Agamemnon

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Can Agamemnon’s Murder be Justified?

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Can Agamemnon’s murder be justified? [NU: 2021] 

Or, How would you justify Clytemnestra’s murder of her husband, Agamemnon?

Aeschylus (525/524–456/455 BC), in his tragedy Agamemnon (458 BC), presents the murder of Agamemnon by his wife, Clytemnestra. The act raises a great moral question. Was it justice or cruelty? The play itself gives mixed answers.

Revenge for Iphigenia: Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to please Artemis. This brutal act broke a mother’s heart. Clytemnestra never forgave him for the loss. She thought killing him was justice for her murdered child.

Curse of the House: The House of Atreus was cursed with endless crimes. The past sins of Tantalus and Atreus demanded punishment. Clytemnestra saw herself as an agent of divine revenge. Thus, Agamemnon’s death seemed a step in the curse’s cycle. Cassandra says:

“It’s a house that hates gods!”

>Adultery and Ambition: Clytemnestra’s affair with Aegisthus also pushed her to murder. Her motive was not only justice, but also desire and ambition. She wished to share the rule with her lover. This weakens the purity of her justification.

Justice or Cruelty: The Chorus calls her act shameful, not heroic. They see her as guilty of pride and arrogance. Even Clytemnestra claims the deed was guided by fate, not her. After Agamemnon's death, the Chorus clings to Cassandra’s prophecy. 

“Another man will come and will avenge us, a son who'll kill his mother, then pay back his father's death”

Thus, Clytemnestra’s murder of Agamemnon is partly justified as revenge for Iphigenia. Yet her passion and ambition make it cruel. Aeschylus shows justice mixed with sin, proving that revenge cannot bring true peace.

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