Why does Clytemnestra murder Agamemnon in Agamemnon?

In Aeschylus’s play Agamemnon, Clytemnestra’s decision to murder her husband is driven by a complex interplay of personal grievance, illicit passion, and ancestral fate. Her motivations are threefold:

• Vengeance for Iphigeneia: Clytemnestra seeks retribution for the death of her daughter, Iphigeneia, whom Agamemnon sacrificed at Aulis to appease the goddess Artemis and secure favorable winds for the Trojan War.1
• Adulterous Love: During Agamemnon’s ten-year absence, Clytemnestra entered into a relationship with Aegisthus, and the two conspired together to seize power and eliminate the king upon his return.123
• The Curse of the House of Atreus: Clytemnestra acts as an agent of the generational curse plaguing the House of Atreus. This lineage was defined by a cycle of blood guilt and retributive violence, and her actions serve to further this tragic legacy.145

Ultimately, Aeschylus portrays these motives as part of a larger moral struggle, where human desires for vengeance are inextricably linked to divine decrees and the eventual transition from blood feuds to the rule of law.43