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Aeschylus · c. 525-456 BC

Agamemnon

Ἀγαμέμνων
Ancient Sources / Aeschylus / Agamemnon

Read our guide to Agamemnon

Agamemnon is the first play of the Oresteia, the trilogy staged in 458 BC. The king returns in triumph from Troy to Argos, where his wife Clytaemestra, with her lover Aegisthus, is waiting to avenge their daughter Iphigenia, whom he sacrificed at Aulis, and the old crimes of the house of Atreus. The sections follow the play's own units (prologue, parodos, episodes, choral songs, the lament and the exodos) and keep the standard line numbers of the Greek text.

Read from the start
Text
Greek original with English translation, 18 passages, about 14300 words in English.
Translator
Herbert Weir Smyth (modernised by Perseus) (1926)
Edition
Greek text: Herbert Weir Smyth (ed. and trans.), Aeschylus, Loeb Classical Library, London: William Heinemann, 1926, as digitised by Perseus. English: Herbert Weir Smyth, Aeschylus, Loeb Classical Library, London: William Heinemann, 1926 (Perseus's modernised version of Smyth's prose translation)
Cite as
Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1 (by line number)

Contents · 18 passages

  1. 1–39Prologue: the Watchman sees the beacon389 words
  2. 40–175Parodos (1): the army sails and the omen of the eagles976 words
  3. 176–263Parodos (2): the hymn to Zeus and the sacrifice of Iphigenia682 words
  4. 264–354First episode: Clytaemestra announces the fall of Troy861 words
  5. 355–474First stasimon: Zeus, Paris and Helen782 words
  6. 475–582Second episode: the Herald arrives from Troy1089 words
  7. 583–680Second episode (cont.): Clytaemestra's message and the loss of Menelaus916 words
  8. 681–809Second stasimon: Helen, the lion cub and Hubris819 words
  9. 810–913Third episode: Agamemnon arrives and Clytaemestra's welcome952 words
  10. 914–974Third episode (cont.): the purple tapestries617 words
  11. 975–1033Third stasimon: the elders' foreboding323 words
  12. 1035–1177Fourth episode: Clytaemestra and Cassandra's first cries1279 words
  13. 1178–1255Fourth episode (cont.): Cassandra's visions of the house of Atreus773 words
  14. 1256–1330Fourth episode (cont.): Cassandra goes in to die712 words
  15. 1331–1371Fourth stasimon; Agamemnon's death-cries and the elders' debate390 words
  16. 1372–1447Fifth episode: Clytaemestra stands over the bodies776 words
  17. 1448–1576Kommos: the lament for Agamemnon and the Fiend of the house939 words
  18. 1577–1673Exodos: Aegisthus and the Chorus1038 words

More by Aeschylus

English translation by Herbert Weir Smyth (modernised by Perseus) (1926). Original text: Greek text: Herbert Weir Smyth (ed. and trans.), Aeschylus, Loeb Classical Library, London: William Heinemann, 1926, as digitised by Perseus. English: Herbert Weir Smyth, Aeschylus, Loeb Classical Library, London: William Heinemann, 1926 (Perseus's modernised version of Smyth's prose translation).

Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.