Classical Wisdom Litterae - April 2019

such an act?”

Then by appealing to his ego as the vanquisher of the King of Troy: “Imagine Priam conqueror: what would he have done?” And finally, brilliantly, by asking that he humor the whim of a ‘foolish’ woman: “Yield! You are victor: give me too my victory.” Her success in dialogue and trickery put her in the ascendancy over Agamemnon who is not only guilty in the eyes of the gods, but has also shown to his citizens that he is doomed by his own arrogance, by his god-like behavior. Nor is this a one-off. He has taken Cassandra as his concubine when she had previously refused the advances of the mighty Apollo. It’s almost as if Agamemnon is wearing a ‘What Would Zeus Do’ wristband which he consults before each of his foolish and despicable acts. As Agamemnon steps foot on the tapestries, Clytemnestra lets out a “prolonged, triumphant cry”. All that remains is the manner of his death which, although just, still manages to sicken and disturb. Clytemnestra murders her husband in his bath. Though ‘murder’ is not quite accurate, she sacrifices him, much as he had sacrificed Iphigenia: Agamemnon’s fate is sealed.

“I T ’ S ALMOST AS IF A GAMEMNON IS WEARING A ‘W HAT W OULD Z EUS D O ’ WRISTBAND WHICH HE CONSULTS BEFORE EACH OF HIS FOOLISH AND DESPICABLE ACTS .”

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