Clytemnestre

In the Greek Mythology, Clytemnestre (in Greek old Κλυταιμνήστρα / Klutaimnếstra , of κλυτός / klutós , “famous, famous” and μνάομαι / mnáomai , “to seek, court”) is the girl of Tyndare (king of Sparte) and of Léda. It is sister of Helene and Castor and Pollux.

Myth

As much his/her sister Helene is beautiful and soft, as much Clytemnestre is round, pale, and grumpy. His/her father, Tyndare, will have besides much evil to marry it and will finish by him finding the brother of his son-in-law, Agamemnon, the king of Mycènes, of which it has four children: Iphigénie, Chrysothémis, Electra and Oreste. Certain versions add Laodicée and Iphianassa, which will be then confused in Electra and Iphigénie.

Before its departure for the Trojan War, Agamemnon and its troops gathered with Aulis, cannot leave because Artémis launches head winds on the sea. Only the sacrifice of Iphigénie will alleviate the goddess. Agamemnon, forced, thus sacrifices Iphigénie on the furnace bridge of Artémis. His wife will never forgive him this crime and throughout all war of Troy, dream with her revenge. Clytemnestre takes thereafter a lover, Égisthe, and when Agamemnon returns, she plots with him the murder of her husband: she (or Égisthe according to the authors) kills it in her bath with stab and net at the same time as her concubine, Cassandre.

She is killed in her turn at the same time as Égisthe by her Oreste son of the years later.

Artistic topic

The principal interest of the history of Clytemnestre, for the authors who brought it back, lies in the diversity of the reasons which it gives to the murder of Agamemnon and in the various characterizations of the characters who are thus possible.

Simone Bertière published in 2004 a Apologie for Clytemnestre , leaving the word to Clytemnestre in order to evoke with the first anybody the glance which the authors during the ages carried on that which killed her husband and was killed by his/her son.

In Fires , Marguerite Yourcenar devotes one of its proses to Clytemnestre (" Clytemnestre or the crime").

Source

See too

Simple: Clytemnestra

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