First, Agamemnon killed his own daughter, and all he wanted was conquering the world. However, I think this does not mean that he has no love, it’s gender discrimination. If his child is a boy, he will not kill him. This work expresses the suffer and struggle of women in the patriarchal society.
Second, Clytemnestra killed Agamemnon not only for revenge, but also for her fear and desire for power. She hated Agamemnon because he killed her daughter, and she also feared that Agamemnon knew her disloyalty and killed her. Gradually, she had the desire that she and her lover could gain the power after Agamemnon’s death. In all, Clytemnestra lost her mind and went crazy due to her hatred.
The gender discrimination is a good perspective. But I think even if the the child was a boy, Agamemnon would kill him. He did feel guilty to his daughter. In that situation, the entire army was likely to be disorder based on his decision. As a commander in chief, he could assume any sacrifice to enable the success.
I disagree with you about gender discrimination. Just like he was forced to sacrifice Iphigenia to let the troops set sail, I think he would have done the same to his son. Since he was the leader, he did not care who he sacrificed.
I agree with you that hatred was building, and Clytemnestra had to do something for revenge. It easy to understand why she did it. She lost her only child. She did not kill Agamemnon just to gain power
Hello Sijie Li, thank you for your post.
A good point of view on gender discrimination. Agamemnon and Clytemnestra play strong characters in this play. However, they both have a different purpose behind their characters. I think Agamemnon loves his daughter but he had no choice but to sacrifice her. On the other hand, Clytemnestra decides to kill Agamemnon because his actions were terrible.
Hi Sijie, I respect your opinion. Yes, we do see gender discrimination in ancient Greek culture. Women had fewer rights in comparison to male citizens. However, based on the situation we discussed in the play, I don’t think it involves gender disclination. If Agamemnon didn’t kill his daughter to appease Artemis, his army wouldn’t be able to sail and fight Troy. I believe Agamemnon would sacrifice anyone (no matter men or women) to achieve his goal and make up his own mistake because everybody was watching him, as a leader, to do something great for Athena. We can’t deny the fact that Agamemnon did this to defend his power though.