Was Agamemnon the King of Mycenae or Argos?

In Greek mythology, Agamemnon is one of the most prominent characters in the legend of the Trojan War. In fact, he was the leader of the enormous Greek army that fought against Troy. He is famously known as the king of Mycenae. However, was he really the king of that city-state? The truth is much more complicated than it might appear at first. This article will examine what the earliest evidence really tells us and why this issue is important.

Who Was Agamemnon?

Firstly, let us establish who Agamemnon really was. He first appears in Homer’s Iliad, written in the seventh century BCE. According to this account and later ones, Agamemnon was the high king of the Greeks during the Trojan War. His brother Menelaus had been engaged to Helen of Sparta, before she was kidnapped by (or eloped with) Paris of Troy. 

Due to this, as well as an alliance between various Greek leaders, many thousands of Greeks set off on a campaign to defeat the Trojans and bring Helen back. Agamemnon did not rule over all of Greece, but he was the preeminent king, the overall leader of the allied Greek forces. It is for this reason that he is regularly called ‘king of men’ throughout the Iliad.

Regarding his actual kingdom, a lot of modern sources describe him as the king of Mycenae. Others, such as the Encyclopedia Britannica, refer to him as ‘king of Mycenae or Argos’. Comparatively few modern sources simply refer to him as the king of Argos. Why is there this confusion, and does it even matter?

Why Is Agamemnon’s Kingdom Important?

Let us consider why this issue of Agamemnon’s kingdom is so important. The fact of the matter is that it has a large impact on our understanding of when the Iliad was written, what ancient traditions it preserves, and what time period it describes.

The reason for this is quite simple. At different periods of Greek history, different city-states were preeminent over others. Since Agamemnon is presented in the Iliad as the most powerful Greek king, the identity of his kingdom obviously has a lot to do with when the story is set, or at least from what era the legend originates.

In the case of Mycenae, that was the most powerful city-state in the Mycenaean era of Greek history, hence the name of the era. That lasted from roughly 1600 to 1150 BCE. It never again became the most powerful Greek kingdom.

Therefore, if the Iliad really does present Mycenae as the centre of Agamemnon’s kingdom, that would indicate that this legend originates from the Mycenaean era. This could thus be used as evidence not only for the time period in which the story is set, but also for the accurate preservation of at least basic Greek history over centuries of oral tradition. 

On the other hand, if Agamemnon is actually presented in the Iliad as the king of Argos, then this would lead to completely different conclusions.

A Brief History of Mycenae and Argos

Before we examine the evidence from the Iliad, it would be helpful to first review what we know about the respective histories of Mycenae and Argos.

Mycenae was an ancient city in the Peloponnese in the region known as Argolis. It was situated near the deepest point of the Argolic Gulf, although somewhat inland. Argos was in the same general area, although closer to the coast. It was 11km south of Mycenae. 

During the Bronze Age, from roughly 1600 to 1150 BCE, Mycenae was the most powerful Greek city-state. However, it fell from power during the Bronze Age Collapse in the 12th century BCE. Nonetheless, it did not become an insignificant village, contrary to some modern claims. It continued to exist for over a thousand years thereafter. 

Argos, however, only rose to pre-eminence over the surrounding region in about the middle of the eighth century BCE, although it was already an important site even in Mycenaean times. Argos’ pre-eminence did not last for very long, though. By about the middle of the seventh century BCE, it was surpassed by Sparta.

The General Setting of the Iliad

Before we look at Argos and Mycenae in particular, it would be worth considering what the Iliad as a whole indicates. For many decades, scholars have attempted to interpret the Iliad in view of the Mycenaean era due to the ancient Greek estimates for the date of the Trojan War placing it in that era.

However, more recent scholarship has shown that the Iliad generally reflects an early Archaic era setting. The Archaic era covers the period from roughly the eighth century BCE to the fifth century BCE. 

For example, the Iliad presents Sparta as one of the most prominent and powerful city-states. Sparta was only founded in c. 950 BCE and did not become powerful until about the end of the eighth century. The Iliad also refers to Egyptian Thebes as being rich and mentions the kingdom of the Phrygians in Anatolia.

All of these details as well as numerous others have led scholars to argue that the world of the Iliad is basically a reflection of the historical world of the eighth century or possibly even seventh century BCE.

Mycenae in the Iliad

With this in mind, what does the Iliad say about Mycenae? Was it the centre of Agamemnon’s powerful kingdom, indicating that this legend preserves information from the Mycenaean era? If so, this would be in contrast to the rest of the world portrayed in the Iliad, as we have just seen.

For many decades, there has been a focus on the fact that Agamemnon is called ‘the king of Mycenae’ in the Iliad. At first, this might be viewed as proof positive that Agamemnon’s kingdom was a Mycenaean kingdom. However, the reality is more complicated than this.

The Iliad is a very large text. It makes countless references to Greek cities and kingdoms. Yet Mycenae is mentioned, in total, eight times. Three of these references suggest that Agammenon was its ruler, with the one calling him ‘king of Mycenae’ being the most explicit.

With the constant references in modern sources to Agamemnon being the king of Mycenae, one would think that this city is mentioned various times throughout the tale. In reality, the paucity of references to it (especially in connection with Agamemnon) is striking.

It is also worth noting that the Odyssey, which describes one prominent Greek leader’s journey back to Greece after the Trojan War, mentions Mycenae just once.

Argos in the Iliad

In contrast, Argos appears numerous times throughout the Iliad and also the Odyssey. The former mentions Argos twenty-nine times, while the latter refers to that city fourteen times. How does it appear in relation to Agamemnon?

There are various parts of the text which explicitly connect Agamemnon to Argos. For example, one line calls Agamemnon ‘lord of many isles and all of Argos’. Several other lines show Agamemnon talking about ‘returning to Argos’. 

It is without question that Argos has a far more prominent place in the Iliad than Mycenae does. What does this indicate? All other things being equal, this would indicate that Argos was the dominant Greek city-state in the Iliad, not Mycenae.

Was Argos or Mycenae the Dominant Greek Kingdom? 

However, it is not the case that all other things are equal, so the situation is more complicated than just this. The Iliad and the Odyssey do provide various specific pieces of information about the two cities.

For example, there are no individual lines in either poem which indicate that Mycenae was the dominant Greek city-state, beyond merely the fact that Agamemnon is called its king. On the other hand, there are a number of lines in these two poems which indicate that Argos held supremacy.

‘Argos’ Meaning a Large Region

One general observation is the fact that ‘Argos’ seems to be used as a synonym for Greece as a whole, or at least a prominent part thereof.

For instance, several lines refer to Helen being taken from Argos, even though other lines clearly say that she formerly dwelt and was taken from Lacedaemon (that is, Sparta). Sparta is also in the Peloponnese, although far from Argos and even outside Argolis.

Another line refers to the Achaeans (meaning the Greeks in general) perishing ‘here [at Troy] far from Argos’, as if Argos was their home, even though the Greek forces came from all over the country.

Elsewhere, one character in the Iliad states that there is a city called Ephyre, or Ephyra, in the heart of Argos. This appears to be a reference to Corinth. While still in the Peloponnese, this is far from the city of Argos itself. Again, this suggests that ‘Argos’ is used here possibly as a synonym for Greece, or at least a large part thereof. In any case, it confirms that the word is not merely restricted to the city, because Ephyra is here described as a city within Argos.

The Name of Agamemnon’s Kingdom 

The fact that ‘Argos’ is used for a large region, possibly even occasionally as a synonym for Greece as a whole, surely indicates that Argos was the dominant power of the time. In contrast, it appears that ‘Mycenae’ is never used in reference to a larger region.

Notice, also, that Agamemnon is called the ‘lord of many isles and all of Argos’. The expression ‘all of Argos’ implies more than just a city. Rather, it implies a region. Could it be, then, that Agamemnon was not the kingdom of a Mycenaean kingdom, but rather, the king of an Argive kingdom?

In other words, Agamemnon ruled over the kingdom of Argos, which encompassed a large area, and Mycenae was merely one notable city within that kingdom. The use of the two different place names throughout Homer’s works indicates that this is the case, but let us continue to examine more evidence.

Evidence from Hera

There is a line of dialogue from Hera which likely has a bearing on this subject. In response to Zeus, Hera says:

“Verily have I three cities that are far dearest in my sight, Argos and Sparta and broad-wayed Mycenae.”

Hera lists these three cities as being particularly dear to her, which suggests that they were especially prominent. Sparta, of course, is explicitly one of the most powerful city-states of Greece in the Iliad, being the kingdom of Menelaus. Mycenae also must be important, given its association with Agamemnon.

This being the case, it is notable that Argos is also listed here. Not only that, but it is listed first. Arguably, this suggests that Argos was the most powerful of these three cities.

Evidence from Theoclymenus

Another interesting line comes from the Odyssey. There, a character named Theoclymenus relates the fact that he fled from Argos due to having killed a man. He says: 

“So I too am out of my fatherland, since I killed a man of my clan, and there are many brothers and kinsmen of his throughout horse-grazing Argos and they hold great power over Achaeans.” 

According to this, Theoclymenus had to flee Argos because he killed a man who had many ‘brothers and kinsmen’ there. He then states that those men ‘hold great power over Achaeans’, that is, the Greeks.

Since these ‘many brothers and kinsmen’ within Argos held great power over the Greeks, the actual king of Argos logically must have been powerful indeed. Interestingly, the expression translated ‘great power’ does not appear anywhere else in the Iliad.

Argos, the Richest of the Lands

Returning to the Iliad, Book 9 provides another notable reference to Argos’ prominence. Agamemnon begins a line of dialogue by saying:

“And if we return to Achaean Argos, the richest of lands...”

This explicitly calls Argos ‘the richest of lands’. To be clear, this is not talking about financial wealth. Rather, it is talking about the richness of the land itself, in that it was excellent for producing crops. While not confirming that Argos was materially wealthy or politically important, this is consistent with the conclusion that it was a very prominent location. 

It is also worth noting that it is definitely the city being described here, not the large region known as Argos. Homer uses the expression ‘Achaean Argos’ specifically to refer to the city, in contrast to another city called Argos elsewhere in Greece, in Thessaly.

The Catalogue of Ships

So far, everything indicates that Agamemnon was the king of the kingdom of Argos, which encompassed a large part of the Peloponnese, and that Mycenae was simply a prominent city within that wider domain.

However, there is one part of the Iliad which might be used to argue against this conclusion. This is the Catalogue of Ships. This is a section of the Iliad which presents a very long list of forces from countless cities all over Greece. It also includes the names of the leaders of each group of cities.

Agamemnon’s Contingents 

Most relevant for our present discussion, Agamemnon is listed as the leader of contingents from the following cities: 

Mycenae, Corinth, Cleonae, Orneae, Araethyrea, Sicyon, Hyperesia, Gonoessa, Pellene, Aegium, and Helice. 

Notably, Mycenae is listed first, while Argos is not mentioned at all. What can we conclude from this? Firstly, what we should not conclude from this is that this means that Mycenae must have been the centre of Agamemnon’s kingdom. 

We can say this because the next part of the Catalogue of Ships presents the list of contingents led by Menelaus. That list starts with Pharis, which is a relatively obscure site, yet Menelaus was definitely the king of Sparta. 

Furthermore, this is not a description of each ruler’s domain, but merely the contingents of troops that they led during the Trojan War. Obviously, we can assume that each king’s domain had a lot to do with who they led, but we cannot assume a one to one equivalency. 

Diomedes, the King of Argos

Just before the list of Agamemnon’s contingents, we find a list that includes Argos. The context shows that this is obviously a reference to the city itself, not the wider region. Here, men from Argos (and various other sites) are described as being led by a figure named Diomedes. 

Diomedes is not explicitly called a king by Homer, but it is heavily implied that this is his position in Argos. Later Greek records make this explicit. This being the case, does this conflict with the conclusion that Agamemnon was the king of the kingdom of Argos?

Put simply, no. Recall that Agamemnon is called the king of ‘all of Argos’, suggesting more than just a city. There is nothing inconsistent with Agamemnon being the king of Argos if the ‘Argos’ in his case means the kingdom as a whole, while the ‘Argos’ in the case of Diomedes means the city (as it must do in the context of the Catalogue of Ships). 

In this case, Diomedes would have a role similar to a governor, ruling the city directly while Agamemnon was the high king of the overall region, Argos being the capital and thus the name of the kingdom.

Evidence from the Odyssey

Evidence that this really is the case comes from the Odyssey. There, we find a description of the ancestors of Theoclymenus and how one of them came to rule Argos. In this brief description, we find the following description regarding one of his ancestors: 

“Melampus went to the kingdom of other men, to horse-grazing Argos, for it was now fated for him there that he live as ruler over many Argives.”

Notice that it specifically says that where he moved to was already a kingdom, specifically calling it ‘the kingdom of other men’. There is no reference to him fighting against the king of this existing kingdom, expelling its rulers, or anything of the sort. Rather, the most natural understanding in view of the wording is that he moved to an existing kingdom and was given part of it to rule. 

This is further supported by the statement that he became the ruler of ‘many Argives’ instead of ‘all the Argives’ or simply ‘the Argives’. This suggests that there were Argives over whom this new king did not rule. This strongly suggests that the king of the city of Argos did not rule over the entire Argive kingdom.

Ancient Parallels 

We find a clear precedent for this in other Near Eastern Iron Age literature. The Bible book of Second Kings was written by Jeremiah, and was thus broadly contemporary with the Iliad. In that book, we find King Ahab, the ruler of the entire Ten Tribe Kingdom of Israel, described as the ‘king of Samaria’.

This is because the city of Samaria was the capital of the kingdom. This would be similar to Agamemnon’s kingdom being called ‘Argos’ because that city was the capital of his kingdom. Yet, significantly, the Book of Second Kings also contains a reference to Samaria having a governor, distinct from the king.

Therefore, there is nothing implausible about the idea of Agamemnon ruling over a kingdom of which Argos was the capital, while a different individual, King Diomedes, had the responsibility of ruling the city itself.

The Description of Agamemnon 

What about the fact that Agamemnon is once called the ‘King of Mycenae’? Must this mean that Mycenae was the centre of his kingdom?

Again, there is clear precedent for referring to the king of a large territory as the king of one specific part of it, even a part which was not the capital. There are at least two examples of this in the Bible. In the Book of Ezra, King Cyrus is called the King of Babylon, even though he was the king of the entire Persian Empire. 

This is not an error, for Ezra displays extensive awareness of the Persian Empire and Cyrus’ role within it. Rather, this is simply an example of referring to him in association with a prominent location within his wider domain. We find this same title for Cyrus used on some ancient cuneiform documents, such as the Cyrus Cylinder. 

Similarly, another part of the Book of Ezra calls a later Persian king ‘the king of Assyria’, which was another prominent part of the Persian Empire.

Therefore, the fact that Agamemnon is called the king of Mycenae does not mean that he ruled a Mycenaean kingdom, any more than Cyrus being called the king of Babylon means that he ruled over a Babylonian kingdom.

What This Means for the Iliad

What does all of this mean for the setting of the Iliad? Well, as we saw previously, the general political and geographical world presented by Homer appears to reflect the history of the eighth or seventh centuries BCE. Therefore, Argos’ role in the Iliad, including its dominance over Mycenae, would seem to be consistent with this. 

However, it would only make sense for Mycenae to be singled out as being ruled by Agamemnon if it was a prominent part of his Argive kingdom. Is this really consistent with the reality of the eighth century BCE?

Mycenae in the Archaic Era 

Although it is commonly claimed that Mycenae disappeared after the Bronze Age, this is simply not true. It is true that very little is known about it in the Archaic Era, but archaeology shows that it still existed and was still inhabited. In fact, beyond simply being inhabited, it was evidently still a strong city.

We can conclude this based on the fact that reconstruction work was done on the grand city walls, as archaeological evidence has revealed. Such work would require considerable organisation and manpower, demonstrating that it cannot have been weak by this point in history.

Furthermore, the very fact that these walls were still in use would have given the city prominence. They had originally been built in the Bronze Age, and such Bronze Age walls were called ‘Cyclopean’, due to their monumental size. They would have dwarfed the defences of virtually all the Iron Age Greek cities, such as Corinth or Sparta. 

The Writing of the Iliad

With this information in mind, it is no surprise at all that Mycenae was singled out as a city whose king was Agamemnon. All the references to that city in the Iliad are consistent with the reality of the Archaic era.

What does this mean for the Iliad itself? Well, it does not necessarily have much to do with when these events really occurred, if they have any historical basis at all. Of course, it might be related to that, since we know that the ancient Greeks regularly exaggerated the antiquity of events. 

However, this could also be interpreted as simply a matter of Homer describing the story according to the world that he was personally familiar with. In any case, what this does mean is that the reference to Agamemnon’s kingship over Mycenae is not a tradition passed down from the Bronze Age.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, we can see that Agamemnon was the king of the kingdom of Argos. In fact, the Iliad claims that Agamemnon’s domain even encompassed several islands. Regardless, the point is that his kingdom was definitely an Argive one. Argos was the most prominent city-state in the Peloponnese, sometimes even being used as a synonym for Greece as a whole.

Agamemnon was also the king of Mycenae, although simply in the sense that Mycenae was a prominent city within the kingdom of Argos. King Diomedes, meanwhile, was the ruler of the actual city of Argos itself, serving a similar function to a governor.

Sources 

van Wees, Hans, The Homeric Way of War: The Iliad and the Hoplite Phalanx (II), 1994

Britannica (Agamemnon)

Britannica (Mycenae)

Britannica (Argos)

WorldHistory.org (Agamemnon)

History.com

WorldHistory.org (Argos)