Iphigenia in Aulis
Also known as: Iphigenia at Aulis, Iphigeneia at Aulis, Iphigeneia in Aulis
On the eve of the Trojan expedition, Agamemnon is compelled to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to appease Artemis and gain favorable winds. Deception, pleas, and defiance culminate in Iphigenia’s fateful decision and a contested, possibly miraculous, resolution.
Description
Set in the Greek camp at Aulis, the play dramatizes the moral and political crisis precipitated by Artemis’s wrath, which has becalmed the fleet. The seer Calchas declares that only Iphigenia’s sacrifice will free the winds. Agamemnon wavers, having lured his daughter from Argos under the pretense of marrying Achilles. Menelaus presses the war’s cause; Achilles, initially unaware of the ruse, rejects the misuse of his name and confronts the army’s mob fury. Clytemnestra arrives, petitions for her child, and denounces the cynical calculus of kings and generals. In a pivotal turn, Iphigenia embraces a heroic self-offering for Greece’s sake, transforming private tragedy into public salvation. The play’s transmitted ending reports Artemis substituting a deer and transporting Iphigenia away, though its authenticity is debated, leaving audiences between grim necessity and divine reprieve.
Historiography
The play’s text survives primarily through medieval manuscripts (notably the Laurentianus and Palatinus families) and papyrus fragments; its ending shows stylistic and dramaturgical tensions that have fueled debates over interpolation or revision. It was reportedly staged in 405 BCE by Euripides’ son, Euripides the Younger, after the poet’s death. Ancient testimonia and scholia note variant traditions concerning Iphigenia’s fate, which the transmitted conclusion reflects. Modern editors frequently mark suspected later additions while maintaining the play’s overall structure and thematic coherence.
Date Notes
Produced posthumously at the City Dionysia by Euripides the Younger after Euripides’ death (406 BCE); textual ending and certain passages are considered later or revised additions by some scholars.
Major Characters
- Agamemnon
- Iphigenia
- Clytemnestra
- Achilles
- Menelaus
- Artemis
Myths
- The Summoning of Iphigenia
- The Sacrifice at Aulis
- Artemis’ Substitution and Rescue
Facts
- Set in the Greek encampment at Aulis before the Trojan War.
- Artemis withholds favorable winds in response to an offense (often a slain deer or boast).
- Calchas declares Iphigenia’s sacrifice necessary to free the fleet.
- Agamemnon summons Iphigenia under the pretense of marrying Achilles.
- Achilles repudiates the misuse of his name and confronts the army’s coercion.
- Clytemnestra denounces the political calculus that targets her child.
- Iphigenia ultimately embraces a voluntary death for Greece in the transmitted text.
- The play’s extant ending reports Artemis substituting a deer and transporting Iphigenia away; authenticity is debated.
- Produced in 405 BCE by Euripides the Younger after Euripides’ death.
- The chorus of Chalcidian women mediates civic and ethical perspectives on war, fame, and sacrifice.