Troy 12: Warriors' Fates

The themes of violence, deception, and loss developed in the Trojan War tales continue in the stories about the homebound Greek heroes and the stories about the refugees of Troy as they searched for a new home.

Agamemnon, the commander-in-chief of the Greek armies, survived the battles at Troy. But, he did not survive his homecoming to Mycenae. Agamemnon’s wife Clytemnestra, Helen’s sister, did not forgive Agamemnon for the sacrificial death of their daughter Iphigenia. Left behind in control of Mycenae, Clytemnestra spent the duration of the war concocting a plan to avenge her daughter’s death if Agamemnon survived. While Agamemnon was away, Clytemnestra took a lover. His name was Aegisthus. He also held a grudge against Agamemnon’s family. When Agamemnon returned home, Clytemnestra pretended to be happy to see him and invited him into the house to wash off the dust from his travels. While he was in the bath, either Clytemnestra or Aegisthus (depending on the version of the story) stabbed Agamemnon to death (image).

Agamemnon returned from Troy with one of Priam and Hecuba’s daughters as a prize. It was the infamous Cassandra, the seer who foretold the fall of Troy. Cassandra was given the power of prophecy by Apollo (the god of prophecy) but when she rebuked his advances Apollo cursed Cassandra so that her prophecy would never be believed by others. Cassandra foresaw the murder of Agamemnon. When she told Agamemnon his future fate, he did not believe her. So, Cassandra remained outside his house, when Agamemnon went inside with his wife. After Agamemnon was murdered, Cassandra was put to death (image).

Orestes, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, avenges his father’s death. He killed both his mother and Aegisthus. The Oresteia trilogy by Aeschylus – Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides – describes these killings and tells how Orestes was hounded by the Furies for his vengeance (image).

Kids Consumed

Why did Aegisthus hold a grudge against the House of Atreus? The story is complicated and horrendous. It involves adultery, incest, murder, and infanticide among fathers, sons, a wife and a daughter.

According to legend, Atreus discovered that his wife was having an affair with his brother Thyestes. He invited Thyestes to dinner and served his brother a gruesome dish. To avenge the adulterous affair, Atreus slaughtered Thyestes’ children, cooked them, and served them to their father for dinner. At the end of the meal, Atreus showed his brother the hands and feet of his children, which he had saved for this purpose.

Thyestes later had a son, Aegisthus, by an incestuous relationship with his daughter Pelopea. Legend says that Aegisthus avenged his father and siblings by killing Agamemnon who, along with Menelaus, was the son of Atreus.

Homer’s other epic poem, the Odyssey, recounts the heroic homecoming of Odysseus. After ten years warring at Troy, Odysseus’ voyage to reach his home in Ithaca took another ten years. Odysseus’ homeward journey was extended by perils created by the Greek god Poseidon. Odysseus offended Poseidon by blinding Poseidon’s son Polyphemus, the Cyclops.

In the Odyssey, Homer tells of Odysseus’ adventures and setbacks. As he struggles to reach home, Odysseus is nearly killed by the Cyclops, Polyphemus, who Odysseus blinds; a sorceress turns his companions into animals; he is a concubine to a sea nymph; and he descends into the Underworld, among other challenges. Finally he arrives home only to face more challenges. At home, he finds his wife besieged by suitors who assumed that he died at Troy or on his journey home. After slaying the suitors, Odysseus finally is reunited with his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus.

Aeneas, the only surviving male member of the Trojan royal family, escaped the destruction of Troy with a small band of compatriots. Virgil’s Aeneid narrates the exodus of this band of Trojans that led to the establishment of Rome. Through their wanderings, the Trojans and their leader are transformed from dispirited exiles to confident settlers of the greatest city of the ancient world.