Chapter 17: Burning of the Dead – Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

At Tyndareus’s funeral pyre, his children reunite. Timandra reveals that their father violently punished her for staying with Chrysanthe. Later, the siblings walk to a mountain clearing where Castor and Polydeuces recount their journey to Colchis, including Medea’s role in stealing the Golden Fleece and her abandonment by Jason. During a banquet, Leda warns Clytemnestra against vengeance, admitting that hate has consumed her. Clytemnestra promises to avoid the same path, knowing the words are hollow. That night, she tracks down Cynisca—the woman who helped Agamemnon murder her first husband—and kills her. Afterward, alone in an alley, she feels the weight of her broken promise and the loneliness of becoming a murderer.

Key Events

Tyndareus’s body is burned on a pyre; the family watches in silence as the priest collects the ashes.
Timandra tells Clytemnestra how Tyndareus forced her to fight Spartiates until she nearly bled to death.
Clytemnestra, Helen, Castor, and Polydeuces hike to a clearing on the mountain and build a fire.
Polydeuces and Castor describe the horrors of Colchis: Aeëtes’s cruelty, Medea’s role in stealing the fleece, and Jason’s betrayal of Medea.
At a palace banquet, Clytemnestra learns Leda sent away (killed) the priestess who foretold the prophecy.
Leda implores Clytemnestra to renounce vengeance; Clytemnestra promises she will.
That night, Clytemnestra locates Cynisca’s house, blinds her with darkness, and stabs her to death.
Cleaning the knife afterward, Clytemnestra realizes she has broken her oath and no Furies come for her.

Character Development

Clytemnestra: She is torn between her mother’s plea and her own need for revenge. The murder of Cynisca shows she will not let promises or fear of divine punishment stop her. Her internal anguish deepens as she acknowledges she has become what Leda warned against.
Leda: Reveals her own guilt and the cost of hatred. She tries to protect Clytemnestra from the same cycle, but her past actions undermine her authority.
Castor and Polydeuces: Return from Colchis changed, their earlier innocence replaced by survivor’s guilt and grim knowledge. Castor speaks of memories that torment him at night; Polydeuces calls the expedition a “bloodbath.”
Timandra: Shows vulnerability in sharing her punishment, humanizing Tyndareus even as she exposes his brutality.
Cynisca: A minor antagonist whose loyalty to Agamemnon led her to attack Helen and assist in the murder of Clytemnestra’s first husband. Her death marks Clytemnestra’s first act of direct, premeditated vengeance in Sparta.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Vengeance as a cycle: Leda’s warning that “hate is a bad root” directly contrasts with Clytemnestra’s act of killing Cynisca. The chapter shows vengeance feeding on itself, promising closure but delivering isolation.
Memory and dreams: Castor’s speech about dreams “tying us down” to past traumas reflects how each sibling is haunted by what they have endured or witnessed.
Darkness and light: The pyre’s fire, the mountain campfire, and the lamp in Cynisca’s house are countered by the darkness Clytemnestra uses as a weapon and the “dripping” moonlight that does not protect her.
False oaths and the Furies: Clytemnestra recalls childhood tales of the Furies punishing oath-breakers, yet after murdering Cynisca, no divine retribution comes. This underscores her belief that the gods are indifferent or absent.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter bridges Clytemnestra’s past trauma with her present resolve. The Colchis stories parallel her own story of betrayal and survival, while the murder of Cynisca proves she will take matters into her own hands. Leda’s plea creates a moral counterpoint that makes Clytemnestra’s choice more complex: she knows the cost of vengeance yet chooses it anyway. The act also sets the stage for future conflicts in Sparta and Mycenae, as Clytemnestra solidifies her identity as a queen who will not forgive or forget.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Clytemnestra kill Cynisca, and what does this reveal about her character?
Clytemnestra kills Cynisca because Cynisca helped Agamemnon murder her first husband and has been scheming in Sparta ever since. The act reveals that Clytemnestra is willing to break a promise to her mother and risk divine punishment to achieve justice on her own terms. It shows she views revenge as a necessary part of her identity, despite understanding its costs.
How does Leda’s warning about vengeance reflect her own experiences?
Leda admits she let hatred for the priestess consume her, spending years on revenge instead of loving her children. She warns Clytemnestra against the same path, acknowledging that “hate is a bad root” that rots everything. Yet Leda herself had the priestess killed, showing she cannot fully escape the cycle she warns against.
What do the Colchis stories reveal about the nature of heroism and sacrifice in the novel?
The brothers’ account of Jason and Medea exposes the epic hero’s claim to glory as a lie: Medea did the crucial work and was then abandoned. This challenges the traditional Greek ideal of heroism and mirrors Clytemnestra’s own story, where she is the one who survives and sacrifices while powerful men take credit and leave.