Agamemnon

Acts

• Watchman

  A watchman on the roof of the palace at Argos has waited ten years for the beacon signalling Troy's fall. The fire appears — and with it, a premonition that all is not well.

  64 lines
• Parodos

  The chorus of Argive elders recounts the omen of the eagles and Iphigenia's sacrifice at Aulis. The war began with a father killing his daughter.

  146 lines
• Clytemnestra and the Beacon

  Clytemnestra announces Troy's fall and describes the chain of beacons across the Aegean. The chorus is cautious — she has been wrong before.

  12 lines
• First Stasimon

  The chorus meditates on the justice of Troy's destruction and the suffering brought by Helen's departure. Victory is tempered by the knowledge that the gods punish excess.

  117 lines
• The Herald

  A herald arrives confirming Troy's fall and Agamemnon's return. He describes the suffering at Troy and the storms that scattered the fleet on the voyage home.

  Not yet imported
• Second Stasimon

  The chorus reflects on Helen — her name itself an omen of destruction. They trace the ruin she brought from Sparta to Troy.

  94 lines
• Agamemnon's Return

  Agamemnon arrives with Cassandra as his war-prize. Clytemnestra welcomes him with elaborate praise and persuades him to walk on the purple tapestries into the palace.

  191 lines
• Third Stasimon

  The chorus senses impending disaster. Despite the triumph, foreboding fills the air. They feel the approach of something they cannot prevent.

  53 lines
• Cassandra

  Cassandra, still outside the palace, begins to prophesy. She sees the house's history of murder — Thyestes' children, the bath, the net, the axe. The chorus cannot understand until too late.

  Not yet imported
• Cassandra Enters

  Cassandra accepts her fate and enters the palace to die. The chorus hears Agamemnon's death-cry from within.

  106 lines
• The Murder

  Clytemnestra appears over the bodies of Agamemnon and Cassandra. She declares the killing was justice for Iphigenia and revels in the act.

  76 lines
• Fourth Stasimon

  The chorus recoils in horror and grief. They accuse Clytemnestra but she insists the ancestral curse demanded blood.

  26 lines
• Clytemnestra's Defence

  Clytemnestra argues that the daemon of the house, not she, struck the blow. The chorus is divided between outrage and recognition that Agamemnon's own crimes invited retribution.

  Not yet imported
• Aegisthus

  Aegisthus arrives to claim the throne, revealing his father Thyestes' curse on Atreus's line. He is the architect of the plot.

  127 lines
• Exodos

  The chorus threatens resistance but Aegisthus and Clytemnestra assert control. The cycle of blood demands yet more blood — the Libation Bearers will follow.

  25 lines