The disturbing story behind this painting

Welcome to Tiny Epics.

Today we're going to take a look

at a painting called
"Clytemnestra after the murder"

painted by John Collier in 1882.

Let's zoom in to get a closer look.

this is Queen Clytemnestra,
wife of King Agamemnon

from greek legend.

She poses triumphantly
in the doorway of the palace

with wild eyes gleaming
and flushed cheeks.

She shimmers like a goddess
surrounded by Mycenaean gold.

It's as if she's standing
on a theatrical stage

as she pushes back the curtain

to reveal to us her audience,

a gruesome scene for which
she herself is responsible.

The dead bodies of her husband
and the Trojan princess Cassandra,

Agamemnon's beautiful war prize,

both freshly murdered
by this savage queen.

We can't see their motionless forms
in the background

but they're there,
lyingin the gloomy interior

soaked in their own blood.

The murder weapon, a double-headed axe,
is upside down

its razor-sharp blade still warm
from its contact with human flesh.

We can almost hear the trickle of blood

as it forms a small pool
on the marble floor.

The painting was inspired
by an ancient Greek tragedy

written by Aeschylus

in which Clytemnestra
delivers these lines:

"I stand where I killed him,
at the scene of the crime.

"I did what i did
and i shall not attempt to deny it.

"that he might not escape
nor yet ward off his fate.

"I cast a complex net for him
as for a fish.

"An evil weave it was of wealthy cloth
and struck him twice.

"Two groans was all his limbs collapsed

"and where he lay prostrate,
I gifted him another cut.

"a third and made of him
a welcome offering to haiti's house,

"shore keeper of the dead.

"So, he fell and coughed out
his last breath

"and suddened the gush of carnage
from his mouth

"to soak me pure and dark

"moist reign of his death

"and I laughed with delight

"to match the sharp and burgeoning joy
fields find in the God-given reign."

We now know several things:

that Clytemnestra has murdered
her husband and Cassandra

and that she's glad she did it

but unless you're familiar
with the tragedy already

you're probably wondering
why did she do it.

Well, it wasn't jealousy
over her husband's war prize.

The reason was revenge.

You see, ten years ago,
at the start of the Trojan War,

Agamemnon offered up their daughter
Iphigenia as a human sacrifice

and Clytemnestra has been waiting
all this time

to murder her husband
with the help of her lover Augustus.

At first she's all smiles,
as she rolls out the red carpet

for her husband,

gives him a poisoned robe to wear

and lures him into the palace chamber
like a spider,

where she carries out the dark deed.

The chorus in the play condemns her
as a monster

and she responds by saying:

"For did not this man too
wreak death

"through guile upon the house?

"The seed he sowed in me
that grew and bloomed?

"The child I wept for so?

"He fell and died because of me
and I shall bury him.

"but there will be no tears for him

"shed by the people of this house."

Now, I'd like to ask
all of you out there watching:

do you also think
Queen Clitemnestra is a monster?

Or that her actions were
somewhat justified,

considering what happened
to her daughter Iphigenia?

Let me know your thoughts
in the comments.

This video is by the way
part of an ongoing series

focusing on the tragic house of atrius.

Be sure to subscribe to the channel,
so you don't miss the next one.

There's plenty of other videos
about Greek mythology

to keep you busy in the meantime.

efjaristopouli

Thank you so much for watching