# Agamemnon — Ajax character guide

> Agamemnon in Ajax by Sophocles.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** approach Great Agamemnon

**First appearance:** 0002-ajax

## Snapshot

The Greek commander-in-chief, still smarting from Ajax's near-miss assassination attempt, who arrives to forbid the burial of his own best soldier.

## Who they are

Agamemnon rules the camp by rank and grievance, and he has both: Ajax meant to kill him, and the man's arrogance was legendary even before the night raid. When Teucer insists on burying his brother, Agamemnon backs Menelaus's veto with the full weight of command, treating the corpse as a political problem. He is the play's face of authority without magnanimity — which makes his eventual concession, under Odysseus's persuasion, the closest thing to grace the ending offers.

## Relationships

### [Odysseus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/odysseus)

_professional_

Agamemnon relies on Odysseus as a shrewd advisor and commander in the Greek army, though their alliance is pragmatic rather than warm.

### [Ajax](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/ajax)

_rivalry_

Agamemnon and Ajax are locked in a bitter power struggle, with Agamemnon using his authority to humiliate and isolate Ajax.

### [Menelaus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/menelaus)

_family_

Agamemnon and Menelaus are brothers and co-leaders of the Greek expedition, bound by blood but often at odds over strategy.

### [Odysseus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/odysseus)

_professional_

Agamemnon relies on Odysseus as a shrewd advisor and commander in the Greek army, though their alliance is pragmatic rather than warm.

### [Ajax](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/ajax)

_rivalry_

Agamemnon and Ajax are locked in a bitter power struggle, with Agamemnon using his authority to humiliate and isolate Ajax.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters/agamemnon
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ajax_se/characters