Clytemnestra, << `kly` tuhm NEHS truh >>, was a princess in Greek mythology. She married Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and her sister Helen married his brother Menelaus. Clytemnestra bore a son, Orestes, and three daughters, Iphigenia, Electra, and Chrysothemis. Agamemnon sacrificed Iphigenia to obtain a favorable wind from the gods for the Greek fleet sailing to attack Troy (see Trojan War). Clytemnestra hated Agamemnon for sacrificing their daughter and waited for 10 years until the end of the war to take revenge.
While awaiting Agamemnon’s return, Clytemnestra fell in love with his cousin Aegisthus. When her husband came back from Troy, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus killed him. Orestes avenged his father’s death by killing Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.
