The Tomb of Agamemnon

The Tomb of Agamemnon by Cathy Gere

A Greek tragedy is certainly an apt description of the life of King Agamemnon. It is his quarrel with Achilles over a woman that leads to the tragic downfall in Homer's Iliad.

Achilles refused to fight for the Greeks until Hector killed his friend in battle and his rage overtook his determination not to fight for Agamemnon. The King finally returned to his home where his adulterous wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus murdered him. It is his golden death mask that highlights the cover of The Tomb of Agamemnon.

Then Heinrich Schliemann entered the picture. In 1876 he mistakenly identified a shaft grave at Mycenae as the Tomb of Agamemnon and the famous gold mask as the mask of Agememnon. Cathy Gere explores the excavation, incorrect identification and insistence of Schliemann of his great discovery.

Scholars of the 20th Century through extensive research were able to date these tombs to approximately 300 years before the Trojan War occurred making Schliemann's beliefs incorrect. This fascinating story of excavation and its complex history is the theme of Gere's book. To this day Mycenae is one of the most popular sites in Egypt. Learning the actual history of what is an intriguing story regardless is found in The Tomb of Agamemnon.

Harvard University Press

www.hup.harvard.edu

Front Cover Image :
The Tomb of Agamemnon
Author: Cathy Gere
ISBN 0-674-02170-3
Image Courtesy: Harvard University Press

The Tomb of Agamemnon

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