Were you able to pick up on the nature of the curse upon the House of Atreus? Where did the curse originate? How? How does the curse relate to all that is taking place?
What does Agamemnon do that puts him at odds with Clytemnestra? Is Agamemnon responsible for what he did and what was done to him? Does he have free will? Did Clytemnestra have free will, or was she simply the agent of alastor, the blood-demon? Why did this family keep feeding the blood-demon? The Chorus more than once seems to indicate that those involved cannot escape the evil cycle in which they find themselves. How do you respond to this?
How does Christian theology compare with the Greek notion of moira or destiny, a thing “woven” of innumerable converging forces?
How does this play fit Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy as being concerned with the “actions of admirable people”? How sympathetic a character is Clytemnestra? Do you think Aeschylus intended his audience to applaud or condemn her husband’s murder?
Does this play tell us anything about the way women were understood in ancient Greece?
How does the watchman describe Clytemnestra? Is there foreshadowing taking place in his speech? What other kinds of foreshadowing are found in in the drama?
Hubris (excessive pride) shows up in many Greek tragedies. Does it play a role in this drama? Does it show up more emphatically in terms of plot or character?
What other emotions and/or character traits are demonstrated?
Where do you see “love” in this drama?
Is “justice” a major concern of the characters in this drama? With Aeschylus?
How does Aeschylus use the prophecies of Cassandra to advance the action?
Why does the Chorus believe that a wife killing her Lord (kyrios) is worse than Agamemnon’s killing of Iphigeneia?
What is the role of the Chorus in Agamemnon? If the Chorus was omitted, how would the play be different.
And, Aegisthus? The Herald? The Watchman?
What does this production tell us about the gods?
Where is “the rule of Law” in this production? (Hint: Aechylus is setting up this theme to be explored in Eumenides)
In Poetics, Aristotle claims that the least important of all the components of a tragedy is “spectacle” (those aspects of the tragedy that contribute to its sensory effects: costumes, scenery, the gestures of the actors, the sound of the music, the resonance of the actors’ voices, etc. ). He believes that the impact/influence of a tragedy is not dependent upon its performance, but can be read as a text. What do you think you missed out on by reading the text rather than viewing it at the theatre (the “seeing place”)? What would Aristotle say about the answer you just gave?
Could James Dobson have helped this family?
Can you identify any from our own time who struggle with dilemmas similar to those of Agamemnon?
How does this tragedy compare with the biblical accounts of Jephtahah? With Abraham? With the death of Jesus?
Is what way does this drama reflect the events of Genesis 3?
Video Clips:
More Study/Discussion Questions:
- http://www.uark.edu/campus-resources/dlevine/Agamemnon.html
- http://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/agamemnon.html
- http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/agamemnon/study.html
- http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/agamemnon.htm
- http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng222/aeschylus_agamemnon.htm
- http://www.temple.edu/classics/oresteia/index.html
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TIMELINE FOR AESCHYLUS
(from the Great Books of Greeks and Hebrews course guide)
525 – Birth of Aeschylus
510 – Tyrant Hippias expelled from Athens
490 – Battle of Marathon; Athens defeats Persia under Darius
484 – Aeschylus’s first victory at Dionysia
483 – Discovery of silver in Athenian mines at Laurion
480 – Battle of Salamis; Athens defeats Persia under Xerxes
477 – Establishment of the Delian Confederacy led by Athens
472 – The Persians
467 – Seven Against Thebes
463? – Suppliant Women (written sometime between 466 and 459)
462 – Ephialtes strips the Aristocratic Aerepogus Council of power
458 – Oresteia (Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, The Furies)
457 – Athens completed the long walls between the city and the harbor to defend against Spartan aggression
456 – Died in Gela, Sicily
