The Animal

Eagle

  • Represents strength
  • Characters:

-Agamemnon and Menelaus: their strength is contrasted with the helplessness and innocence of the hare [Troy]—“The kings of birds…plunged their claws in a hare, a mother bursting with unborn young…two eagle kings devour the hare” (118-28)

Hen and Cock

  • Hen known for provoking actions of cock, similar to Adam and Eve biblical story
  • Characters:

-Clytemnestra and Aegisthus: Leader of Chorus blames the boastfulness of Aegisthus on Clytemnestra—“Strut on your own dunghill, you cock beside your mate” (1706)

Lion

  • Historically associated with courage, strength, and nobility
  • Characters:

-Aegisthus: represents an oxymoron to the standard meaning—“A lion who lacks a lion’s heart” (1232)

-Clytemnestra: represents strength and prowling—“She is the lioness…she will kill me” (1274-7)

-Agamemnon: represents strength—“lion king goes ranging” (1274)

Snake and Spider

  • Certain types of snakes and spiders are known for killing their mates. Furthermore, several species of snakes that kill their mates are killed by their children
  • Characters:

-Clytemnestra: killing of Agamemnon and death by the hands of her son Orestes later in the Oresteia trilogy—“Viper coiling back and forth?” (1242)

Vulture

  • Known for the audible lamenting of their “lost” young
  • Characters:

-Agamemnon and Menelaus:  reaction to the theft of Helen—“Like vultures robbed of their young, the agony sends them frenzied” (54-5)

-Clytemnestra: the same lines above have also been interpreted to describe the Clytemnestra’s feelings about the sacrifice of Iphigenia because the term “young” has also been translated to mean “children”, which is plural, suggesting a  loss other than Helen. Also, the line 59 (“but all the labor, the bed of pain”) validates this hypothesis by possibly referring to childbirth.

Wolf

  • Historically associated with stealthy savagery
  • Characters:

-Aegisthus: becomes the wolf when he plans the murder of Agamemnon—“she [Clytemnestra] beds with the wolf” (1272)