Woman, Tyrant, Mother, Murderess: An Exploration of The Mythic Character of Clytemnestra in all Her Forms

While there have been many studies done on specific artists' visions of Clytemnestra, we lack a comparison of the representations of Clytemnestra across the different ages of Greek culture in which she appears. Wolfe provides that comparison. Since her first characterisation in the "Odysse...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Women's studies 2009-07, Vol.38 (6), p.692-719
Main Author: WOLFE, RACHEL M. E.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:While there have been many studies done on specific artists' visions of Clytemnestra, we lack a comparison of the representations of Clytemnestra across the different ages of Greek culture in which she appears. Wolfe provides that comparison. Since her first characterisation in the "Odyssey", Clytemnestra has gone from a simple puppet of her adulterous lover Aegisthus to a criminal mastermind; from loving mother to abuser and from abuser back to loving mother. Her character is extraordinarily changeable, and yet in no version does she truly escape the label of "bad woman". All these incarnations combine to make her the embodiment of ancient Greek fears about women.
ISSN:0049-7878
1547-7045
DOI:10.1080/00497870903021554