Clytemnestra and Antigone - Essay Example

Clytemnestra’s actions are a failure of expectations of men during her era and can be considered a model of the female gender’s condition in classical antiquity. As a result, from these men’s perspectives, Clytemnestra’s actions are not just in any way (Aeschylus 81). Fate is also another cause for justifying Clytemnestra’s actions. The notion of evil constantly befalling a household is a cause for Clytemnestra to make the decisions that she did to begin with. For instance, evil befalling the House of Atreus, Agamemnon’s family can be a reason for Clytemnestra to commit the atrocities she did.

In addition, human determination is a reason for justifying Clytemnestra’s actions because it made them ambiguous (49). In the “Agamemnon,” Agamemnon sought justice through vengeance, which was the key motive behind her actions (Heffernan 138). Agamemnon defends his actions in Troy as vengeance for Paris and Helen, which is the same way Clytemnestra defends her killing of Agamemnon as vengeance for the detriment of Iphegenia. Justice through vengeance is evident too in the “Agamemnon” as Aegisthus defends his role in the murder of Agamemnon due to the manner in which his father treated Aegisthus’ father (Aeschylus 62).

In this case, pride plays a role in justifying the characters’ actions as every violent deed arises from Agamemnon emphasizing the correctness in their decisions and actions (Heffernan 139). In the “Antigone,” Antigone’s actions are justified through her devotion to natural law. This commitment is understood best in terms of what Greek audiences in classical antiquity viewed as a most unusual household tragedy. The debate of human law versus natural law is a key motif in the “Antigone” and Antigone struggles with it through her actions (Sophocles 27).

More specifically, Antigone violates Creon’s laws to commemorate her brother, as the gods would expect of her. As a result, Antigone