The House of Atreus bears a curse. One steeped in blood and nourished by decades of violence.
Klytemnestra knew this when she married Agamemnon, but being a princess in Sparta doesn't leave you with much choice, though she longs for it. The Fates s...
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Iphigenia: Her name means 'strong-born' or 'born to strength'. In the Iliad, Agamemnon has a daughter named Iphianassa instead, which might simply be an older version of the name. One thing to note is, that his version contains the term anassa, which translates to 'queen'.
Mycenae: Located in the South of Greece, one of the major cities of pre-classical Greek civilisation.
Tartarus: A part of hell in Greek mythology where the wicked are tortured and the Titans are held prisoner, a deep abyss.
Aulis: An ancient port town situated in central Greece.
Scythia: An ancient kingdom that stretched from the northern shores of the Black Sea to the northern area around the Caspian Sea.
Achaeans: The Greeks, Homer uses this term to refer to them collectively.
Klytemnestra (or Clytemnestra): The exact meaning of her name is unsure, but I like the 'famous plotter' that's based on the wordplays Aeschylus has made in his works.
Pisa: Not to be confused with Pisa in Italy. The Greek place is a village close to Olympia.
Oikos: The basic unit of society in most ancient Greek cities, depending on the context, it can refer to the family or include the property and whole household as well.
Peplos: A garment worn by women in ancient Greece during the late archaic period made up of a long rectangular piece of fabric. The top would be folded over and the bottom would reach down to the ankle. The garment was pinned at the shoulders and fastened at the waist with a belt. The larger the cloth, the more expensive the clothing was.
Megaron: The great hall in every Mycenaen and ancient Greek palace, a rectangular room surrounded by four columns and a central open hearth.
Perizoma: A type of loincloth that originated in Crete during the Minoan period and was worn by both men and women as undergarments.
Chiton: A garment that was worn by men and later also by women in ancient Greece. It was a single rectangular piece of fabric, that was fastened at the shoulders. Men would usually wear theirs at knee length while women's chitons reached to their ankles. According to a legend, women of Athens started wearing a chiton as opposed to a peplos after several of them stabbed messengers with the bronze pins that were used to fasten their peplos.
Khairete (pl.)/khaire (sg.): Ancient Greek greeting that translates to rejoice.
Anax(m.)/Anassa (f.): (High) King/Queen.After the collapse of the Mycenaen society, the term ceases to be mentioned.
Eos: Ancient Greek Goddess of dawn.
Phiale: Shallow ceramic or metal bowl used for performing libations, religious rituals where liquids are poured as an offering to a deity or in memory of the deceased.
Basileus (m.)/basileia (f.): Usually translated asking/queen, but could also simply mean noble man/woman or prince/chieftain.
Anax vs. basileus: Both terms are usually translated into English as 'king', but in his works, Homer uses the term anax only to refer to Agamemnon (and Priam on the Trojan side) while the other kings, like Odysseus for example, are basileis. It's supposed that the anax had a higher status and the basileis answered to him. After the term anax falls out of use, however, basileus becomes the address for the highest-ranking leaders of ancient Greek society.
