Agamemnon, son of King Atreus, and brother of Menelaus. After his father's death, he reigned in Mycenæ, and married Clytæmnestra, by whom he had three children—Iphigenia, Electra, and Orestes.
When Paris, son of the Trojan king, Priam, carried off Helen, the wife of Menelaus, king of Lacedæmon, Agamemnon, with his injured brother, traversed Greece, exhorting all the leaders of the people to unite their forces in an expedition against Troy. Having gained their alliance, Agamemnon was appointed general-in-chief of the united forces assembled at Aulis in Bœotia, where they were delayed some time. In the Iliad, which gives an account of the war that followed, Agamemnon is described as a very stately and dignified figure. After the fall of Troy, he returned home, taking with him Cassandra, the daughter of Priam. Shortly afterwards, he was murdered by Clytæmnestra, aided by Ægisthus, in whose care he had left his wife and children. A tragical fate had always lowered over the house of Agamemnon; and the destinies of his children—Iphigenia, Electra, and Orestes—were the favourite subjects of the three great Greek tragedians. See ÆSCHYLUS.