 6th century BC, another version came to the fore, according to which Agamemnon was killed by his own wife Clytemnestra: who greeted her husband with hypocritical joy, and then threw a heavy veil over him in the bathtub and inflicted three fatal blows. Cassandra suffered the same fate. Those who returned with him from Ilion were killed by Aegisthus at a feast.

Later, Odysseus meets him in Hades. After death, his soul chose the life of an eagle.

His sad fate and especially his fatal end were a favorite theme of ancient tragedies.

The asteroid (911) Agamemnon, discovered in 1919, is named in honor of Agamemnon.

The myth of the murder of Agamemnon

When King Agamemnon set out on a campaign near Troy, Aegisthus, after a long exile, returned to Argos and announced that he recognized the supremacy of the mighty Agamemnon, was ready to reconcile with him and submit to his power. It seemed to all the Argovians that this reconciliation of close relatives should put an end to the ancient bloody feud between the two branches of the Pelopids; Agamemnon himself thought so and, having taken over the leadership of the Achaean army, calmly set out on a campaign. But while the heroes of Hellas were fighting under the walls of Troy, the cunning Aegisthus, who remained in Argos, plotted against Agamemnon and plotted his death. He became close to Clytemnestra and, taking possession of her heart, appropriated to himself the power over Argos, ruled in the house of Agamemnon, judged and commanded the people, as if he were the legitimate king of the country. Both of them - Aegisthus and Clytemnestra - hoped that Agamemnon would not return from Troy; and if, contrary to their expectations, he managed to return to Argos alive, they were ready to do anything to prevent the rival, terrible for Aegisthus, from entering into his rights.

Before leaving, Agamemnon promised Clytemnestra that as soon as Troy was taken, he would immediately let him know about it in Argos. He wanted to send messengers ahead and order them to light fires along the tops of all the mountains lying on the path from Ida to Argos itself; these lights were supposed to serve as a sign of victory over Ilion and the imminent return of the Achaean army to its native shores. Every night, Clytemnestra sent one of her servants to the tower: the watchman was awake all night and vigilantly gazed into the distance - if a conventional fire would not seem anywhere. For many years the watchman carried out his heavy duty and looked forward to being relieved of that service, when he would not need to spend nights without sleep, standing alone on a high tower and looking in vain and waiting for the sign of victory to appear. And then one day, at dawn, he sees: a fire appeared on the top of a distant mountain. The symbol was transmitted from the many hills of Ida to the rock of Hermes, to Lemnos, from here to Athos, then, through the peaks of the coastal mountains, to Kyferon and further to the Skaron Gulf, to the summit of Arachneon, close to Argos. The guard exclaimed loudly and enthusiastically, seeing the long-awaited flame, and hurried with the joyful news to the palace of his mistress.

As soon as Clytemnestra listened to him, she immediately summoned the attendants and went with them to the square to bring a thankful sacrifice to the gods. Good news quickly spread throughout the city, and people gathered in droves to the royal palace; on the square in front of the palace, the citizens wanted to await the arrival of the king. The elders of the people, talking among themselves, recalled how the war began, how the treacherous Paris, insulting the divine and human rights, kidnapped Helen from the house of King Menelaus and took with him to Troy to die for himself and all the people of Priam: angry as eagles , from whom the chicks were kidnapped from the nest, rushed to Troy of Atrida with a multitude of spearmen and took revenge on the people of Priam, who had taken the criminal Paris under their protection. Crowned with glory, the Achaeans are now returning to their native land. But how many heroes fell in bloody, destructive slaughter, how many houses in Argos will be filled with sobs and screams! Atrid Agamemnon gained great fame for himself, an enviable share fell to him, the whole Achaean people now praise him, calls him a great hero, winner and destroyer of enemy strongholds. But the happiness of a mortal husband is fragile, and loud glory often gives birth to death; not to forget Atris, the great sacrifice made in Aulis, not to forget to him his Iphigenia, who fell under the sacrificial knife of the priest! No, the lot of the greats of the earth is not enviable; let our lot be modest, but let our hearts be pure, and let our days pass in the world.

This was the interpretation of the people gathered in front of the royal palace, near the altar, at which the servants of Clytemnestra made sacrificial libations. The queen herself, cold and proud, tried to look joyful, but from the few words she exchanged with the elders of the people, it was clear that there was something unkind in her mind. When a noise was heard in the crowd and the people began to doubt the justice of the news of the king's arrival, Clytemnestra proudly stood up, responded with contempt to the speeches of the crowd of people and pointed to the messenger approaching the people with an olive branch in his hands and an olive crown on his head. The messenger joyfully greeted his native land, the altars of the gods and the crowds of the people, then approached the queen and conveyed to her the news of the victory over Troy and the return of the Achaean army. Clytemnestra received the news with feigned joy and instructed the messenger to tell her master that his wife was waiting for him impatiently and asked him to hurry with his arrival in the city. Following this, the queen quickly retired to the palace - then, as if to prepare for the meeting of her royal husband.

A little later, on the road from the sea to the city, King Agamemnon himself appeared with all his army. In front were armed warriors adorned with green branches; behind them were mules laden with rich booty, chariots with captive Trojans, and at the end of the whole procession - a luxuriously decorated royal chariot drawn by white horses. On that chariot sat King Agamemnon, dressed in a purple robe, with a golden scepter in his hands and with the crown of victory on his forehead; near the king was the captive daughter of King Priam, the prophetic maiden Cassandra. The people greeted the victors with joyful shouts. When the royal chariot drove up to the palace and Agamemnon was already ready to enter the gates of his dwelling, Clytemnestra, accompanied by a crowd of magnificently dressed servants, hurried out to meet her husband, joyfully greeted him and began to talk about how much grief she endured in his absence, how many tears she shed in her inconsolable and helpless loneliness, how she twisted and yearned when bad news came from under Troy. “But the hard time has passed, years of sorrow and tears: after winter storms the clear sun of a peaceful, blooming spring has risen. I greet you, the joy and stronghold of the family, the anchor of the salvation of the entire Argos people! " Thus spoke Clytemnestra and ordered the maids to cover with purple cloths all the way from the chariot to the gates of the palace, so that the dust of the earth would not touch the feet of her husband, the glorious destroyer of the Ilion strongholds. Agamemnon did not want to accept the honor that only immortals deserve: Clytemnestra managed, however, to persuade him, to convince him with flattering words, and he finally agreed. But in order not to attract the wrath of the gods with arrogance, the king took off his shoes and walked with bare feet to the door of his dwelling. Clytemnestra followed him and loudly thanked the gods for the happy return of her husband; stepping over the threshold of the palace, she suddenly stopped and exclaimed: "Now, O Zeus, fulfill my prayer, give help and accomplish what I have planned!"

The people were still crowding in front of the royal palace; silently stood in front of the elders, sad, tormented by the presentiment of some unknown but imminent disaster. Suddenly he returns from the palace of Clytemnestra and hurries up to the chariot on which Cassandra was; Approaching the captive, the queen spoke sternly to her and ordered her to go to the inner chambers of the palace. The prophetic maiden remained motionless, as if she had not heard the order of the queen. Clytemnestra became embittered and, having threatened the captive, hastily retired into the palace. The elders of the people then approached Cassandra with deep sympathy, and as soon as they approached, the seer quickly got up and, shuddering, prophetically exclaimed: “Woe, woe! Gods, criminal, stained with blood! How many atrocities you have committed: babies cry when they see a murderous knife; their bodies are fried at the stake and offered as food to their father! strikes him - he falls, emanates blood! Woe to me, poor one: death awaits me, and I will accept death from the same hand! " Thus exclaimed the prophetic virgin, and the elders listened to her in horror. They advised her to flee from death, but Cassandra rejected their advice, threw off the veil, tore off the holy crown from her head, broke the rod given to her by Apollo, and went to the doors of the palace, behind which her death awaited. In fear, she stopped for a moment in front of the gates of the royal dwelling, but she was encouraged again and fearlessly entered the abode of death and crime. One hope consoled Priam's daughter: she foresaw that the atrocities of Clytemnestra and her accomplice would not go unpunished, that Orestes would take revenge on both of them once.

Embraced by fear, the people stood in silence in front of the house of King Agamemnon. Suddenly moans and screams were heard from the palace. Sensing trouble in their hearts, the people's elders drew their swords and wanted to rush to help the king, but at that very moment Clytemnestra appeared at the door of the palace. Her forehead and clothes were stained with blood; on her shoulder she held a bloody sword, the corpses of Agamemnon and Cassandra were carried behind her. In the bathhouse, made for the king who had returned from a distant journey, Clytemnestra struck him with a sword, and after that she killed Cassandra. The elders, outraged by the atrocity, showered the queen with reproaches; she looked at them with contempt and boasted of her deed, as a deed of righteous revenge: "When he returned home, he drank a cup filled with him. Here he lies, killed by my hand, a villain who took my daughter away from me; to soften the Thracian winds , he did not spare his daughter, he betrayed her to the slaughter. And here, next to him, lies his faithful friend: and she fell from my hand, singing a prophetic swan song before her death. " In horror, the elders retreated from the criminal, and again reproaches and threats fell on her. Little by little, the queen herself began to feel embarrassed and timid. At first she boasted of the stains of blood that covered her forehead, boldly and proudly answered the people to their accusations and threats; but as the consciousness of guilt awakened in her more and more, her self-confidence disappeared, she no longer justified her deed with revenge for the death of her daughter, but attributed it to the action of an evil demon, whose power from time immemorial gravitates over the Pelopid family.

Rejected by the people and terrified by their anger, full of shame and despair, the murderer stood silently, holding, as before, the sword on his shoulder and not wiping the blood off his brow or clothes. Suddenly, Aegisthus appeared at the gates of the palace with a crowd of armed slaves: dressed in royal purple, with a scepter in his hands, he went out to the people, boasting of a perfect deed and threatening his rebellious anger. Here the people could not stand it - they rushed at the hated villain with weapons and would have torn him to pieces if Clytemnestra had not given him help. Protecting Aegisthus with herself, she tried to soften the fury of the crowd and said so: "Do not enter the battle, men of Argos, do not stain your swords with blood: much blood has been shed without you! Go in peace to your homes, elders; you would not repent, if you do not obey my word. Yes, if someone gets to the lot of grief, he will have to endure a lot; we have suffered many troubles, many severe wounds have been inflicted on us by an angry demon who dominates the fate of the Pelopids. The crowd quieted down, began to thin out and disperse. Aegisthus, relying on his squires, remained for a long time in the square, glorifying and raging in front of the few gathered Argovians; taking the madman by the hand, Clytemnestra carried him into the inner chambers of the palace.