How guilty is Agamemnon?
How far is character determined by the way he is presented in Homer?
by Ciarán Lynch

It is important to assess the character of Agamemnon that is presented in the works of Homer. More importantly one does have to ask how much of Homer's character has been transplanted into Aeschylus' Orestia. Does Aeschylus' character have similar character traits to the original? Does Aeschylus alter the emphasis of Agamemnon's character and his guilt as he has altered the theme of his murder?

Firstly one must examine the character of Agamemnon, which Homer presents to his readers. The Homeric Agamemnon character is one of a man who has enormous power and social position, but he is depicted as a man who is not necessarily the best-qualified man for such power and position. Agamemnon constantly needs to receive the advice of his council. Homer's Agamemnon allows, on many occasions, his over-wrought emotions to govern major and critical decisions.

Perhaps it would be true to say that Agamemnon is trapped within a role greater than his ability. While there are serious failures in Agamemnon's character he does show great devotion to and concern for his brother, Menelaos.

Yet Agamemnon is extremely conscious that the structure of his society rests upon the return of Helen to his brother. He is totally aware of the critical importance of family order in his society and that Helen must be returned by any means necessary if his society is to remain strong and cohesive.

What is clear from Homer's representation of Agamemnon is that he is a deeply flawed character.

One of his greatest faults is his inability to realise that as a king he must not succumb to his own desires and emotions. He refuses to accept that the position of authority that he finds himself in demands responsibility and that his personal whims and desires should be secondary to the needs of his community.

Even though Agamemnon is a highly accomplished warrior, as a king he often exhibits, contrary to the ideal of kingship: stubbornness, cowardice and at certain times even immaturity. The epic itself presents the character of Agamemnon as a character who is righteous in a sense, but very flawed morally.

Over the course of The Iliad, however, Agamemnon does seem to learn, eventually, from his many mistakes and by the time of its closing passages Agamemnon has evolved into a much greater leader than he previously was.

In Homer's Odyssey, Agamemnon is once again present, this time however, in a greatly limited form. It is in book III where Agamemnon is mentioned for the first time. Nestor recounts the events leading up to Agamemnon's murder. What is interesting to note here is where the emphasis is placed for Agamemnon's murder. Clearly it is Aegisthus who is blamed for his death. Motivated by greed and lust Aegisthus betrayed the trust of Agamemnon and seduced his wife Clytemnestra.

Homer repeats the telling of the fall of Agamemnon many times throughout the epic. The most likely reason for this is that the story of Agamemnon's betrayal and assassination are used to contrast the murderous infidelity of Clytemnestra with that of the dedicated loyalty of Penelope.

Agamemnon Bibliography

· Michael Gagarin - Aeschylean Drama - Berkeley University of California Press - 1976
· Simon Goldhill - The Oresteia - Cambridge University Press - 1992
· Simon Bennett - Tragic drama & the family - Yale University Press - 1993