Cassandra's Prophetic Monologue
A Close Reading of Her Final Speech in Aeschylus's Agamemnon
Aug 17, 2009
Aeschylus's Agamemnon
Agamemnon, the first play in the Oresteia trilogy by the Ancient Greek tragedian Aeschylus tells the story of the return of the king Agamemnon to Argos after fighting and winning the Trojan War. His wife, Clytemnestra has a rather unpleasant greeting awaiting him, however.
Justifiably still angry that Agamemnon sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia in order to get good winds to travel by, Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, who is Agamemnon's cousin, plot to murder the returning king and the spoils of war he has brought back with him, the prophetess Cassandra. Cassandra, a daughter of Priam, the former king of Troy, was given the gift of prophecy by the god Apollo. However, because she refused him after he gave her the gift, he made it so that no one would believe her prophecies.
As a captive in Greece, Cassandra sees clearly what is about to happen to her and has a back and forth with the chorus of elders, explaining what is to come as well as what has already been. Her speech is worth a close reading to pull out several important points Aeschylus is making about the characters of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.
A Close Reading of Cassandra's Speech
Cassandra's speech from line 1080 until line 1330 serves as Agamemnon's messenger speech, detailing the murders of herself and Agamemnon before they actually occur. At line 1205, Cassandra is telling the Chorus how she received her gift of prophecy, and then how it was made useless: she baited and then cheated Apollo.
A contrast exists between Cassandra in this play and Orestes in The Libation Bearers and The Furies, the two other plays in the Oresteia trilogy. Where Orestes obeyed Apollo (by killing Clytemnestra) and was ultimately protected and saved, Cassandra was punished for cheating him, and her prophesies ignored.
Aegisthus, the "Lion"
In her speech, from line 1214 on, Cassandra (for the second time) tells the story of Thyestes unknowingly eating his own children, which is what brought the curse upon Agemennon's family. Agamemnon's father, Atreus, fed Thyestes, Aegisthus's father, his other children baked into a pie. When she cries, “The cringing lion lounging on the man's [Agamemnon's] marriage bed, roaming his halls, watching for the master's return,” Cassandra is referring to Aegisthus, who is seeking revenge for the slaughter of his brothers.
This description of Aegisthus seems to be contradictory—how is a lion “cringing?” But then, it should be considered that lion tribes are structured such that male lions do none of the hunting, and are completely protected by the females until they are ousted due to age.
Still, Aegisthus never rightly fights with Agamemnon in order to steal the kingdom from him. In order for the lion analogy to work, Agamemnon's murder must be committed by Aegisthus and not by Clytemnestra, which is exactly what happens. Clytemnestra does the dirty work, which Cassandra sees before it happens, and both she and Aegisthus temporarily enjoy ruling the kingdom together.
Source:
Aeschylus, Oresteia. Trans. Peter Meineck. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1998.
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