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 portrays a brave and powerful warrior, but at the same time, a suspicious person who may be lost in a difficult situation. Homer, Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles wrote about him in their works. There is 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 the 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. Among researchers, there is an opinion that this ruler with a certain degree of probability can "claim" the role of 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 Aeroporta, daughter of the king of the island of Crete, Catreya.
Agamemnon, like his younger brother Menelaus, spent his childhood in a difficult atmosphere of endless intrigue and a tense struggle for power. She was waged between the brothers Atreus and Fiesta.
In the eyes of Agamemnon, who was still a child, his father committed the brutal murder of his relatives - Tantalus and Plisfen, who were the sons of Fiesta. And the boy also witnessed a terrible revenge when the son of Fiesta, Aegisthusus, killed Atreus.
Flight and return
After the transfer of power in Mycenae to Fiesta Agamemnon and his brother had to flee to Sparta, where King Tyndareus granted them refuge 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 to Atreus. Agamemnon became famous as one of the most powerful and richest rulers of Greece. He was on good terms with all the king-neighbors; 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, his wife was Clytemnestra, who gave birth to three daughters (this is Chrysophemida, Electra, Iphigenia) and one son, whose name was Orestes. Both bride girls were the daughters of King Tyndareus.
King Agamemnon lived so happily and calmly in the magnificent palace that he was already afraid that he would not be able to accomplish any feats and did not know the glory.
The abduction of Elena
However, Agamemnon was not destined to end his days in serenity. After his brother Menelaus, after the death of Tyndareus, who became the ruler of Sparta, the Trojan prince Paris abducted his wife Helen, while seizing 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, strong and wealthy 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 whole family. At first, the brothers tried to negotiate peace with the Trojans, hoping that both Elena and wealth would certainly be returned. However, the father of Paris, the king of Troy Priam, agreed to return the treasures, but supported his son in his refusal to part with Elena. Then it was decided to march on Troy.
This military expedition promised its participants rich booty and loud fame. Menelaus and Agamemnon gathered a large number of ships and soldiers in the harbor of Aulis, ready to fight against Troy. But, as the ancient Greek myth narrates, the unexpected soon happened.
Wrath of Artemis
Fate was pleased to rule in such a way that Agamemnon, without knowing it, angered the goddess Artemis. In ancient Greek mythology, she was a virgin, forever young goddess of hunting. She was also the goddess of fertility, the chastity of women, she 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 a doe of Artemis during a hunt. It should be noted that Homer in the poem "Iliad" portrays King Agamemnon, not only as a valiant warrior, but also as an unyielding arrogant man. Such properties of Agamemnon more than once served as the cause of numerous misfortunes for the Achaeans. The case of the fallow deer was not an exception.
After that, the king began to boast in front of his surroundings inherent in his extraordinary accuracy. He emphasized that the goddess Artemis herself could envy such a wonderful shot. Hearing these words, the patroness of the hunt was terribly angry and vowed to take revenge on this vain man.
Necessary sacrifice
Heading to Troy, the combined Greek troops, headed by King Agamemnon, lingered for a long time in one of the Boeotian harbors - Avlida, since they could not wait for a fair wind to go out to sea. The explanation for this phenomenon was given by the soothsayer Kalkhant who was at the army.
As it turned out, these were "tricks" offended by Agamemnon Artemis. It was she who, in revenge for the murder of the sacred doe and the praise of the king, sent calm. To deserve the mercy of the goddess, it was necessary to bring her daughter Agamemnon Iphigenia as a victim.
At first, the unfortunate father was indignant and did not want to continue to listen to the priest. However, such serious things as the honor of his brother, a sense of duty to the soldiers, responsibility for the outcome of the planned grandiose operation were at stake. All these factors outweighed the scales not in favor of Iphigenia, and Agamemnon with regret was forced to submit to the will of the wayward goddess.
Cheating daughter
A messenger sent by the king told the king's daughter 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 ignited with pride and happiness, because it was her who was chosen by her fame as a companion of life.
And Iphigenia, accompanied by her mother and brother Orestes, went from Mycenae's relatives to Aulida. However, there she was awaited by the terrible news that instead of a happy wedding and coveted marriage, the role of an unhappy victim awaits her.
Further, members of the Agamemnon family, including himself, were waiting for strong emotional unrest and fierce inner struggle. It was difficult for young and beautiful Iphigenia to come to terms with death in the color of years. The harder it was for her to do so, because love for Achilles broke out in her, who in every possible way opposed Agamemnon's decision to sacrifice the girl. The loving mother of Clytemnestra also tried to save her daughter from death by all means available to her.
Iphigenia Consent
All this greatly affected King Agamemnon, and he was almost ready to abandon his decision, but this became almost impossible. The fact is that as commander-in-chief in a military campaign and on the battlefield, he enjoyed unquestioned authority and broad authority, his word was law.
However, outside these circumstances, he could not dictate his rules to the combined forces. Therefore, he was forced to fulfill the will of the military, who insisted on the sacrifice of Iphigenia. But it so happened that the girl herself put an end to this difficult debate. Showing unprecedented courage and heroism, she expressed voluntary consent to give her life in exchange for the success of a common cause.
Wonderful salvation
The scene of preparing for the sacrifice was very difficult. As Iphigenia approached the sacrificial altar, the harsh hearts of the soldiers, touched by the heroic behavior of the girl, trembled, they stood in complete silence, their heads downcast. Priest Kalkhant offered a prayer to Artemis, asking her to graciously accept the sacrifice and exchange anger with mercy, helping the Greeks to make a happy voyage and a quick victory over the Trojans.
After that, he raised the knife, lifting 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 doe brought there by Artemis, which Kalkhant’s knife pierced. The wayward goddess-hunter, having kidnapped the daughter of Agamemnon, transferred her to the distant Tauris (today's territory of the Crimean peninsula) and made her 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 to the statue of the goddess Artemis any of the strangers whom the king of the local places of Foant would bring her. For 17 long years, as a priestess of Tauride Artemis, Iphigenia was tormented by the realization that she had 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 foreign Tauris to her native places, she was not destined to gain freedom. Until the end of her life, she remained the servant of Artemis in the new temple in Bravron, located on the banks of Attica, without experiencing family warmth. However, the goddess, taking pity, delivered 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 enormous booty, having seized the fortuneteller Cassandra, the 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 a feast at the hands of Aegisthus, who, over the years of his absence, seduced Clytemnestra.
A later version, which developed by the middle of the VI century BC, tells that Agamemnon was killed by Clytemnestra with his own hands. She met her husband returning from a long trip, depicting immense joy on her face. When he took a bath, she threw a blanket over him and thrice stabbed him to death three times.