A WATCHMAN.
A HERALD.
CHORUS of Argive Elders, faithful to AGAMEMNON.
CHARACTERS MENTIONED IN THE PLAY
MENELÂÜS, brother to Agamemnon, husband of Helen, and King of Sparta.
The two sons of Atreus are called the Atreidae.
HELEN, most beautiful of women; daughter of Tyndareus, wife to MENELÂÜS; beloved and carried off by Paris.
PARIS, son of Priam, King of Troy, lover of Helen.
Also called ALEXANDER.
PRIAM, the aged King of Troy.
The Greeks are also referred to as Achaians, Argives, Danaans; Troy is also called Ilion.
The play was produced in the archonship of Philocles (458 B.C.). The first prize was won by Aeschylus with the “Agamemnon”, “Libation-Bearers”, “Eumenides”, and the Satyr Play “Proteus”.
THE AGAMEMNON
The Scene represents a space in front of the Palace of Agamemnon in Argos, with an Altar of Zeus in the centre and many other altars at the sides. On a high terrace of the roof stands a WATCHMAN. It is night.