Agamemnon

Family: Greek · Role: military leader · First appears: Book 1 · Chapter 4

When Agamemnon’s forces met Telephus on the Mysian plain, the Greeks ravaged the land, mistaking it for Trojan territory. He later married Clytæmnestra as her first husband, receiving her from Tyndareus. At Mycenæ, Ægisthus killed those returning from Ilium with him at a banquet. In Athens, Menestheus aided him with Athenian forces to overthrow Priam’s dominion.

During the campaign against Ilium, Agamemnon gathered Greek leaders at Ægium to deliberate on attacking Priam’s realm. His army sacked Ilium and the surrounding cities without reinforcements. At Aulis, Teuthis quarrelled with him and prepared to return home with his Arcadian detachment. At Ilium, Poseidon helped the Greeks in Agamemnon and Menelaus’s expedition.

In battle, Coon fought Agamemnon over the body of Iphidamas. Agamemnon swore over a boar that Briseis was still a maid, and the herald threw the boar into the sea. Greek warriors drew lots to choose a champion to fight Hector in single combat. The sacred sceptre passed from Zeus through Hermes, Pelops, Atreus and Thyestes until Agamemnon possessed it. Later, he was willing to grant Æthra to Demophon, but first sought Helen’s consent, which she gave.