The Dramaturgy of Senecan Tragedy

3. Agamemnon

50 Chapter 3 Agamemnon One actor is assigned only the role of Clytemnestra, who appears in acts 2, 3, and 5, and speaks with all the other characters except the Ghost of Thyestes and Agamemnon. Elsewhere, I argue that the festa coniunx who, according to the Chorus, accompanies Agamemnon in the fourth act (780–81) is not Clytemnestra, but Cassandra.1 Briefly, it is both unprecedented and also makes little sense for Clytemnestra to enter from the palace, go to Agamemnon as he enters via the wing leading to the harbor , walk back to center stage with him, and then exit back into the center doors, all without saying a word. On the other hand, Cassandra is already onstage and will remain after Agamemnon leaves. She more closely fits the description festa in the sense of engaging in sacred rites, since she is wearing fillets, has been called the priestess of Apollo, and in fact was just possessed by the god. And in the eyes of the Trojan captives who speak the words, Cassandra is Agamemnon’s mate. Thus, Clytemnestra does not appear in act 4, although the actor would be available. A second actor is assigned the Nurse, who almost succeeds in dissuading Clytemnestra from killing her husband, and Cassandra, who has Dramatis Personae Actor Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Act 4 Act 5 Actor A Ghost of Aegisthus Eurybates Agamemnon Strophius/ Thyestes Aegisthus Actor B — Clytemnestra Clytemnestra — Clytemnestra Actor C — Nurse — Cassandra Cassandra Actor D — — — — Electra Agamemnon • 51 apparently been sleeping with Agamemnon. Thus, this second actor gets female roles that are particularly attached to the king: one who tries to save his life, and the other who is physically bonded to him. A third actor gets all the male roles: the Ghost of Thyestes, Aegisthus, the herald Eurybates, Agamemnon, and Strophius.2 This gender specialization , both in this play and in the Phaedra, helps to create an interesting dynamic. But equally intriguing is the fact that all of the male roles, aside from Eurybates, are related: Thyestes is the father of Aegisthus and uncle of Agamemnon, while Strophius is married to Anaxibia, the sister of Agamemnon.3 And it would not be too much of a stretch to consider Eurybates, Agamemnon’s herald, as a member of his household and symbolically part of his family. One character remains unaccounted for. At the end of the play, Cassandra , Electra, Clytemnestra, and Aegisthus are all onstage and talking. A fourth actor, then, is required for Electra,4 just as one is needed for Manto in the second act of the Oedipus. In addition, two mute actors are necessary to portray the silent Orestes and Pylades in act 5. The parodos gives no indication of the identity of the Chorus, but the parallel of Aeschylus’ Agamemnon would suggest elders of Mycenae.5 The second song, however, seems to contain clues. Tarrant states that “[t]he second choral song, unlike the first, is linked to a specific persona, a chorus of Argive maidens.”6 This assertion is founded upon lines 310–14, where unmarried Inachian girls (innuba stirps Inachia, 314) are said to perform various actions in honor of Phoebus. Thus, the Chorus would don crowns (caput coronat, 311), shake laurel branches (laurum quatiens, 312), and let down its maidenly locks (virgineas comas fudit, 312–14).7 Tarrant, however, notes that “[t]he change from command in 310 to description of the chorus’ actions in 311–15” is problematic; he goes on to not so much explain the change as search fruitlessly for parallels.8 The following lines (315–21) then order other peoples to join their dances (nostros comitare choros, 315–16). The nostros further suggests that the Chorus is performing the acts it describes. Later, the Chorus calls itself Mycenaean and worshippers of Juno (tua te colimus turba Mycenae, 342). This confirms that they are Argives, but does not mandate their being young girls. The following stanza describes a number of rites performed for Juno, but which are probably not happening onstage during this song: the offering of victory wreaths in honor of Agamemnon (tu nunc laurus Agamemnonias accipe victrix, 346–47); the playing of hymns on a flute (tibi multifora tibia buxo sollemne canit, 348) and lyre (tibi fila movent docta puellae carmine molli, 349–50); the hurling of sacred torches (tibi 52 • the dramaturgy of senecan tragedy votivam matres Graiae lampada iactant, 351–52...