The Greatest Greek Tragedy - Agamemnon

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Greek Tragedy-Agamemnon
Over the years, there has been a certain meaning behind the Greek stories and tragedies. Usually, the hidden meanings and messages are about moral and political credits in the society. In most cases, the stories and tragedies aim to safeguard order in the community and teach certain morals to the people. In most stories and plays, protagonists find themselves in conflicting situations. At the end, they make decisions that clash with the code they believe in. Like most of the Greek tragedies, The Oresteia deals with issues about kinship, justice, and honor. Aeschylus’ wrote the Agamemnon and did not leave out the above details. The play itself is a pure form of art as the audience is baffled. It is hard to identify the antagonists and the protagonists in the play unlike in most of the Greek tragedies. The play contains characters that are highly righteous but have corrupt morals. the paper discusses the nature of the gods in Greek Mythology and further links this to the Agamemnon play.
Agamemnon is one of the most significant works of Aeschylus’. The Agamemnon play is the greatest tragedy in the Greek History. The play was the first in a trilogy called Oresteia. The author used strong command language and characterization making it splendid and appealing to the audience. Both the major and minor players in the story make a certain impact on the audience and the people in general (Zeitlin 648). In order to understand what really happened, here is the summary. The plot of the play is quite simple. It is about Agamemnon, who is the King of Mycenae, returning home from war. After a decade of fighting, the city of Troy had finally fallen, and Greece finally had a chance to claim the victory. Queen Clytemnestra was waiting for her husband at home while devising a way to kill him. The reason why she wanted to kill her husband is so that she can avenge the death of her daughter Iphigenia, who was sacrificed. Also, her husband is the only obstacle preventing her from completely taking over the crown and being with her lover Aegisthus.
The play starts with a guard looking over the sea while waiting for a sign for the victory of Greek over Troy. He continues to express grief on the affluence of the house but vows to stay silent. Then the watchman sees a bonfire from a distance and is over the moon since it symbolizes Greece’s victory over Troy. He hopes that the King will return soon since the palace has been empty without his presence (Trausdell 17). The queen is then presented to the audience and ends up announcing that there will be festivities and sacrifices all over the city as the victorious team comes home. When Agamemnon comes back, Clytemnestra wails while facing the city Argos stating how terrible it was waiting for her husband to come from battle. Later, she manages to convince the King to walk in the robes that have been presented to him. This makes us question her motives.
Cassandra, the new concubine of the king, is then introduced to the audience. She immediately earns the hatred of the queen. She is then given orders to get off the chariot and head towards the altar. When left alone, Cassandra is heard wailing and mentioning certain prophecies which include the death of Agamemnon and herself to Apollo. After Agamemnon has been stabbed in the bathtub, there is a cry in the house. We then hear separate choruses with the rambling showing cowardice (Raaflaub 233). The final cry is then heard. Clytemnestra is then seen standing next to the lifeless bodies of Cassandra and Agamemnon when the doors finally open. She goes ahead and describes the killing in a detailed chorus with no sign of remorse. Clytemnestra gives a detailed account of the happenings in a chorus and displays no sign of shame. Aegisthus, who is the lover to Clytemnestra, reveals himself and seats next to her. He then flaunts himself and states proudly how he came up with the plan to kill the king as a way of avenging the death of his father, Thyestes. Thyestes was coaxed into feeding on his two sons by his brother who was also the father of Agamemnon. The queen, Clytemnestra, then says that they possess all the power. They then go inside the palace and doors close behind them.
The mood of the play conveys the possibility of an imminent doom happening. This starts with the watchman and the prophecies by Cassandra. This prepares the audience for the death of the king. The real violent act takes place off-stag...