Agamemnon: Honor, Immortality, and the Spoils of War: Everything you ever wanted know about your King

Judging from the large volume of requests for information I get every day from curious Mycenae subjects, I can see there is a great deal of interest in the King. Therefore, I thought it would a good idea to offer this synopsis of my life, my family, and my experiences as your leader. Below is a picture of me with my troops, ready for battle with Troy.

The Rage of Achilles [detail Agamemnon]

by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770)

http://www.mythindex.com/greek-mythology/A/Agamemnon.html

Before I begin, I offer a little background on Greece and Troy so that you may better understand my motivations. My advisers tell me that these documentaries are exceptionally riveting, holding me in quite high regard. As busy as I am managing the extended conflict with Troy, I haven't had the chance to watch them myself, but I trust that they would tell me if there was something on them that I might need to know.

The Truth of Troy

2004 BBC Documentary

The True Story of Troy
2007 History International Documentary

My parents are King Atreus...

http://www.redteamone.com/king-atreus

...who clashed with Uncle Thyestes over Dad's golden fleece, the possession of which represents the true Mycenae ruler, and Queen Aerope (pictured below when she was just a young girl; she was given away by Grandpa Catreus after an oracle predicted that one of his children would kill him). Sometimes, when I look in the mirror, I can't help but notice that my features look less like Dad's, more like Uncle Thyestes'.

Google images

I am now happily married to the lovely Spartan woman, Clytemnestra (although I did have to kill husband number one in order to win her hand). My brother, Menelaus, got the pick of the litter, so to speak, marrying her ravishing sister, Helen. Of course, we have been defending the family honor for the last nine years in our war with Troy, since that good-looking fiend, Paris, abducted her.

Paris Abducts Helen

http://www.janemorrispack.com/Paris_Helen.html

Below you will see Clytemnestra and my cousin, Aegisthos, (who some say murdered Dad, but I don't believe it) coming to pay their regards to their King. They devotedly watch over me as I sleep during one of my infrequent home visits. Them seem to be disappointed at my spent state—I am obviously weary from battle—not being able to update me on the latest the family news.

Clytemnestra hesitates before killing the sleeping Agamemnon

Pierre-Narcisse Guérin 1817

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:G%C3%A9rin_Clytemnestre_h%C3%A9sitant_avant_de_frapper_Agamemnon_endormi_Louvre_5185.jpg

Clytemnestra and I have four children: a son, Orestes...

Orestes (center) at Delphi

Python - 330 b.c.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Orestes_Delphi_BM_GR1917.12-10.1.jpg

...and three daughters, Iphigenia, Electra, and Chrysothemis. We nearly lost Iphigenia—which wasn't my fault, as the goddess Artemis decided to punish me after a few of my soldiers killed a pregnant hare. The only way to appease Artemis, who grounded my fleet by affecting the wind, was by sacrificing my daughter. Artemis must have been impressed by Iphigenia's willing acceptance of this necessary atonement for family and country, as she sacrificed an animal in place of my noble and selfless daughter.