Aegisthus

American  

[ee-jis-thuhs] / iˈdʒɪs θəs /

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. a cousin of Agamemnon who seduced Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife, and was later killed by Orestes.

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Aegisthus British  

/ iːˈdʒɪsθəs /

noun

1. Greek myth a cousin to and the murderer of Agamemnon, whose wife Clytemnestra he had seduced. He usurped the kingship of Mycenae until Orestes, Agamemnon's son, returned home and killed him

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Example Sentences

It is left to Aegisthus, the poet, to rail against the war and what it has wrought.

From New York Times • Apr. 3, 2022

The liberties the playwright and director take with the trilogy — completed in about 2½ hours, with one intermission — include eliminating some characters, such as Aegisthus, Clytemnestra’s lover, who is implicated in Agamemnon’s death.

From Washington Post • May 7, 2019

She played the title role; Taylor was Aegisthus, her evil lover and second husband.

From New York Times • Aug. 30, 2018

In a cast that achieves a triumph of ensemble playing, Clytemnestra is coolly reptilian, and Aegisthus is a strutting upstart of self-aggrandizement who yet meets his implacable doom with dignity.

From Time Magazine Archive

So she brooded through the bitter days of the long years that followed, while Clytemnestra and Aegisthus ruled the land.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton