Who is agamemnon in greek mythology

His father Atreus murdered the children of his twin brother Thyestes, after finding out his adultery with his wife Aerope. Atreus even went so far that the murdered children were on the menu of Thyestes for a while. However, Atreus hadn't murdered all of his children, mostly because he didn't know about Aegisthus who was a son of Thyestes and Thyestes' daughter Pelopia.

It was not long, before Aegisthus took revenge on Atreus and murdered him. He then claimed the throne of Mycenae and ruled hand to hand with Thyestes.

Together, they exiled Agamemnon and Menelaus from Mycenae. The brothers took refuge at the place of Tyndareus , a king of Sparta, where they married the king's daughters Helen and Clytemnestra. Agamemnon and Clytemnestra together had four children, one son and three daughters. Eventually, Menelaus succeeded Tyndareus in Sparta and with his superior army helped his brother to drove away Thyestes and reclaim his throne in Mycenae.

For a while they enjoyed a decent life, until Paris kidnapped Helen , the wife of his brother Menelaus. This act, which was caused by the gods themselves, led to a war between Greeks and Trojans. And it happened to be king Agamemnon who led his people into battle. He had to overcome his first obstacle while still in Greece. He offended Artemis by killing one of her sacred animals and the angry goddess obstructed their departure from Boeotia. Share Flipboard Email. Ancient History and Latin Expert.

Gill is a Latinist, writer, and teacher of ancient history and Latin. Updated November 10, Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Gill, N. Agamemnon, the Greek King of the Trojan War. Non-Canonical Retelling of the Tale of Troy. List of Characters in 'The Iliad'. Overview of the Children of Helen of Troy.

Greek Tragedy and the House of Atreus. Top Worst Betrayals in Greek Mythology. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for ThoughtCo. Some myths say that together they killed Agamemnon while celebrating the victory of Troy, others say that the queen killed him while he took a bath.

The Poet Aeschylus recorded these events in his trilogy Oresteia, whose first part is called Agamemnon and focuses on the king. Homer also wrote about Agamemnon after his death in Odyssey. Odysseus found him in the underworld, and the king described his murder at the hand of his wife. In , an archeological excavation in the ruins of Mycenae found a golden funeral mask still over the face of a dead body in a burial place.

However, later studies found that the mask dated from a period at least four centuries before the time King Agamemnon lived. Historical sources from Herodotus and Eratosthenes show that the event was real, although Homer may have exaggerated it.

However, some sources make it appear that these were his grandparents. His involvement in the war granted him a place among the most important kings of Ancient Greece.

Tags: Greek Symbols Mythology. Home » Information » Agamemnon — Greek Mythology. Affiliate Disclosures. Table of Contents Who Was Agamemnon?

No, Agamemnon was a king and a military commander. Agamemnon was forced into making a human sacrifice to appease Artemis.