In a long speech, he expresses joy at Agamemnon ’s murder, and recounts in detail the incident where Agamemnon’s father Atreus cooked Aegisthus’ brothers and fed them to Aegisthus’ father, Thyestes. When Aegisthus was born, his mother abandoned him, ashamed of his origin, and he was raised by shepherds and suckled by a goat, hence his name Aegisthus (from αἴξ, male goat). Paano maipapakita ang pagpapahalaga sa wikang Filipino?

Aegisthus was the son of Thyestes and Thyestes' own daughter Pelopia, an incestuous union motivated by his father's rivalry with the house of Atreus for the throne of Mycenae. "[12] Christopher Collard describes him as the foil to Clytemnestra, his brief speech in Agamemnon revealing him to be "cowardly, sly, weak, full of noisy threats - a typical 'tyrant figure' in embryo. Orestes , Agamemnon ’s son, later avenged his father’s death by killing the two lovers; however, this caused the wrath of the Erinyes , because he committed matricide. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. After the death of some famous heroes, including Achilles, the Trojans fell victim to a ruse in which they accepted a large, hollow horse as a gift, only to find that Achean Greek warriors had hidden inside, emerging at night to vanquish the Trojans. Did Mac Davis steal Annie away from John Denver? Clytemnestra, in Greek legend, a daughter of Leda and Tyndareus and wife of Agamemnon, commander of the Greek forces in the Trojan War. Aegisthus was killed by Orestes, as Aegisthus killed Orestes' father, Agamemnon. Copyright © 2020 Multiply Media, LLC. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!”, “This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Agamemnon and Clytemnestra had four children: one son, Orestes, and three daughters, Iphigenia, Electra and Chrysothemis. Aegisthus returned to his uncle and killed him, taking the throne of Mycenae for him and his father. Orestes, in Greek mythology, son of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae (or Argos), and his wife, Clytemnestra.

While Agamemnon lay siege to Troy, his estranged queen Clytemnestra took Aegisthus as a lover. Agamemnon’s father Atreus killed several of Aegisthus’ brothers and fed them to their father Thyestes. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. What are the core competencies of San Miguel corporation? But the circumstances of Agamemnon's death has been described differently: According to Clytaemnestra she killed Agamemnon herself: Paano hinati ang asya sa ibat ibang rehiyon? By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our. Agamemnon's father, Atreus, displaced Aegisthus' father on the He appears in Seneca's Agamemnon, enticing her to murder. Clytemnestra was then killed … The couple killed Agamemnon upon the king's return, making Aegisthus king of Mycenae once more. In revenge, Atreus killed Thyestes' sons and served them to him unknowingly. You may need to download version 2.0 now from the Chrome Web Store. Aegisthus and his father now took possession of their lawful inheritance from which they had been expelled by Atreus.[4]. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.”, LitCharts uses cookies to personalize our services.

He continued to rule over Mycenae, but on the eighth year, Orestes, son of Agamemnon, avenged his father’s death by killing him. The two battled back and forth several times. If you are at an office or shared network, you can ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network looking for misconfigured or infected devices.

Gill is a Latinist, writer, and teacher of ancient history and Latin. He and Clytemnestra had a son, Aletes, and two daughters, Erigone and Helen. The Watchman The first is Homer's Odyssey, believed to have been first written down by Homer at the end of the 8th century BC, and the second from Aeschylus's Oresteia, written in the 5th century, BC. (including. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aegisthus&oldid=968292725, Fictional offspring of incestuous relationships, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 18 July 2020, at 13:24. When Aegisthus grew up, Atreus sent him to kill Thyestes with a sword, which his mother had given to him before she left. In the eighth year of his reign Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, returned to Mycenae and avenged the death of his father by killing Aegisthus and Clytemnestra. Aegisthus is singled out by Zeus as an example of how men blamed the gods for what their own wickedness had spawned. Has a human ever been mailed via the United States Postal Service? Aegisthus and Thyestes thereafter ruled over Mycenae jointly, exiling Atreus' sons Agamemnon and Menelaus to Sparta, where King Tyndareus gave the pair his daughters, Clytemnestra and Helen, to take as wives.

Orestes orders Aegisthus inside so that he might kill him in the exact spot where, years before, Aegisthus killed Agamemnon.

Where Does the Phrase "Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts" Come From? She has been featured by NPR and National Geographic for her ancient history expertise. In the night in which Pelopia had been raped by her father, she had taken from him his sword which she afterwards gave to Aegisthus. How much caffeine can you drink if you are pregnant? He used the Spartan army to drive out Aegisthus and Thyestes from Mycenae and place Agamemnon on the throne. throne. Following Agamemnon's death, Aegisthus reigned over Mycenae for seven years. In the most famous story, Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus, came home to a very unhappy household in his kingdom of Mycenae after the Trojan War. Yet another oft-used term to come out of this legend is "face that launched a thousand ships," which is a description used for Helen, and now sometimes used for any beautiful woman for which men will perform superhuman feats. Clytemnestra's vengefulness saw no bounds. As Homer recounts in the "Odyssey," when Odysseus saw Agamemnon in the underworld, the dead king complained, "Brought low by Aegisthus’ sword I tried to lift my arms in dying, but bitch that she was my wife turned away, and though I was going to Hades's Halls she disdained even to close my eyelids or my mouth." Homer gives no information about Aegisthus' back-story. What does the "S" in Harry S. Truman stand for?

"[13], Aeschylus's portrayal of Aegisthus as a weak, implicitly feminised figure, influenced later writers and artists who often depict him as an effeminate or decadent individual, either manipulating or dominated by the more powerful Clytemnestra.

Aegisthus was killed by Orestes, as Aegisthus killed Orestes' father, Agamemnon… Aegisthus murdered Atreus in order to restore his father to power, ruling jointly with him only to be driven from power by Atreus' son Agamemnon. Agamemnon extended his dominion by conquest and became the most powerful ruler in Greece. Upon his return, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus murdered Agamemnon. In The Libation Bearers he is killed quickly by Orestes, who then struggles over having to kill his mother.

By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, Agamemnon, the Greek King of the Trojan War, Hector of Troy: Legendary Hero of the Trojan War, Biography of Helen of Troy, Cause of the Trojan War, Non-Canonical Retelling of the Tale of Troy.