Clytemnestra – Mythopedia Clytemnestra, daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, was the wife of Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae She and her lover Aegisthus murdered Agamemnon when he returned home from the Trojan War, but were later killed in turn by Orestes, Agamemnon and Clytemnestra’s son
Agamemnon (Play) - Mythopedia Clytemnestra’s infidelity is a consistent feature of the Agamemnon myth As the story goes, while Agamemnon was away fighting at Troy, Clytemnestra began an adulterous affair with Aegisthus, Agamemnon’s cousin and sworn enemy When Agamemnon returned victorious from Troy after ten years, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus murdered him together
Iphigenia - Mythopedia According to most sources, Iphigenia was the firstborn child of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, the king and queen of Mycenae Agamemnon led the Greeks to victory during the Trojan War, while Clytemnestra was best known for murdering Agamemnon when he returned from Troy However, there were other traditions regarding Iphigenia’s parentage
Eumenides - Mythopedia The Eumenides is a tragedy composed by Aeschylus around 458 BCE It is the final entry in the tragic trilogy known as the Oresteia The play depicts Orestes’ trial and eventual acquittal for the murder of his mother Clytemnestra
Iphigenia in Aulis - Mythopedia Most notably, Clytemnestra places her responsibility to her children above all else, including her duty to Greece or her husband The Iphigenia in Aulis also explores the meaning and nature of war, particularly as it relates to Panhellenism (that is, the idea of a unified Greek or “Hellenic” identity and ideology)
Aegisthus - Mythopedia Aegisthus was the son of Thyestes, who had long quarreled viciously with his brother Atreus Aegisthus eventually killed his uncle Atreus, as well as Atreus’ son Agamemnon, thus usurping the throne of Mycenae He also took Agamemnon’s wife Clytemnestra as his lover before being killed by Agamemnon’s son Orestes
Agamemnon - Mythopedia In other versions, it was Clytemnestra (either alone or with Aegisthus’ help) who did the killing after trapping Agamemnon in a net or a robe while he was in his bath Clytemnestra then killed Cassandra too Clytemnestra Hesitates before Killing the Sleeping Agamemnon by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin (1817) Louvre Museum, Paris, France
Helen of Troy - Mythopedia In some traditions, Helen was of childbearing age when Theseus abducted her and actually bore him a daughter named Iphigenia When Helen returned to Sparta, she gave Iphigenia to her sister Clytemnestra to raise Later, Iphigenia was sacrificed by Clytemnestra’s husband Agamemnon so that the Greeks could appease the gods and sail to Troy
Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux) – Mythopedia Leda became pregnant by both of her lovers and gave birth to quadruplets: Castor and Clytemnestra, whose father was Tyndareus, and Pollux and Helen, whose father was Zeus Leda and the Swan by Cesare de Sesto after Leonardo da Vinci (ca 1505–1510) Wilton House, Salisbury, UK Wikimedia Commons Public Domain
Cassandra - Mythopedia Agamemnon later claimed her as his concubine and brought her back to Mycenae, where his wife Clytemnestra murdered them both Cassandra was popular in ancient literature and art Today as in antiquity she remains the archetypal prophet of doom whose warnings go tragically ignored