How did the interference of gods and goddesses shape the lives of the characters in Agamemnon?

Agamemnon, written by ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus, is the first part of a trilogy, The Oresteia. The trilogy submitted at the Dionysia festival in 458 BC won him the first prize. In Agamemnon, the writer talks about the arrival of Agamemnon after the fall of Troy and his death at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. This play actually shows how Agamemnon has become the victim of the curse of the House of Atreus.

Image Source

Before going to tell the role of gods and goddesses in the play, it is important to give a brief description about their power with which they establish their influence on living beings. The position of gods and goddesses is above all. They are known to their believers as the supernatural, immortal and of course the most powerful being. With their power, they play an influential role in the lives of ordinary human beings. People worship them with a belief that their demands or prayers will be taken care of by the deities. To get the favor of their gods, people show respect, obedience and also give honor and praise to them. Gods are glorified by their celebrants, but if they are not admired properly, they show the negative side of their character.

After reading the play Agamemnon, readers might think that human beings are the mere puppet of gods and goddesses. They did what they were intended to do. The frequent interference of gods shaped the lives of the characters in this play. Long before the start of the play, we can see that the Greek fleet cannot sail to Troy. So, to get the favorable wind and soothe the goddess Artemis, Agamemnon will have to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. This is the activity that has made his wife Clytemnestra take revenge at the end of the play. If Agamemnon did not sacrifice his daughter, he would have remained alive at the end of the play.

Another character whose fate was determined by the interference of god is Cassandra. Apollo, the god of prophecy, falls in love with her and gives her the power of foretelling, but when he is rejected by her, he gives her the curse that no one will believe her words. At the end of the play we can see this thing coming true. When she tells the chorus about the fate of Agamemnon, no one listens to her.

At the beginning of this essay, I have mentioned the curse of the House of Atreus. Why is this house cursed? The heinous activity of Tantalus, the great-grandfather of Agamemnon and Menelaus, has made the house and its members cursed. Atreus killed his own son Pelops and tried to feed him as a meal to the gods. When gods came to know about it, they took the son back to life. However, Tantalus was punished and cursed, which was carried forward by his predecessors.

It is like that Pelops’ marriage with Hippodamia was a part of this curse. Many people died for this lady. Myrtilus helped Pelops with a request that he would sleep with Hippodamia first after the race. After emerging victorious, Pelops killed Myrtilus. Pelops and Hippodamia gave birth to two sons- Atreus and Thyestes. Thyestes fell in love with Atreus’ wife. To take revenge, he killed Thyestes’ two sons and fed him. For this crime, Atreus’ children suffered.

I think most of us have heard this phrase- “What is lotted cannot be blotted”. It means, what is written in our fate will happen either today or tomorrow. We can try but cannot avoid it.