The Murder of Agamemnon

The Story

The Trojan War ended in Greek victory, but Agamemnon's return home did not bring peace.

He sailed back to Mycenae carrying the prestige of commander of the Greek coalition.

Yet the household he had left behind had changed.

Clytemnestra had never forgotten the sacrifice of their daughter Iphigenia.

During Agamemnon's long absence, she formed a relationship with Aegisthus.

Aegisthus himself belonged to the violent history of the House of Atreus and had reasons of his own to seek revenge.

Agamemnon returned with Cassandra, the Trojan princess and prophetess, among the captives of war.

Cassandra knew what was about to happen.

Her curse, however, meant that truthful prophecy brought her little protection.

Inside the palace Agamemnon was attacked and killed.

Cassandra was also murdered.

Ancient traditions differ over exactly how the killing was carried out and whether Clytemnestra or Aegisthus took the leading role.

But the result was the same.

The victorious commander of the Greek army survived ten years of war only to die in his own home.

Clytemnestra and Aegisthus took control.

The violence of the House of Atreus had completed another cycle.

Atreus' crimes against Thyestes had produced Aegisthus.

Agamemnon's sacrifice of Iphigenia had created Clytemnestra's hatred.

Now both lines of revenge converged in the king's murder.

But Agamemnon had a surviving son.

Orestes would eventually return.

Who killed Agamemnon? In the best-known surviving Greek traditions, Agamemnon is killed by his wife Clytemnestra, with Aegisthus also involved in the plot. Ancient authors differ over their precise roles, but both are closely associated with the murder.

How did Agamemnon die? After returning to Mycenae from the Trojan War, Agamemnon enters his own household believing that the long campaign is finally over. Instead, the homecoming becomes a trap. In Aeschylus' Agamemnon, Clytemnestra kills him after receiving him back into the palace.

What happened when Agamemnon returned home? He returned victorious from Troy but brought Cassandra, the Trojan prophetess, with him as a captive. Cassandra foresaw that both she and Agamemnon were about to die, yet her curse meant that her warnings could not prevent the murders.

Why did Clytemnestra kill Agamemnon? One of the central reasons given in Greek tragedy is the sacrifice of their daughter Iphigenia at Aulis. Clytemnestra also condemns Agamemnon's behaviour and his return with Cassandra. Her relationship with Aegisthus connects the murder to the older feud between Atreus and Thyestes.

Why was Aegisthus involved in Agamemnon's murder? Aegisthus belongs to the line of Thyestes. Agamemnon is a son of Atreus. Their conflict therefore continues a family feud that began before the Trojan War and had already produced betrayal, murder and the Feast of Thyestes.

Agamemnon's death does not end the cycle of revenge. It creates the obligation that drives the next generation. His son Orestes eventually returns to kill Aegisthus and Clytemnestra, turning the murder of Agamemnon directly into the Revenge of Orestes.