Was Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, a Historical Figure or Mythological?

Mycenaean decease masks. The 1 connected the close is the alleged “Mask of Agamemnon”. Credit: Zde / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Xuan Che / CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

King Agamemnon is 1 of the astir celebrated and important characters of Greek mythology. He was the person of the Greek forces that attacked the metropolis of Troy during the Trojan War. But was Agamemnon real, oregon was helium simply a fig of mythology with nary circumstantial real-life basis?

Who was Agamemnon?

First of all, fto america clarify who Agamemnon was expected to person been. He archetypal appears successful Homer’s Iliad, written successful the mid-seventh period BCE. After that, helium appears successful galore consequent tales and records astir the Trojan War. He is, aft all, 1 of the cardinal characters successful the fable of the warfare betwixt the Greeks and Trojans.

He was the older member of Menelaus, the king whose wife, Helen, ran distant with (or was taken by) Paris of Troy. Menelaus was the king of Sparta, portion Agamemnon was the king of Argos, with a halfway astatine Mycenae. The Greek leaders worked unneurotic to besiege the metropolis of Troy to get Helen back, and Agamemnon led this expansive alliance.

This is however Agamemnon is presented successful legends. However, is determination immoderate crushed to judge that helium whitethorn person been a existent person?

Real figures from Homer’s ain era

There is crushed to judge that galore characters mentioned successful Homer’s poems are radical who either lived successful Homer’s ain clip oregon not excessively agelong anterior to it. Some past records astir Homer’s beingness marque it rather wide that helium placed respective of his contemporaries successful the Iliad and the Odyssey.

For example, Pseudo-Herodotus’ Life of Homer and Pseudo-Plutarch’s akin substance explicate that Homer’s parent joined a euphony teacher named Phemius. Meanwhile, a writer named Phemius appears successful the Odyssey. Pseudo-Herodotus’ Life of Homer besides mentions a leather shoemaker named Tychius arsenic a modern of young Homer. In the Iliad, we find that Homer referenced a leatherworker named Tychius.

Legends astir King Midas definitely picture a humanities fig who lived successful oregon adjacent Homer’s time. Since Midas allegedly lived astatine astir the clip of the Trojan War, this is nonstop impervious that astatine least some of the legendary figures from that portion of Greek mythology were existent radical who lived arsenic approximate contemporaries of Homer.

The existent King Agamemnon

With this successful mind, could Agamemnon besides person been a existent idiosyncratic from Homer’s ain time? It is surely worthy looking to spot if determination is idiosyncratic who would acceptable the profile. As it truthful happens, determination is simply a precise wide notation to a existent Agamemnon from that epoch of history.

There are humanities Greek records that notation a existent ‘King Agamemnon of Cyme.’ Cyme was a Greek metropolis successful the northwest country of Anatolia. It was ‘the largest and champion of the Aeolian cities,’ that is, the cities of northwest Anatolia, according to Strabo. Hence, the existent King Agamemnon of Cyme indispensable logically person been a almighty king. This fits successful good with the Agamemnon of Homer’s Iliad.

Furthermore, erstwhile did this existent Agamemnon live? His girl joined the humanities King Midas, the late-eighth period BCE king of Phrygia. Therefore, this Agamemnon indispensable person been an older modern of Homer.

Midas’ Daughter Turned to Gold, 1893. Credit: Walter Crane, Public Domain

Was the king of Cyme the existent Agamemnon?

Why bash we judge that the Agamemnon of Homer’s Iliad whitethorn person stemmed straight from the existent Agamemnon of Cyme? For 1 thing, helium was the father-in-law of King Midas. We cognize for a information that King Midas was brought into the Greek legends astir the epoch of the Trojan War. Therefore, it would not beryllium astonishing if idiosyncratic intimately connected to him, specified arsenic his father-in-law Agamemnon of Cyme, was likewise brought into the Greek legends of that clip period.

Additionally, Agamemnon of Cyme’s presumption indispensable person seemed immense to Homer. Most past writers agreed that Homer came from determination successful occidental Anatolia, though nary 1 could hold connected the circumstantial metropolis helium was from. Some writers adjacent claimed helium was from Cyme successful particular. Regardless of wherever precisely his hometown was located, helium was astir surely from that wide region.

Since Cyme was the astir salient metropolis of northwest Anatolia, Agamemnon indispensable person likewise been a salient king. The information that his girl joined King Midas, the incredibly affluent king who ruled implicit the almighty Phrygian kingdom, further attests to Agamemnon’s importance.

Therefore, to Homer, Agamemnon of Cyme was not the specified footnote successful past that helium appears to beryllium now. He indispensable person seemed precise overmuch similar the benignant of almighty Greek person that Homer described successful the Iliad.

Supporting evidence

In summation to the intuitive logic of this identification, determination is adjacent much explicit grounds successful enactment of it. According to Strabo, the dynasty that ruled implicit Cyme claimed descent from Agamemnon. This is successful notation to the Agamemnon of fable from Homer’s Iliad. This appears to beryllium beardown grounds that the humanities Agamemnon of Cyme was understood to beryllium the existent Agamemnon from the fable alternatively than simply a namesake.

Even much supporting grounds comes from the chronology of the Trojan War. Many radical instrumentality for granted that the Trojan War occurred successful the Bronze Age. However, immoderate scholars person argued that it happened later. Nikos Kokkinos, for example, revealed successful extent however the fashionable past day for the Trojan War really came from miscalculations. An probe into immoderate of the earliest grounds astir the Trojan War points to a overmuch much caller date.

Therefore, it whitethorn good beryllium that Homer did not instrumentality the existent Agamemnon of Cyme and transport him into the distant past for his Iliad. It could easy beryllium that Homer really had the reasonably caller past successful caput erstwhile helium wrote the Iliad. The wide satellite presented successful the Iliad is accordant with this view.

Because of this, it whitethorn good beryllium that Homer was explicitly talking astir Agamemnon of Cyme erstwhile helium wrote astir a king by that sanction successful his poem.