Agamemnon,+in+War+and+Peace

Agamemnon in War and Peace By: Kai

A ship slicing through the waves, oarsmen thrusting their paddles into the water, straining their muscles to pull harder. They are heading for the awaiting battle at Troy, with a leader beyond compare at their helm, Agamemnon, the prince of princes. He, and 1200 Greek warriors were headed towards the battle of their life, having gone through hell to get there, they were determined to reach their final goal, as it would bring them glory beyond compare. Agamemnon was the King of Mycenae, leader of the Greek forces at Troy, and was one of Greek's most distinguished hero's.

Agamemnon was the son of the King Atreus, who lost his throne and was murdered by his brother, Aegisthus. At this time, Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus were taking refuge with the King of Sparta, Tyndareus. Agamemnon wanted Tyndareus’ daughter, and killed her first husband and first child, just so he could marry her. He then married Clytemnestra, and his brother married Clytemnestra's half sister, Helen. Agamemnon and Clytemnestra had four children together; Iphigenia, Electra, Chrysothemis and Orestes. Before Agamemnon went to Troy, he invoked the wrath upon him and his men. He was very brave through his entire journey and was a great leader.

Agamemnon was one of the main players in the Trojan War, where he sailed from port Aulis with about 1200 Greek forces. The army itself induced the wrath of Artemis upon themselves, which is not a good thing. There are many reasons that Artemis was angry at Agamemnon, one of them being that Artemis would be mad for the young men that would die in Troy and that Agamemnon had hunted and slain a animal that was sacred to her. This caused misfortune for the Greek army on their way to battle, such as bad winds and plague. The wrath of the goddess could only be appeased by the sacrifice of Iphigeneia. Not much is written of Agamemnon, for the most of his journey on was little known, until his encounter with Achilles.

He had four children with his wife Clytemnestra; Iphigenia, Electra, Chrysothemis and Orestes(you already said this, try to rephrase it). He later was told to kill one of his daughters to appease the goddess Artemis. Agamemnon finally gave in and Iphigenia was brought to Aulis in order to be sacrificed; in the end, however, Artemis decided to save Iphigenia and carried her away, putting a deer in her place. When Agamemnon went to the Trojan War he brought his mistress, Cassandra, with him. This made Clytemnestra even madder at him and she killed Agamemnon and Cassandra with an axe. But she did not do it alone, she had an accomplice, Aegisthus, who was later on killed in revenge by Clytemnestra's son, Orestes.

Agamemnon had a wonderful life and death, and accomplished so much. He helped conquer a mighty land, led thousands of men into battle, and even in death he is remembered. I learned about how he was murdered by his wife because he had cheated on her with many other women. This was the main cause of his downfall, and he was killed because of his own greed. I think that he could have done a lot more with his life if he was not killed so early in his life.

Works Cited: Harrington, Spencer P.M. "Behind the Mask of Agamemnon." //Archaeology// 52.4 (1999): 51. //MAS Ultra - School Edition//. EBSCO. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. Damon, Duane "The house of vengeance." //Calliope// 1.5 (1991): 15. //MAS Ultra - School Edition//. EBSCO. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. "Trojan War." //Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition// (2009): 1. //MAS Ultra - School Edition//. EBSCO. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. Black, F.M. "A Curse on the House of Pelops." //Calliope// 13.1 (2002): 13. //MAS Ultra - School Edition//. EBSCO. Web. 3 Dec. 2009.