< Agamemnon, son of Pleisthenes >
1 Origin
Agamemnon was born in Cleonae, Argolis, in 1234 BC.
Agamemnon's father was Pleisthenes, son of Atreus. [Apo.3.2.2, Dictys.1.1, 5.16]
Agamemnon's mother was Aerope (or Eriphyle), daughter of Catreus. [Apo.3.2.2, Dictys.1.1]
2 Family
Agamemnon married Clytaemnestra, daughter of Tyndareus. [Tzetzes.1.460, Paus.2.22.3]
Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra had a son, Orestes. [Apo.E.2.15, Hyginus.124, Paus.10.16.4]
Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra had a daughter, Chrysothemis. [Apo.E.2.15, Home.Il.9.135]
Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra had a daughter, Electra (or Laodice). [Aelian.4.26, Apo.E.2.15, Paus.9.40.12, Home.Il.9.135]
Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra had a daughter, Iphigenia. [Apo.E.2.15, Herod.4.103, Hyginus.238, Paus.1.33.1, Strabo.12.2.3, Home.Il.9.135]
Agamemnon had a son, Hyperion. [Paus.1.43.3]
Agamemnon had a son, Halaesus. [Ovid.Fasti.4.76, Virg.Aene.10.411]
3 Others
3.1 Migration to Mycenae
In 1217 BC, Eurystheus was succeeded by Atreus, and Agamemnon emigrated from Cleonae to Mycenae with his father Atreus. [Diod.4.58.2]
3.2 Invasion of Peloponnesus by Heracleidae
In 1215 BC, the Heracleidae led by Hyllus, son of Heracles, invaded Peloponnesus and occupied various areas. [Apo.2.8.2]
At this time, the Heracleidae occupied Mideia and Tiryns, not Mycenae. [Pind.Ol.7.20, 75, Strabo.8.6.11]
Atreus and Agamemnon are presumed to have been besieged in Mycenae.
3.3 Battle with Heracleidae
In 1211 BC, the Heracleidae led by Hyllus, son of Heracles, again attempted to invade Peloponnesus. [Apo.2.8.2]
Atreus and Agamemnon led the Mycenaeans and Tegeans and attacked the Heracleidae at Isthmus. [Diod.4.58.2]
Hyllus was killed in battle and the Heracleidae were defeated. [Diod.4.58.4, Herod.9.26]
3.4 Marriage to Clytaemnestra
In 1209 BC, Agamemnon married Clytaemnestra, daughter of Tyndareus of Sparta. [Tzetzes.1.460, Paus.2.22.3]
Tyndareus was the son of Gorgophone, sister of the mother of Agamemnon's grandfather Atreus. [See Atreus]
3.5 Menelaus' Marriage
In 1205 BC, Agamemnon's brother Menelaus married Helen, daughter of Tyndareus. [Hyginus.98, Paus.2.22.6]
Tyndareus and his sons who succeeded him were already dead. [See Tyndareus]
Menelaus moved to Sparta and, with the power of Mycenae behind him, subjugated the Lacedaemonians.
3.6 Expansion of Territory
Agamemnon went beyond Lacedaemon and subjugated Cardamyle, Enope, Hire, Phera, Antheia, Aepeia, and Pedasus on the coast of the Gulf of Messenia. [Strabo.8.4.1]
Agamemnon also built a shrine of Athena on the Onugnathus peninsula near the promontory of Malea in southeast Laconia. [Paus.3.22.10]
It is believed that Agamemnon's rule also extended to Pavlopetri, the oldest sunken city in the world, located at the base of the Onugnathus Peninsula.
3.7 Trojan War
There is a tradition that the Achaean army, led by Agamemnon, marched from the port of Aulis in Boeotia to Troy. [Dares.14, Paus.8.28.4]
However, it seems that Agamemnon did not march to Troy because of the following reasons.
1) There was a big contradiction in the tradition.
In the tradition, Agamemnon was killed immediately after returning from Troy. [AeschyAgame.1333, Paus.2.16.6, Hyginus.117]
However, there is also a tradition that Agamemnon ruled Mycenae for 30 (or 35) years, and Troy fell in the 18th year of his reign. [JeromeChro.1197, Euseb.Chron.179]
Agamemnon would have lived for at least 12 years after the Trojan War.
2) Long-term expeditions were impossible.
After the death of Eurystheus, the Heracleidae had tried to return to Peloponnesus twice, and even after the death of Hyllus, they were looking for an opportunity to invade Peloponnesus. [Diod.4.58.4, Herod.9.26]
In fact, in the year that Agamemnon died, Cleodaeus, the son of Hyllus, led the Dorians in an attack on Mycenae and destroyed the city. [See Cleodaeus]
Under these circumstances, it was impossible for Agamemnon to lead an army from Mycenae on a long-term expedition.
3.8 Death of Agamemnon
Agamemnon reigned for 30 or 35 years. [JeromeChro.1197, Euseb.Chron.179]
Considering the age of Abia, the wet nurse of Glenus (or Gleneus), son of Heracles, who accompanied Cleodaeus, son of Hyllus, on his expedition, Agamemnon's reign is estimated to be 30 years. [Estimated from Paus.4.30.1]
If the Trojan War ended in 1186 BC, Agamemnon died in 1173 BC. Agamemnon was 61 years old at the time of death.
It is estimated that in 1173 BC, the Dorians led by Cleodaeus invaded Peloponnesus and destroyed Mycenae, but Agamemnon may have died in the battle with Cleodaeus.
The hero-shrines of Cleodaeus was in Sparta. [Paus.3.15.10]