Mito e poesia: la figura di Clitennestra dall’Odissea a Eschilo

After the fall of Troy, the return of Agamemnon and his subsequent death are told in very different ways in The Odyssey and in Aeschylus’ Oresteia. The most striking difference is Clytemnestra’s role in her husband’s death in the Oresteia, where she kills her husband by her own hand inside the house. The change of the actual killer suggests a significant change of thought and perspective. In The Odyssey, there is a confrontation between factions, foregrounding political and power struggle, while there is no mention of the sacrifice of Iphigenia. In Aeschylus, instead, family motives, hatred and personal rancour come to the fore. The change in Clytemnestra’s role is also present in Pindar, and it remains uncertain who was responsible for it, an innovation which acquires a particular significance in Aeschylus.