Agamemnon is the first of three plays in The Oresteia which continues the curse by Thyestes. The play focuses on Clytemnestra's murder of Agamemnon. She wants to murder Agamemnon because he sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia ten years ago. The play starts at night with a watchman awaiting a fire signal which indicates the end of Trojan war. When the watchman saw the fire signal, he immediately reports this news to Clytamenestra and the city of Mycenae.
When Agamemnon reach home, Clytamenestra welcomes Agamemnon with blood-red tapestry which symbolizes the death of Agamemnon. Agamemnon enters the palace. In the mean time, Cassandra is revealing the prediction of the murder to the leader. When Cassandra finishes her prediction, she enters the palace.
Shortly after her entrance, cries break out within the palace. The leader rushes in and discovers that both Agamemnon and Cassandra were murdered by Clytamenestra with a sword. Later, Aegisthus triumph the death of Agamemnon.
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I. Introduction |
II. Agamemnon |
III. The Libation Bearer |
IV. Eumenides |
(Agamemnon, line 840-841)