Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : Agamemnon in context / David Stuttard -- Eating children is bad for you : the offspring of the past in Aeschylus' Agamemnon / Edith Hall -- Agamemnon in Aulis : hard choice or no choice? / Alan H. Sommerstein -- The homecoming of Agamemnon / Alex F. Garvie -- Clytemnestra and Cassandra / Hanna M. Roisman -- Ritual in Agamemnon / Richard Seaford -- Let the good prevail / Sophie Mills -- Agency in Agamemnon / Robert Garland -- Wealth and injustice in Agamemnon / Michael Carroll -- 'There is the sea -- who can drain it dry?' Natural and unnatural cycles in Agamemnon / Rush Rehm -- Similes and other likenesses in Aeschylus' Agamemnon / Anna Uhlig -- Agamemnon, warfare and its aftermath / Isabelle Torrance -- Revenge for murder seen through modern eyes : recent reception of Aeschylus' Oresteia / Betine van Zyl Smit -- Agamemnon / Aeschylus ; translated by David Stuttard.

"Agamemnon is the first of the three plays within the Oresteia trilogy and is considered to be one of Aeschylus' greatest works. This collection of 12 essays, written by prominent international academics, brings together a wide range of topics surrounding Agamemnon from its relationship with ancient myth and ritual to its modern reception. There is a diverse array of discussion on the salient themes of murder, choice and divine agency. Other essays also offer new approaches to understanding the notions of wealth and the natural world which imbue the play, as well as a study of the philosophical and moral questions of choice and revenge. Arguments are contextualized in terms of performance, history and society, discussing what the play meant to ancient audiences and how it is now received in the modern theatre. Intended for readers ranging from school students and undergraduates to teachers and those interested in drama (including practitioners), this volume includes a performer-friendly and accessible English translation by David Stuttard"--