Agamemnon: The Names Have Changed but the Players Remain the Same

Greek philosophers, literature and history... who studies this stuff any more? I'd have to admit that Greek lit and history had little interest to me much of my life. I do remember studying the Odyssey at some point in high school, but it wasn't until much later that its significance struck a chord.

Many of the names from these ancient stories have glittered across pop culture, from Achilles to Zeus, Ulysses to Sysiphus, Poseidon to Prometheus, and Aphrodite to Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships. (See; Backstory on the Trojan War.)

It was Andre Gide's Two Legends: Oedipus and Theseus that first brought to life in a seriously new way for me. In 2017 Harvard professor Richard Thomas, in his book Why Bob Dylan Matters, made many of us aware of how Bob Dylan had been immersed by or influenced by the Greek classics.

When I say "Greek classics" do you yawn? You might think, "What does a play written 2500 years ago have to do with life in the 21st century?" 

Let's start with who was Aeschylus? 

Aeschylus was a renowned ancient Greek playwright who lived from roughly 525 BC to 455 BC. He was widely regarded as the "father of tragedy." He's credited with introducing significant innovations to the genre, including the addition of a second actor to the stage, the development of dialogue between characters, and the incorporation of choral songs that explored themes of justice, fate, and the relationship between humans and the gods.

In his play Agamemnon there are four main characters plus a chorus. If you're familiar with. the Trojan War, you would know that Agamemnon was the brother of Menelaus, king of Sparta, whose wife Helen was abducted by Paris and taken to Troy. Agamemnon responded by assembling a coalition of Greek kingdoms to avenge this insult and ransack Troy.

So... here are the characters in the play. Do any of these sound familiar or resonate with people in our own time frame? ("If the shoe fits...")

Chrysus appeals to Agamemnon (ancient urn)

Agamemnon 
The highest-ranking official at the beginning of the play, he is its tragic hero. He's proud of his rank and accomplishments. Yet despite Agamemnon's leadership, he is less admired now by his subjects for fighting an unpopular war. He is portrayed as less intelligent and less forward thinking than his wife, believing prosperity will shield him from misfortune. Agamemnon attempts humility, saying he does not want to be treated as a god. But like other Greek tragic heroes, he is fatally flawed by hubris (pride).

Clytaemnestra 
Driven by the desire for vengeance and power, the shrewd, audacious Clytaemnestra is the play's most developed and complex character, even if her name is the most difficult to pronounce. She professes loyalty to Agamemnon and praises him at the same time as she plots his death. She also is argumentative, defending her thoughts and opinions to the Chorus when they disagree

Cassandra
Agamemnon's war captive, Cassandra is emotional and distraught by the destruction of her homeland. Given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, she can see accurately into the past, present, and future. However, after Cassandra refused to bear his child, Apollo cursed her so no one would believe these prophecies. (How much wisdom and insight is lost today because the voices of those most prescient are ignored?)

Aegisthus 
There's a sense in which Aegisthus is like Clytaemnestra. Both crave power and payback. Aegisthus, driven by the need to avenge some family wrongdoing, has this whole authoritative and menacing vibe. He's all about establishing a firm, in-control government, and he's not afraid to throw out threats about enslaving anyone who doesn't see eye to eye with him. Total power move, right? 

Chorus 
The Chorus represents the townspeople of Argos. They have a stake in whatever goes down and tend to drop some moral wisdom based on what the central characters decide. Aeschylus gives these Chorus folk their own opinions, throwing in a line or two, but it doesn't change how the drama unfolds. While they're generally Team Agamemnon, the big boss of Argos, they're not too keen on his war plans. When Agamemnon bites the dust, it makes an impact on the Chorus in a deep way.

The murder of Agamemnon

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See any parallels to what's happening today? I see plenty.

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For a full list of characters visit:
https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Agamemnon/characters/

If interested, read the plot summary here:
https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Agamemnon/plot-summary/

The character analysis above is based on this:
https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Agamemnon/character-analysis/

The deed is done.

Flashback Friday: Something's Burning

Fire is one of those things that can be endlessly fascinating, and equally frightening when out of control. We all know what it is, but might be hard-pressed to define it, so here are the first two definitions from dictionary.com:
1. a state, process, or instance of combustion in which fuel or other material is ignited and combined with oxygen, giving off light, heat, and flame.
2. a burning mass of material, as on a hearth or in a furnace.

When I woke this morning I was thinking about how frequently the word fire was used or came up as a metaphor in rock 'n roll. Here's a short list off the top of my head.

"Goodness gracious, great ball o' fire!" ~Jerry Lee Lewis

"I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning love." ~Elvis

"She's cool like ice, like fire." ~Dylan

Earth, Wind and Fire

"Let me stand next to your fire." ~Hendrix

"Fire... I'll take you to burn." ~Arthur Brown

"Come on, baby, light my fire." ~The Doors

"Don't you play with me or you'll play with fire." ~Rolling Stones

"We didn't start the fire..." ~Billy Joel

"Something's burning, and I think it's love." ~Kenny Rogers

"I've seen fire and I've seen rain..." ~James Taylor

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The Greek's left us a tale about how fire came to mankind, the story of Prometheus. In Greek mythology Prometheus is credited with creating man from clay. (My son used to make people from clay, too, when he was young.)  As he watched these people whom he created he observed that they suffered during the winter time while the gods all sat around being content in the warmth of their environment.

Prometheus asked Zeus to provide fire for the people but Zeus demurred stating that fire might make people strong and wise like the gods. In addition, fire is dangerous. Someday people might sings songs about it and work themselves into an uncontrolled frenzy.

Prometheus chose to act on behalf of the people and defied Zeus, an action that made him memorable to us but caused him great sorrow. One day he stole fire from Zeus' lightning and snuck it off to the humans that he cared about. Though there is much more to this tale the scene we remember most is the payback Prometheus received for defying Zeus. Prometheus was chained to a rock and each day an eagle (symbol of Zeus) would fly down and tear out his liver. This horrible thing never killed him, however, as the liver would regenerate and he would have to look forward to the same thing happening the next day once more, and the day after ad infinitum.

Fire did ultimately prove to be useful for the people of our world. But it's also done some damage. Homes have been destroyed. Lives have been taken. Fire has caused much destruction.

The story of Zeus and Prometheus seems like a generational thing. "Parents just don't understand." Sometimes parents are wise to be cautious. Fire can be a powerful force. On a cold mid-winter's night, though, I wouldn't want to be without it. When it's raging out of control, however, it can be a pretty scary thing.

Does fire frighten you or comfort you? Respect its power.

Backstory on Aphrodite and the Trojan War

The Destruction of Troy -- J.G. Trautmann

Though most of us are familiar with the story of the Trojan Horse, I'm willing to bet most of you do not recall--or ever knew--the beginning of this historical event, which took place over three millennia ago.

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The impetus for this impudent act occurred on another plane, at the wedding of Peleus (a sea-nymph) and Thetis (a king), the future parents of Achilles.

All the gods of Olympus were invited except Eris, the goddess of discord. Angered by the snub, Eris gets her vengeance. Despite being uninvited, she shows up anyways and places a golden apple on the banquet table. The golden apple has an inscription: "For the Most Beautiful."

Naturally there are a lot of beautiful goddesses present, this being Mount Olympus and all. Three of the goddesses claimed the apple was intended for them. As a result, there was a beauty contest for which a judge had to be selected.

Though Zeus was asked to be the final arbiter of their beauty, he knew better than to get into that kind of situation. No doubt they were all beautiful, so let's just avoid that minefield altogether. He chooses instead to appoint a mortal, Paris of Troy, because of the wise manner in which Paris had handled a previous incident involving making a judgment.

The Judgment of Paris, by Peter Paul Rubens (1638)

Well, these goddesses were wily. As each presented herself to the young man, each also offered a bribe to help improve his ability to assess her worthiness. Hera, queen of the gods and wife of Zeus (you see why Zeus declined to be judge), promised Paris that he could be king of Europe and Asia. Athena--goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill--offered him wisdom and skill in war, her forte. Aphrodite--goddess of love, beauty, sensuality, pleasure and procreation--offered Paris the world's most beautiful woman.

Aphrodite

There was, however, a major complication. This most beautiful woman in the world happened to be wife of King Menelaus. This didn''t stop Paris from choosing Aphrodite, which resulted in his whisking Helen away to Troy, infuriating the Greeks as well as Hera, who was actually the most beautiful of the goddesses.

Obviously Paris should not have been such a dolt, allowing himself to be seduced by this last option. Unfortunately, his behavior was consistent with that of a lot of guys I suppose, but let's not go there.

The end result was a war that lasted 10 years and which produced some very famous sayings and stories while destroying a lot of lives as well as a great city. Helen was indeed beautiful, and when her husband sent 1,000 ships to Troy in order to retrieve her, this saying was born: "The face that launched a thousand ships."

The familiar story of the Trojan Horse became the final chapter in this war, the means by which the armies of Greece laid Troy to waste.* It's a story that itself involves audacity, subterfuge, courage and cleverness. Like all great stories it includes a memorable image, and a decisive act.

Rubens produced several paintings on this theme. Oil sketch on copper, 1606.

*Trivia: When I was young I read a book about this Ten Years War and the Fall of Troy. One of the characters in the story was Hector, a Trojan prince and Troy's greatest fighter. There was a baseball player at the time named Hector Lopez, who played for the A's and the Yankees from 1955 to 1966. I don't now whether I latched on to Hector Lopez as someone cool because of the story of Troy, or I latched on to Troy's Hector as cool because of the Panama-born Lopez. I've liked the name Hector ever since.

Related Links
The Fall of Troy
The Judgement of Paris
Images on this page are public domain.