Clytemnestra
| Clytemnestra | |
|---|---|
Queen of Mycenae | |
Clytemnestra, John Collier, 1882 | |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | |
| Siblings | Helen of Troy, Castor and Pollux, Phoebe, Timandra, Philonoe |
| Spouse | Tantalus, Agamemnon, Aegisthus |
| Children | Orestes, Electra, Iphigenia, Chrysothemis, Iphianassa, Aletes, Erigone, Helen |
In Greek mythology, Clytemnestra (/ˌklaɪtəmˈnɛstrə/, UK also /klaɪtəmˈniːstrə/; Ancient Greek: Κλυταιμνήστρα, romanized: Klutaimnḗstra, pronounced [klytai̯mnɛ̌ːstraː]), was the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and the half-sister of Helen of Troy. With Agamemnon, she was the mother of Orestes and Electra.
Clytemnestra appears as a character in multiple ancient Greek works, including the Homeric epics and plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. She is infamous for murdering Agamemnon when he returned from the Trojan War along with Trojan princess Cassandra, taken as a war prize, as revenge for sacrificing their daughter Iphigenia to the gods. However, in Homer's Odyssey and Iliad, her role in Agamemnon's death is unclear and her character is significantly more subdued.