the son of Plisthenes and Aerope, and grandson of Atreus, or according to Homer, the son of Atreus and grandson of Pelops. He was king of Mycenae in Argos, and married Clytemnestra daughter of Tyndarus king of Sparta. On the abduction of Helen the wife of his brother Menelaus, by Paris, Agamemnon, as the most Aganippe powerful prince in Greece, was chosen captain-general of the expedition against Troy. While the fleet lay at Aulis, Agamemnon chanced in hunting to kill a stag sacred to the goddess Diana, who punished the offence by sending a pestilence among the troops, and a dead calm, which retarded the further progress of the expedition. The oracle, on being consulted, demanded the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter Iphigenia, as the only expiation of the crime. While the king was in the act of slaying his child, the goddess intervened, and carried her away to Tauris. Another victim was substituted, and the fleet pursued its course to Troy. Agamemnon's quarrel with Achilles and its consequences form the subject of the Iliad. After the taking of Troy, Agamemnon returned home, carrying with him Cassandra daughter of Priam, whom he had received as his prize. During his absence Clytemnestra had formed an unlawful connection with Agisthus, who now sat on the throne of Mycenae. Agamemnon was received into his palace by the adulterers, and assassinated by their own hands. This horrible tragedy forms the subject of the Agamemnon of Eschylus.