Michael Davis - The Philosophy of Tragedy (2): Agamemnon

In this episode, Michael Davis discusses the first work in Aeschylus' trilogy, the Agamemnon. Short story short: Agamemnon wants to go do the Trojan War because his brother Menelaus got cucked by Paris, who ran off with his wife Helen back to Troy. Unfortunately the God Poseidon is on the side of the Trojans and so when Agamemnon is getting ready to launch his fleet the sea becomes stormy and impassable.

To counteract this, Agamemnon decides that he will sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia, to the gods so that the storm will be quelled, so he has her bound and sacrificed like a sheep.

10 years later, Agamemnon returns home triumphant. His wife, Clytemnestra however, is pretty unhappy about the fact that her husband slaughtered their daughter and has had a decade to plot her revenge...

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The link to the entire playlist is here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiyEzRZtxXGU

My original writing &c is here:

williamengels.substack.com

The cover photo is Herbert Gustave Schmalz "Iphigenia"

Enjoy.