Agamemnon
[ag-uh-mem-non, -nuh n]
- Classical Mythology. a king of Mycenae, a son of Atreus and brother of Menelaus. He led the Greeks in the Trojan War and was murdered by Clytemnestra, his wife, upon his return from Troy.
- (italics) a tragedy (458 b.c.) by Aeschylus.
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Compare Oresteia.
Origin of Agamemnon
< Greek Agamémnon- (stem of Agamémnōn), < *Agaménmon-, equivalent to aga- great + men- (truncation of Menelaus, meaning king) + -mon- suffix used in shortened names
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for agamemnon
Contemporary Examples
We amplified the scene with Agamemnon to let people understand that Achilles is not acting out of pettiness.
Historical Examples
This was the chief of all the hosts, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and Argos.
Old Greek Folk Stories Told AnewJosephine Preston Peabody
Agamemnon, grieved at the crosses he had endured in this life, chose the form of the eagle.
The Phantom WorldAugustin Calmet
The Agamemnon, the Oedipus, the Bacchae are not to be explained wholly by them.
The Legacy of GreeceVarious
Is it that thou mayest witness the insolence of Agamemnon, the son of Atreus?
Thus he spoke, nor did Agamemnon, king of men, refuse compliance.
Agamemnon
- Greek myth a king of Mycenae who led the Greeks at the siege of Troy. On his return home he was murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover AegisthusSee also Menelaus
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for agamemnon
Agamemnon
king of Mycenae, leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War, his name perhaps represents Greek Aga-medmon, literally "ruling mightily," from agan "very much" + medon "ruler" (see meditation).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Agamemnon
[(ag-uh-mem-non)]
In classical mythology, the king who led the Greeks against Troy in the Trojan War (see also Trojan War). To obtain favorable winds for the Greek fleet sailing to Troy, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis and so came under a curse. After he returned home victorious, he was murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.