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Clytemnestra trying to awake the Erinyes while her son is being purified by Apollo, Apulian red-figure krater, 480–470 BC, Louvre (Cp 710)

After the murder (1882 painting)

Clytemnestra (or Clytaemestra) ‘‘(Eng. /klaɪtəm'nɛstɹə/ Greek: Κλυταιμνήστρα Klytaimnéstra, "famed for her suitors") was the wife of Agamemnon, king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Mycenae or Argos. In the Oresteia by Aeschylus, she was a femme fatale who murdered her husband, Agamemnon - said by Euripides to be her second husband - and his concubine Cassandra. However, in Homer's Odyssey, her role in Agamemnon's death is unclear and her character is significantly more subdued. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 481 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1696 × 2112 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 481 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1696 × 2112 pixel, file size: 2. ... Two Furies, from an ancient vase. ... For other uses, see Apollo (disambiguation). ... This article is bad because of the Italian region. ... A krater (Greek κρατηρ, from the Greek verb κεραννυμι, to mix. ... This article is about the museum. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about a character in Greek mythology. ... A clay tablet with writing in Linear B from Mycenae. ... This article is about the city in Greece. ... The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... This article is about the ancient Greek playwright. ... Convicted spy Mata Hari made her name synonymous with femme fatale during WWI. A femme fatale (plural: femmes fatales) is an alluring and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. ... This article is about a character in Greek mythology. ... A swampy marsh area ... For other uses, see Cassandra (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Odyssey (disambiguation). ...

Background

Clytemnestra was the daughter of Tyndareus and Leda and mother of Iphigeneia, Orestes, Chrysothemis and Electra. She also may have been partially the daughter of Zeus and Leda. (According to legend, Zeus appeared to Leda in the form of a swan, raping and impregnating her. Leda produced four offspring from two eggs; Castor and Polydeuces from one egg, and Helen and Clytemnestra from the other. The latter two were fathered by Tyndareus.) In Greek mythology, Tyndareus (or Tyndareos) was a Spartan king, son of Oebalus (or Perieres) and Gorgophone (or Bateia), husband of Leda and father of Helen, Polydeuces (Pollux), Castor, Clytemnestra, Timandra, Phoebe and Philonoe. ... Leda and the Swan, 16th-century copy after the lost painting by Michelangelo Leda with the Swan, by Correggio In Greek mythology, Leda (Λήδα) was daughter of the Aetolian king Thestius, and wife of the king Tyndareus, of Sparta. ... 112 Iphigenia is an asteroid. ... The Remorse of Orestes by William-Adolphe Bouguereau For other uses, see Orestes (disambiguation). ... In Greek mythology, Chrysothemis was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. ... Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Electra was daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. ... For other uses, see Zeus (disambiguation). ... In Greek mythology, Castor (or Kastor) and Polydeuces (sometimes called Pollux) were the twin sons of Leda and the brothers of Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. ... Helen of Troy redirects here. ...

In Euripides's Iphigeneia in Tauris, Clytemnestra's first husband was Tantalus, who was slain by Agamemnon, King of Pisa (in the western Peloponnese), who then made Clytemnestra his wife. Iphigeneia in Tauris (in Greek: ) is a drama by the playwright Euripides, written sometime between 414 BC and 412 BC. It bears much in common with another of Euripides plays, Helen, and is often described as a romance, a melodrama, or an escape play. ... Pisa, or Pisatis, was the name of an ancient Greek town in Elis. ... Greece and the Peloponnese The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus (Greek: Πελοπόννησος Peloponnesos; see also List of Greek place names) is a large peninsula in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. ...

Mythology

Agamemnon was leading Greek forces in the Trojan War in Troy, where consistently weak winds had been preventing his ships from sailing. Through a subplot involving the gods, he was told that the winds would return if he sacrificed his daughter Iphigeneia to the goddess Artemis. He persuaded Clytemnestra to send Iphigeneia by deceptively telling her that the purpose of his daughter's visit was to marry her to Achilles. When Iphigeneia arrived, she was sacrificed. This betrayal was a partial motive for his eventual murder. The fall of Troy, by Johann Georg Trautmann (1713–1769). ... 112 Iphigenia is an asteroid. ... For other uses, see Artemis (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Achilles (disambiguation). ...

Also during this period of his absence, Clytemnestra began a love affair with Aegisthus, her husband's cousin (they produced a daughter; Erigone). Whether Clytemnestra was seduced into the affair or entered it independently is debated. Nevertheless, together they plotted the murder of Agamemnon. In Greek mythology, Aegisthus (goat strength, also transliterated as Aegisthos or Aigísthos) was the son of Thyestes and his daughter, Pelopia. ... Erigone may refer to: Erigone, the daughter of Icarius in Greek mythology. ...

When Agamemnon returned from Troy, he brought the princess Cassandra as his concubine, thus Clytemnestra's jealousy was another partial motive for his murder. Upon his arrival, he entered the palace for a banquet while Cassandra remained in the chariot. It is at this point that Clytemnestra (or Aegisthus, see Controversy) fulfilled her plan by initially seducing him into a vulnerable position, then entangling him in cloth and finally murdering him. For other uses, see Cassandra (disambiguation). ...

Meanwhile, Cassandra, who had the gift of prophecy, saw visions of Agamemnon's murder and her own. Her attempts to elicit help failed (she had been cursed by Apollo; no one would believe her prophecies) and when she realized she was fated to die, she ran into the palace and was also killed by Clytemnestra. For other uses, see Prophecy (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Apollo (disambiguation). ...

After the murders, Aegisthus replaced Agamemnon and ruled with Clytemnestra. She was eventually killed by her son Orestes, who was the reluctant avenger of his father's death. Orestes Ορεστης is a Greek name, literally he who stands on the mountain, or mountain-dweller. Orestes can refer to: In Greek mythology, the son of Agamemnon. ...

Controversy

• Different versions of the myth vary in their depiction of the murder; some suggest that Clytemnestra killed Agamemnon alone, others suggest that it was a joint effort with Aegisthus, or Aegisthus entirely.

• According to some scholars, Cassandra was not murdered along with Agamemnon, but rather left Mycenae unharmed.

• Clytemnestra's personality differs between tellings, as weak and submissive (Homer's Clytemnestra), or ruthless and manipulative (Aeschylus' Clytemnestra). This affects her role in the affair with Aegisthus.

Murder of Agamemnon, Painting by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin.

Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 587 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,014 × 2,056 pixels, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 587 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,014 × 2,056 pixels, file size: 1. ... Aeneas tells Dido about the fall of Troy, 1815. ...

Clytemnestra in the arts

Clytemnestra has been the subject of many artistic works.

• Most notably, Aeschylus' play Agamemnon was the first piece to bring her to light.
• The American modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham created a two-hour ballet, Clytemnestra (1958), about the queen.
• Most recently, playwright/actor Corey Allen wrote a contemporary adaptation of Aeschylus' earlier work entitled Clytemnestra.
• The story has also been adapted into an opera; Cromwell Everson a South African composer wrote the first Afrikaans opera, "Klutaimnestra", in 1967. It is an opera in four acts and premiered on November 7, 1967 in Biesenbach Hall, Worcester, Western Cape, South Africa.

Clytemnestra is used as the name of an anonymous emailer in Philip Roth's The Human Stain. Most likely this email hoax was perpretated by Delphine Roux, Coleman Silk's antagonist in the book. For the supercentenarian, see Martha Graham (supercentenarian). ... Cromwell Everson (1925-1991) (born Beaufort West, South Africa) was primarily known as a composer during his lifetime. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Look up Wiktionary:Swadesh lists for Afrikaans and Dutch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Opera (disambiguation). ... Worcester, South Africa is a town situated about 120 km from Cape Town, in the Breede River Valley. ...