Search
Search Results
Definition
Helen of Troy
Helen of Troy (sometimes called Helen of Sparta) is a figure from Greek mythology whose elopement with (or abduction by) the Trojan prince Paris sparked off the Trojan War. Helen was the wife of Menelaus, the king of Sparta, and considered...
Definition
Thersites
Thersites is a character in the Iliad who made a stand against Agamemnon and the enterprise of the Trojan War. Homer chose to add Thersites’ speech after Achilles’ infamous dispute with Agamemnon, probably to emphasize the struggles that...
Definition
Libation Bearers
The play Libation Bearers was written by one of the greatest of all Greek tragedians Aeschylus (c. 525-455 BCE). Winning first prize at the Dionysia competition in 458 BCE, Libation Bearers was the second play in the trilogy The Oresteia...
Image
Agamemnon, Relief of Samothrace
The relief of Samothrace, c. 550 BCE. An inscription identifies a procession of Agamemnon, a herald, and Epeios (maker of the Trojan Horse). To the right is a griffin, now defaced. (Louvre Museum, Paris)
Video
Mask of Agamemnon: Schliemann's Discovery
A short video describing Heinrich Schliemann's discovery of the so-called "Death Mask of Agamemnon".
Video
Mask of Agamemnon, from shaft grave V, grave circle A, Mycenae, c.1550-1500 B.C.E.
Mask of Agamemnon, from shaft grave V, grave circle A, c.1550-1500 B.C.E., gold, 12 inches / 35 cm (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)
Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker & Dr. Beth Harris
Definition
The Eumenides
The Eumenides is a play written by Aeschylus (c 525 – 455 BCE), the “Father of Greek Tragedy,” the most popular and influential of all tragedians of his era. The Eumenides was the third play of a trilogy, The Oresteia, with...
Definition
Ajax (Play)
Ajax is a play written by the 5th-century BCE Greek poet and dramatist Sophocles. Although Sophocles wrote at least 120 plays, only seven have survived. Of his surviving plays, the best-known is Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King) - part of a...
Image
Orestes & Electra
A marble representation of Orestes and Electra, the children of Agamemnon from Greek mythology. They stand before the tomb of their father and are in mourning as indicated by the postures and short hair of Electra. A stele behind Orestes...
Image
Myth of Iphigenia Mosaic, Empuries
A Roman floor mosaic emblemata depicting the myth of Iphigenia and her (almost) sacrifice by Agamemnon, her father, prior to the Trojan War. From a Roman villa, Empuries, 1st century BCE. (Archaeological Museum, Empuries, Spain)