‘King of the Lacedaemonians, thou art surely aware that no one has ever been appointed general of all Hellas together except Agamemnon, in former times, and now thyself, after him. And since thou commandest the same hosts that he did, and wagest war on the same foes, and settest out for the war from the same place, it is meet that thou shouldst sacrifice also to the goddess the sacrifice which he made there before he set sail.’
Edition :
Plutarch Lives V: Agesilaus and Pompey, Pelopidas and Marcellus, Ed. Jeffrey Henderson, trans. Bernadotte Perrin (The Loeb Classical Library 87), Harvard University Press: Cambridge/MA - London 1961 (first ed. 1917).
Remark :
motive: Agamemnon follows orders of the soothsayers (Plut. Ages. 6.5). His act of violence is tactical/strategical, because he ist able to continue his campaign by it. long-term consequence: By this sacrifice Agamemnon is able to continue the campaign he just started.
Notes :
For more information on the myth: https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/iphigenia-e526970#e526980
