Is Clytemnestra a hero or villain?

Two of the most famous Greek tragic heroes (heroines) were Medea and Clytemnestra. They share characteristics Aristotle deemed essential for the heroic character in a tragedy. They are both of high rank. Medea is a princess and a sorceress, and Clytemnestra was the de facto ruler of Argos in Agamemnon’s absence.

Who is the hero of Oresteia?

Agamemnon. The titular character of the first play of the trilogy, Agamemnon is a great Greek hero, one of the key figures in their decisive victory in the Trojan War. To please the goddess Artemis and have the winds shift in his favor before the battle, he sacrificed the life of his daughter Iphigenia.

Is Clytemnestra bad?

Clytemnestra is a selfish and hypocritical woman who demands her children respect her, then prays to the gods that “evil rebound on [her] foes,” who also happen to be her children.

What kind of person is Clytemnestra?

Clytemnestra is shown as an independent woman, with the strength and intelligence of a man, who has ruled a country in her husband’s place for 10 years. It is only fitting that her act of vengeance be completed with a man’s weapon.

What is Clytemnestra tragic flaw?

She mourns Iphigenia alone back in Mycenae, where the coldness of her personality grows colder. This is her fatal flaw as a tragic heroine. She has two children, Elektra and Orestes, both by Agamemnon, who she pushes away because her need for revenge called louder than her heart’s need for love.

How sympathetic a character is Clytemnestra?

She kills her husband Agamemnon to take revenge on him for his sacrifices of her daughter Iphigenia. She is, a sympathetic character in many respects, but the righteousness of her crime is tainted by her entanglement with Aegisthus. Her shrewdness is also shown by the way she coaxes her husband into submission.

What are the main themes of the Oresteia?

THEMES IN THE ORESTEIA

• THE JUSTICE OF GOD -DIKE and THEMIS (divine Justice and the Law of Nature.
• REVENGE Composed of three elements:
• WOMAN RIGHT VERSUS MAN-RIGHT i.e. mother vs.
• THE EFFECTS OF REVENGE.
• MAN’S OWN RESPONSIBILITY for his deeds and HUMAN JUSTICE AND COURTS OF JUSTICE.
• THE CONSEQUENCES OF WAR.

Why is Clytemnestra important?

Clytemnestra, in Greek legend, a daughter of Leda and Tyndareus and wife of Agamemnon, commander of the Greek forces in the Trojan War. She took Aegisthus as her lover while Agamemnon was away at war. Upon his return, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus murdered Agamemnon.

Is Clytemnestra a sympathetic character?

Clytemnestra, the queen of Argos, the wife of the king Agamemnon, is the one of the central character of the play “Agamemnon” by Aeschylus (525?-456 bc), an ancient Greek dramatist. She is, a sympathetic character in many respects, but the righteousness of her crime is tainted by her entanglement with Aegisthus.

How would you describe Clytemnestra?

Clytemnestra is decisive, resolute, and aggressive, and her femininity is often called into question. However, she is able mask her anger in public moments in order to carry out her revenge plot. The nobility of her revenge is complicated by her affair with Aegisthus.

What is Clytemnestra by Euripides characters?

Clytemnestra. Clytemnestra is the Queen of Argos. Formerly married to Agamemnon, whom she murdered, she now reigns corruptly alongside Aegisthus, her paramour. She despises and poorly treats her daughter, Electra, whose constant mourning and desire for revenge threatens Clytemnestra.

Is Clytemnestra the most sympathetic character in the Oresteia?

The Oresteia presents a series of characters who must do wrong to do right. Having said that, Clytemnestra is arguably the least sympathetic character in the trilogy. Agamemnon’s murder of his daughter Iphigenia is repugnant, but it must be weighed against his mandate to prosecute the Trojan War.

Is Clytemnestra a hero or a villain?

Clytemnestra is the hero or champion of the former ethics, avenging the unjust killing of her daughter Iphigenia, by murdering her killer, Iphigenia’s father Agamemnon. She is also the biggest villain of the new city ethics, having killed and replaced the rightful king of Argos, and replaced him with her lover, the unworthy Aegisthus.

What does Aeschylus conclude about Clytemnestra?

He concluded that the Oresteia is based on conflict between the sexes; that Clytemnestra hates Agamemnon for being a man and wants his power; and that in his strong portrait of Clytemnestra and purposely inconclusive trial scene of Eumenides, Aeschylus protests the ‘personal tragedy’ of Athenian women.

Who is Clytemnestra in the Iliad?

Clytemnestra is the hero or champion of the former ethics, avenging the unjust killing of her daughter Iphigenia, by murdering her killer, Iphigenia’s father Agamemnon.