Agamemnon

[ag-uh-mem-non, -nuh n]

noun

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.

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for agamemnon

Contemporary Examples of agamemnon

We amplified the scene with Agamemnon to let people understand that Achilles is not acting out of pettiness.
Denis O’Hare Talks About One-Man Show “An Iliad”
Janice Kaplan
March 25, 2012

Historical Examples of agamemnon

This was the chief of all the hosts, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and Argos.
Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew
Josephine Preston Peabody
Agamemnon, grieved at the crosses he had endured in this life, chose the form of the eagle.
The Phantom World
Augustin Calmet
The Agamemnon, the Oedipus, the Bacchae are not to be explained wholly by them.
The Legacy of Greece
Various
Is it that thou mayest witness the insolence of Agamemnon, the son of Atreus?
The Iliad of Homer (1873)
Homer
Thus he spoke, nor did Agamemnon, king of men, refuse compliance.
The Iliad of Homer (1873)
Homer

British Dictionary definitions for agamemnon

Agamemnon

noun

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

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).

Culture definitions for agamemnon

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.