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Glite Dictionary
Aegisthus

Aegisthus

1 9.9
A man who loves Clytemnestra and kills Agamemnon, then rules Mycenae until Orestes kills him
  • proper noun
  • /ˈiːdʒɪsθəs/
  • Literature
: Egisto
  • Clytemnestra and Aegisthus conspired together to kill Agamemnon when he returned home from the Trojan War.

Examples

  • By the time Agamemnon returned home from Troy, his wife had taken a lover, Aegisthus.

    Blog text (4)

  • Orestes kills Aegisthus: Attic red figure pelike, c. 450 BCE, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

    Academic text (2006)

  • It is a matter of common knowledge, that is, of accuracy in Thucydides' terms, that Clytemnestra and Aegisthus are murdered.

    Academic text (1999)

  • She and Aegisthus thought they were finished with all the dirty business that needed to be attended to and could lead merry lives thereafter, but you know how the Greeks like revenge.

    Blog text (4)

  • In Greek mythology, Aegisthus was the lover of Clytemnestra and plotted the murder of Agamemnon.

  • Orestes avenged his father's death by killing Aegisthus in retribution for the murder of Agamemnon.

Surface Forms

Aegisthus main

Etymology

Aegisthus is a Greek name from myth. A helpful way to remember it is to think of the similar word aegis, which means 'shield', because in the stories Aegisthus seizes power and brings betrayal and murder in Mycenae rather than protection.