Known For His Tragic Characters And Agamemnon example essay topic

Agamemnon is the first part of the trilogy Oresteia. It was written by Aeschylus who is often called "Father of Tragedy" in literature. Aeschylus is one of the greatest Greek writers in history. He presented audiences with the "second actor" for more complex stories. He is also known for his tragic characters and Agamemnon is no exception. He possesses all the characteristics and ultimately the fate of the majority of tragic characters, death.

Agamemnon is the King of Argos who is coming back from a ten year battle with Troy. This in itself is a trait of a tragic person. The character must be a dignified person in society. In this case, it is a King who is tragic. In the battle against Troy, he was the leader of the Greek army that went because Helen, wife of Agamemnon's younger brother Menelaus, was taken there. He is an arrogant person that only sees what is best for him and does not care for others.

When Agamemnon gets back to the castle and meets his wife Clytaemnestra for the first time in ten years, she praises and welcomes him back. Although Agamemnon says he does not deserve this, he allows her to complete this long introduction to his post Troy life. That is a flaw, but it is not the one to doom him. During the journey to Troy, in order for the Greeks to have favorable wind push their ships onward, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the god Artemis.

Who would kill their daughter for own selfish victories? By his decision, it is clearly visible that he is proud and wants nothing more than victory. This tragic hubris ultimately results in his murder by the hands of his wife, Clytaemnestra. The devious spouse had been plotting his death because of the sacrifice he made of Iphigenia.

When he returns, she says, "Zeus, Zeus / now fulfill our prayers... ". (646). The Greek god fulfills her prayer and Agamemnon's life is taken. It is possible that Hera's husband allowed the murder of the great leader happen because of his hubris. Excessive pride is said to be one of the worst traits of a person in Greek society.

When Agamemnon arrived to Argos he was pressured to walk on a red carpet to show his superiority over his peers. Although afraid, "May no god watch and strike me down with envy from on high". (644), he still does so. The definition of tragic is having the element of death, grief, or destruction.

With Agamemnon, death is what comes to play. Zeus allows him to be taken because Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter for his own well-being as well as displaying excessive pride simultaneously. These two flaws are arguably the worst sins one can make in Greek society and therefore Zeus allowed it. Most tragic characters in Greek stories do die or feel the emotional pain of death. In Sophocles' Antigone, Creon was considered a tragic figure because he dealt with the suicides of his son and wife following his hubris towards them. Here in the first part of Oresteia, Agamemnon is murdered ultimately for his hubris towards his wife and the gods.

The comparison of traits is evident and therefore Agamemnon is considered a tragic character.