Heroes of ancient Greek mythology have always aroused keen interest. They are brave, courageous, have remarkable strength, their life is full of exciting adventures, dramatic events and love passions. Many works have been written about them and a considerable number of interesting films have been shot. One of these heroes is Agamemnon.
Agamemnon mythology depicts a brave and powerful warrior, but at the same time a suspicious person who can get lost in a difficult situation. Homer, Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles wrote about him in their works. There is also a myth about King Agamemnon, who killed the doe of Artemis. We will tell about the life, adventures and death of this hero today.
Difficult childhood
As ancient Hittite sources indicate, there was once a ruler whose name was Akagamunas. He ruled the land of the Achaeans, that is, the Greeks, around the 14th century BC. There is an opinion among researchers that this ruler with a certain shareprobability can "claim" to be the historical prototype of Agamemnon.
According to ancient Greek myths, the birthplace of Agamemnon is Mycenae. There, after the death of King Eurystheus, who had no descendants, Atreus, the father of our hero, became the ruler. His mother was Aeropa, daughter of the king of the island of Crete Katreya.
Agamemnon, like his younger brother Menelaus, spent his childhood in a difficult atmosphere of endless intrigues and a tense struggle for power. It was fought between the brothers Atreus and Fiesta.
In front of Agamemnon, who was still a child, his father committed the brutal murder of his relatives - Tantalus and Plisfen, the former sons of Fiesta. And also the boy witnessed a terrible revenge when the son of Fiesta, Aegisthus, killed Atreus.
Escape and return
After the transfer of power in Mycenae to Fiesta, Agamemnon and his brother had to flee to Sparta, where King Tyndareus provided them with shelter and protection. But as soon as Agamemnon had the opportunity, he returned to his homeland and avenged the death of his father. He killed Fiesta and, with the help of Tyndareus, became the Mycenaean king, being the rightful heir of Atreus. Agamemnon became famous as one of the most powerful and richest rulers of Greece. He was on good terms with all the neighboring kings, he even managed to make peace with Aegisthus, the murderer of his father.
At the beginning of his family life, Agamemnon was happy as a husband and father of four children. While his brother Menelaus married Elena the Beautiful, Clytemnestra became his wife, who bore him threedaughters (this is Chrysothemis, Electra, Iphigenia) and one son, whose name was Orestes. Both brides were daughters of King Tyndareus.
King Agamemnon lived so happily and calmly in the luxurious palace that he already began to fear that he would not be able to accomplish any feats and would not know glory.
Kidnapping Elena
However, Agamemnon was not destined to end his days in serenity. From his brother Menelaus, after the death of Tyndareus, who became the ruler of Sparta, the Trojan prince Paris kidnapped his wife Helen, taking with him the treasures. The brothers gathered on a campaign against Troy, and Agamemnon became the head of the army. This was due to the fact that he was the brother of Menelaus, as well as one of the most respected, powerful and we althy Achaean rulers, who significantly expanded his possessions after accession to the throne.
The actions of Paris were unheard of insolence and an insult not only to Menelaus, but to his entire family. At first, the brothers tried to negotiate peace with the Trojans, hoping that both Elena and the we alth would certainly be returned. However, Paris's father, King Priam of Troy, agreed to return the treasures, but supported his son in his refusal to part with Helen. Then it was decided to march on Troy.
This military expedition promised its participants rich booty and great fame. Menelaus and Agamemnon gathered a large number of ships and warriors in the harbor of Aulis, ready to march against Troy. But, as the ancient Greek myth tells, the unexpected soon happened.
Wrath of Artemis
Fate was pleased to disposein such a way that Agamemnon, without knowing it, angered the goddess Artemis. In ancient Greek mythology, she was the virgin, eternally young goddess of the hunt. And also she was the goddess of fertility, chastity of women, patronized all living things, gave happiness in the family and helped during childbirth. The Romans identified her with Diana.
Artemis had two cult animals, one of them was a bear, the second was a doe. It so happened that Agamemnon killed the doe of Artemis while hunting. It should be noted that Homer in the poem "Iliad" depicts King Agamemnon not only as a valiant warrior, but also as an uncompromising arrogant person. Similar properties of Agamemnon more than once caused numerous troubles for the Achaeans. The fallow deer was no exception.
After that, the king began to boast in front of his entourage of his extraordinary accuracy. He stressed that the goddess Artemis herself could envy such a wonderful shot. Hearing these words, the patroness of hunting was terribly angry and vowed to take revenge on this conceited man.
A necessary sacrifice
On their way to Troy, the united Greek troops, led by King Agamemnon, lingered for a long time in one of the Boeotian harbors - Aulis, as they could not wait for a fair wind to go to sea. The soothsayer Kalhant, who was with the army, gave an explanation for this phenomenon.
As it turned out, these were the "tricks" of Artemis, offended by Agamemnon. It was she who, as revenge for the murder of the sacred doe and the boast of the king, sent calmness. To earn mercygoddess, it was necessary to bring her the daughter of Agamemnon Iphigenia as a sacrifice.
At first, the unfortunate father was indignant and did not want to listen to the priest any longer. However, such serious things were at stake as the honor of a brother, a sense of duty to the soldiers, responsibility for the outcome of the planned grandiose operation. All these factors tipped the scales against Iphigenia, and Agamemnon was sadly forced to submit to the will of the wayward goddess.
Daughter cheating
The messenger sent by the king told the daughter of the king a lie, saying that she was eagerly awaited in Aulis, since the legendary Achilles himself asked for her hand. The soul of the deceived girl was inflamed with pride and happiness, because it was her who was chosen as a life partner by the hero covered with glory.
And Iphigenia, accompanied by her mother and brother Orestes, set off from her native Mycenae to Aulis. However, there she was waiting for the terrible news that instead of a happy wedding and the desired marriage, she was expected to play the role of an unfortunate victim.
Further, members of the family of Agamemnon, including himself, were waiting for strong emotional unrest and fierce internal struggle. Young and beautiful Iphigenia found it hard to come to terms with death in her prime. It was all the more difficult for her to do this because love for Achilles flared up in her, who in every possible way opposed the decision of Agamemnon to sacrifice the girl. Loving mother Clytemnestra also tried to save her daughter from death with all the forces and means available to her.
Consent of Iphigenia
It's all strongacted on King Agamemnon, and he was almost ready to abandon his decision, but this became almost impossible. The fact is that as the commander-in-chief in a military campaign and on the battlefield, he enjoyed unquestioned authority and broad powers of authority, his word was law.
However, outside of these circumstances, he could not dictate his rules to the united forces. Therefore, he was forced to fulfill the will of the military, who insisted on sacrificing Iphigenia. But it so happened that the girl herself put an end to this difficult dispute. Having shown unprecedented courage and heroism, she expressed her voluntary consent to give her life in exchange for the success of the common cause.
A miraculous rescue
The scene of preparing for the sacrifice was very difficult. During the approach of Iphigenia to the sacrificial altar, the stern hearts of the warriors, touched by the heroic behavior of the girl, trembled, they stood in complete silence, bowing their heads. The priest Kalhant offered up a prayer to Artemis, asking her to favorably accept the sacrifice and change her anger to mercy, helping the Greeks in the implementation of a happy voyage and a quick victory over the Trojans.
After that, he raised the knife, bringing it over Iphigenia, but suddenly an unexpected miracle happened. As soon as the tip of the knife touched the girl's body, the body instantly disappeared. In its place was a deer brought there by Artemis, which was pierced by Kalhant's knife. The wayward goddess-hunter, having kidnapped the daughter of Agamemnon, transferred her to distant Taurida (today's territory of the Crimean peninsula)and there she made a priestess of the temple dedicated to her.
High price
But at the same time, Artemis set a price for saving the life of a brave girl. She was given the condition that in the future she was obliged to sacrifice in front of the statue of the goddess Artemis any of the strangers whom the king of these places, Foant, would deliver to her. For 17 long years, being a priestess of the Taurid Artemis, Iphigenia was tormented by the realization that she would have a terrible duty to plunge a knife into the body of an innocent victim.
It should be noted that, despite the fact that in the end Iphigenia returned from a strange Taurida to her native places, she was not destined to gain freedom. Until the end of her life, she remained a servant of Artemis in a new temple in Bravron, located on the banks of Attica, without experiencing family warmth. However, the goddess, taking pity, saved her priestess from making a human sacrifice.
The end of Agamemnon
Well, Agamemnon, having won the war with Troy and returned to his homeland with huge booty, taking the soothsayer Cassandra, daughter of Priam, found an inglorious death under the roof of his own house.
There are two versions of this in myths. One of them, earlier, says that King Agamemnon died at the feast at the hands of Aegisthus, who seduced Clytemnestra during the years of the commander's absence.
A later version, which developed by the middle of the 6th century BC, tells that Agamemnon was killed by Clytemnestra himself. She met her husband, who had returned from a long-term campaign, depicting on her faceboundless joy. While he was taking a bath, she threw a blanket over him and stabbed him to death three times.
