Why Clytemnestra Was Punished for Killing Agamemnon in Greek Myth
In Greek mythology, Clytemnestra took the life of her husband Agamemnon when he returned from the Trojan War, an act considered unauthorized, in contrast to Agamemnon's divine sacrifice of their daughter Iphigenia at Aulis to please Artemis. Historical accounts depict Agamemnon as compliant with the gods, while Clytemnestra, with the assistance of her lover Aegisthus, sought vengeance. She deceived Agamemnon into stepping onto sacred red robes before killing him with an axe. Her actions breached the principles of xenia, destabilized the household, and amounted to treason. After exiling her son Orestes, Apollo instructed him to avenge his father, resulting in Clytemnestra's demise. Orestes faced relentless pursuit by the Furies until Athena created a jury in Athens that acquitted him, transforming the Furies into the Eumenides. Later, Orestes discovered Iphigenia alive in Tauris.
Key facts
- Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia at Aulis to appease Artemis, who had stalled the Greek fleet because he killed a sacred stag and boasted.
- Clytemnestra murdered Agamemnon upon his return from Troy, using a net and an axe in his bath.
- Clytemnestra's act was seen as unsanctioned because it violated xenia, undermined the oikos, and constituted treason.
- Aegisthus, Agamemnon's cousin, was Clytemnestra's lover and helped plot the murder.
- Apollo ordered Orestes to kill Clytemnestra and Aegisthus to avenge his father.
- Orestes was pursued by the Furies for matricide despite following Apollo's command.
- Athena established the Areopagus, a mortal jury in Athens, to judge Orestes.
- Athena cast the deciding vote to acquit Orestes, and the Furies became the Eumenides.
- Orestes later discovered Iphigenia alive in Tauris and brought her back to Greece.
Entities
Artists
- Agamemnon
- Clytemnestra
- Iphigenia
- Aegisthus
- Orestes
- Apollo
- Artemis
- Athena
- Hesiod
- Homer
- Aeschylus
- Euripides
- Sophocles
- Helen of Sparta
- Menelaus
- Paris
- Atreus
- Thyestes
- Cassandra
- Electra
- Pylades
- Calchas
- Achilles
- Zeus
- Leda
- Tyndareus
- John Collier
- Frederick Leighton
- Corrado Giaquinto
- Niccolò Monti
- John Downman
- Adolphe-William Bouguereau
- John Singer Sargent
- Jacques-Louis David
- Helen
- Pelopia
- William-Adolphe Bouguereau
- Orestes Painter
Institutions
- House of the Tragic Poet
- Arthive
- Museo del Prado
- Mutual Art
- Google Arts & Culture
- Barton Galleries
- Musée du Louvre
- National Trust Collections
- Chrysler Museum of Art
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston
- British Museum
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Chrysler Museum
- Oracle at Delphi
- Areopagus
Locations
- Argos
- Greece
- Aulis
- Troy
- Mycenae
- Phocis
- Delphi
- Athens
- Sparta
- Tauris
- Crimea
- Pompeii
- Boston
- Norfolk