Lancaster 1

Garrett Lancaster

Dr. John Pilsner

ENG 210-OL-A

1 March 2021

Agamemnon’s as a Leader: The Downfall

There are plenty of times throughout the book when Agamemnon makes the wrong deci-

sion. He never puts his men before himself, he betrays his wife, he does not listen, and he is an

overall bad leader. Though, the times he sets aside his self-interest and listens to those with more

knowledge than him, he leads his people in the right direction. If the throne were voted on,

Agamemnon would not have found himself being the king of the Achaeans.  When acting on his

own and making decisions for his troops he does not seem to make the right choices. His foolish-

ness and inexperience control all his actions. Self-pride and an inability to humble himself, cause

great strife to his people. Agamemnon was a strong warrior, a self-centered leader, and a man

that let his emotions get the best of him. Despite his selfish ways, Agamemnon was a more than

capable leader when given counsel by others.

Not all persons in a position of power qualify for their job, like Agamemnon in The Iliad,

who inherits the role of king from his late father.  Even though Agamemnon rules the kingdom,

many characters within the book know he is unfit for his position of power, but to keep order

they support him. Both Odysseus and Nestor consistently advise Agamemnon and help him

make important decisions: “Yielding is far better…/Don't seize the girl, Agamemnon, powerful

as you are/-leave her, just as the sons of Achaea gave her, /his prize from the very first.” (320-

322) Nestor is advising Agamemnon to not take the priest's daughter, though he does it anyway

and eventually ends up returning her home. Agamemnon makes very questionable decisions
 Lancaster 2

throughout the book, that affect him and his troops in a negative way. He continually lets his

emotions and stubbornness get the best of him: “But first, according to time-honored custom, /I

will test the men with a challenge, tell them all/to crowd the oarlocks, cut and run in their ships.”

(85-87) Here, Agamemnon is trying to test the loyalty and competitive spirits of his troops.

Though, Nestor quickly calls for them to come back with encouraging words. Agamemnon looks

weak to his troops in this instance. The troops no longer have strong faith in their leader. Again,

in Book 9, Agamemnon faces controversy, this time he tells his troops to head back to the ships

and is clearly in fear. Even though Agamemnon knew he was defeated, he should not have

shown any fear to his army. Now, the army views him as weak and a coward. Though, it is evi-

dent that Agamemnon’s leadership skills increase when he is under the counsel of other charac-

ters like Odysseus and Nestor. Repeatedly, the reader sees Nestor address the troops or advise

Agamemnon on what to do. Odysseus also instructs Agamemnon when important decisions arise

throughout the book. 

A selfish man, Agamemnon will do anything and everything to get what he wants, no

matter the cost: 

“I refused/ that glittering price for the young girl Chryseis. /Indeed, I prefer her by far, the girl

herself. / I want her mine in my own house! I rank her higher/ than Clytemnestra. my

wedded wife-she's nothing less/ in build or breeding, in mind or works of hand.” (129-

134)

Agamemnon is a lustful man that places his pleasure first before anything else. He goes as far as

to betray his wife for a young girl named Chryseis. This truly shows what type of man Agamem-

non is, one that puts his self-interest before those of others. Chryses, Chryseis's father then

comes to the camp after Agamemnon captures his daughter and begs to take her back, though
 Lancaster 3

Agamemnon will not do it due to his strong head. Chryses then prays to the god Apollo for assis-

tance. Apollo then sends a large plague to the Achaean camp. Even after this Agamemnon still

refuses to give up Chryseis unless he is compensated with Briseis. This entire situation just

shows how selfish Agamemnon was, he let his men undergo a plague because he wanted the

priest's daughter. Not once did he take into consideration that his people were suffering from a

plague, all he cared about was getting a woman in return for Chryseis. Selfishness remains a

common theme with Agamemnon, he wants everything to go his way, if it doesn’t then he will

betray his people or even his wife. 

           Agamemnon’s leadership style does not require much thought, throughout the Iliad, he

makes decisions based on emotions and his own self-interest. He is a foolish man, deceived by a

dream into believing that he could siege Priam’s city, and then proceeds to test his troops as

mention previously. In Book 11 of The Iliad, the Achaeans are about to go into battle, as their

leader, Agamemnon should prep them and go through a sequence of rituals before the battle, for

example, a gathering of the troops, reviewing each group plan, and then he should address the

troops as a whole. Though, Agamemnon only addressed them and tried to inspire them to go

fight without any real direction. A leader of troops needs to have a strategic plan in place in order

to win a battle, instead, we see Agamemnon’s foolishness and pride overtake him again. Even

though Agamemnon is not fit for the job as king and other characters know it, he still acts as if

he is of higher authority of the gods by insulting them and calling them names. For example, dur-

ing his disagreement concerning returning Chryseis with Achilles, he takes Achilles slave Bri-

seis. This infuriates Achilles because he viewed Agamemnon’s proposal as a bribe. After this,

Achilles did not associate himself with the Greek people anymore. He believes he is on a higher
 Lancaster 4

level than Achilles and Apollo and refuses to listen to them. Self-pride and inability to listen lead

him down a path of defeat and anguish. 

Agamemnon was not perfect, and to describe him as self-centered is an understatement.

Overall, he was not a good leader, he led his troops into danger too many times. The entire point

of being a leader is to lead others to success and putting your troops in harm’s way is the exact

opposite of that. Having said that, when Agamemnon swallowed his pride and listened to those

with more knowledge than him, positive events followed. He was a good leader when he listened

and humbled himself. His inheritance of the throne set of Agamemnon for failure from the begin-

ning he was not fit for the position of king. After taking the priest's daughter a plague strikes his

people, many times throughout the story he placed his troops in danger. He is a very emotional

man; he lets his emotions get the best of him. At all cost Agamemnon will get what he wants,

even if he has to betray his wife, he is nothing but a selfish man. Agamemnon was a strong war-

rior, a self-centered leader, and a man that let his emotions get the best of him. Despite his selfish

ways, Agamemnon was a more than capable leader when given counsel by others.