Clitemnistra is a nickname I’ve had for a few years now. I had to read Euripides’ Iphigeneia in Aulis and write a paper on one of its characters. Of course, I chose Clytemnestra and decided to keep the name for myself.
Agamemnon was leading Greek forces in the Trojan War in Troy, when consistently weak winds were preventing his ships from sailing. Through a subplot involving the gods, he was told that the winds would return if he sacrificed his daughter Iphigeneia to the goddess Artemis. He persuaded Clytemnestra to send Iphigeneia by deceptively telling her that the purpose of his daughter’s visit was to marry her to Achilles. When Iphigeneia arrived, she was sacrificed. Clytemnestra learned of this event and grieved for her daughter.
Murder of Agamemnon, painting by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin.During this period of Agamemnon’s long absence, Clytemnestra began a love affair with Aegisthus, her husband’s cousin (they produced a daughter; Erigone). Whether Clytemnestra was seduced into the affair or entered into it independently is open to speculation. Nevertheless, Clytemnestra, enraged by Iphigeneia’s murder, and Aegisthus, hungry for power, began plotting Agamemnon’s demise.
Finally returning from Troy, Agamemnon arrives at his palace and is greeted by his wife. In tow is his concubine, the princess Cassandra (whether Clytemnestra was jealous of Cassandra is unknown as it was quite normal for men to take concubines, usually acquired as war prizes, when on campaign). Upon his arrival, he enters the palace for a banquet while Cassandra remains in the chariot. Clytemnestra waits until he is in a vulnerable position, in the bath, and then entangling him in a cloth net. Entangled in the web, Agamemnon could neither escape or resist his murderer. In Aeschylus’ Agamemnon Clytemnestra does the foul deed herself, but other texts, such as Homer’s “Odyssey” describe the situation quite differently (see “Controversy”).
Meanwhile, Cassandra, who had the gift of prophecy, saw a vision of Agamemnon’s murder and her own. Her attempts to elicit help failed (she had been cursed by Apollo; no one would believe her prophecies) and when she realizes that she is fated to die, she resolutely walks into the palace and accepts her death. After the murders, Aegisthus replaced Agamemnon as king and ruled for a few years with Clytemnestra as his queen. She was eventually killed by her own son Orestes.
