Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides

First produced:Iphigeneia ē en Aulidi, 405 b.c.e. (English translation, 1782)

Type of work: Drama

Type of plot: Tragedy

Time of plot: Beginning of the Trojan War

Locale: Aulis, on the west coast of Euboea

Principal characters

• Agamemnon, king of Mycenae
• Clytemnestra, his wife
• Iphigenia, their daughter
• Achilles, a Greek warrior
• Menelaus, king of Sparta

The Story:

At Aulis, on the west coast of Euboea, part of Greece, the Greek host assembles for the invasion of Ilium. The war was declared to rescue Helen, wife of King Menelaus, after her abduction by Paris, a prince of Troy. Lack of wind, however, prevents the sailing of the great fleet.

While the ships lie becalmed, Agamemnon, commander of the Greek forces, consults Calchas, a seer. The oracle prophesies that all will go well if Iphigenia, Agamemnon’s oldest daughter, is sacrificed to the goddess Artemis. At first, Agamemnon is reluctant to see his daughter so destroyed, but Menelaus, his brother, persuades him that nothing else will move the weather-bound fleet. Agamemnon writes to Clytemnestra, his queen, and asks her to conduct Iphigenia to Aulis, his pretext being that Achilles, the outstanding warrior among the Greeks, will not embark unless he is given Iphigenia in marriage.

After dispatching the letter, Agamemnon has a change of heart; he believes that his continued popularity as coleader of the Greeks is a poor exchange for the life of his beloved daughter. In haste, he dispatches a second letter countermanding the first, but Menelaus, suspicious of his brother, intercepts the messenger and struggles with him for possession of the letter. When Agamemnon comes upon the scene, he and Menelaus exchange bitter words. Menelaus accuses his brother of being weak and foolish, and Agamemnon accuses Menelaus of supreme selfishness in urging the sacrifice of Iphigenia.

During this exchange of charge and countercharge, a messenger announces the arrival of Clytemnestra and Iphigenia in Aulis. The news plunges Agamemnon into despair; weeping, he regrets his kingship and its responsibilities. Even Menelaus is so affected that he suggests disbanding the army. Agamemnon thanks Menelaus but declares that it is too late to turn back from the course they elected to follow. Actually, Agamemnon is afraid of Calchas and Odysseus, and he believes that widespread disaffection and violence will break out in the Greek army if the sacrifice is not made. Some Chalcian women who come to see the fleet lament that the love of Paris for Helen brings chaos and misery instead of happiness.

When Clytemnestra arrives, accompanied by her young son, Orestes, and Iphigenia, she expresses pride and joy over the approaching nuptials of her daughter and Achilles. Agamemnon greets his family tenderly; touching irony is displayed in the conversation between Agamemnon, who knows that Iphigenia is doomed to die, and Iphigenia, who thinks her father’s ambiguous words have a bearing only on her approaching marriage. Clytemnestra inquires in motherly fashion about Achilles’ family and background. She is scandalized when the heartbroken Agamemnon asks her to return to Argos, on the excuse that he can arrange the marriage details. When Clytemnestra refuses to leave the camp, Agamemnon seeks the advice of Calchas. Meanwhile the Chalcian women forecast the sequence of events of the Trojan War and hint in their prophecy that death is certain for Iphigenia.

Achilles and his Myrmidons are impatient with the delay and anxious to get on with the invasion of Ilium. Clytemnestra meets Achilles and mentions the impending marriage. Achilles is mystified and professes to know nothing of his proposed marriage to Iphigenia. The messenger then confesses Agamemnon’s plans to the shocked Clytemnestra and Achilles. He also mentions the second letter and casts some part of the guilt upon Menelaus. Clytemnestra, grief-stricken, prevails upon Achilles to help her in saving Iphigenia from death by sacrifice.

Clytemnestra then confronts her husband, who is completely unnerved when he realizes that Clytemnestra at last knows the dreadful truth. She rebukes him fiercely, saying that she never really loved him because he murdered her beloved first husband and her first child. Iphigenia, on her knees, implores her father to save her and asks Orestes, in his childish innocence, to add his pleas to his mother’s and her own. Although Agamemnon is not heartless, he knows that the sacrifice must be made. He argues that Iphigenia will die for Greece, a country and a cause greater than them all.

Achilles speaks to the army on behalf of Iphigenia, but he admits his failure when even his own Myrmidons threaten to stone him if he persists in his attempt to stop the sacrifice. At last, he musters enough loyal followers to defend the girl against Odysseus and the entire Greek host. Iphigenia refuses his aid, however, saying that she has decided to offer herself as a sacrifice for Greece. Achilles, in admiration, offers to place his men about the sacrificial altar so that she might be snatched to safety at the last moment.

Iphigenia, resigned to certain death, asks her mother not to mourn for her. Then she marches bravely to her death in the field of Artemis. Clytemnestra is left prostrate in her tent. Iphigenia, at the altar, says farewell to all that she holds dear and submits herself to the sacrifice. The Chalcian women, onlookers at the sacrifice, invoke Artemis to fill the Greek sails now with wind so that the ships might carry the army to Troy to achieve eternal glory for Greece.

Bibliography

Bloom, Harold, ed. Euripides: Comprehensive Research and Study Guide. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2003. Includes a biography of Euripides and a plot summary, list of characters, and six critical essays providing various interpretations of Iphigenia in Aulis.

Conacher, D. J. Euripidean Drama: Myth, Theme, and Structure. Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto Press, 1967. Excellent introduction to Euripides in general, with a particularly good discussion of Iphigenia in Aulis. Especially useful for providing mythological and literary background.

Michelakis, Pantelis. Euripides: “Iphigenia at Aulis.” London: Gerald Duckworth, 2006. A companion to the play, providing a plot summary, discussion of the characters, themes, and issues and placing the play within its mythological, religious, and political contexts. Examines the play’s performance history and its changing critical reception and adaptations over the years.

Morwood, James. The Plays of Euripides. Bristol, England: Bristol Classical, 2002. Morwood provides a concise overview of all of Euripides’ plays, devoting a separate chapter to each one. He demonstrates how Euripides was constantly reinventing himself in his work.

Rabinowitz, Nancy Sorkin. Anxiety Veiled: Euripides and the Traffic in Women. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1993. Discusses Iphigenia as a voluntary sacrifice, with particular attention to the gender implications of her action.

Smith, Wesley D. “Iphigenia in Love.” In Arktouros: Hellenic Studies Presented to Bernard M. W. Knox on the Occasion of His Sixty-fifth Birthday, edited by Glen W. Bowersock, Walter Burkert, and Michael C. J. Putnam. New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1979. Argues that Iphigenia’s acceptance of her fate is founded on a desire to protect Achilles. Also claims the extant ending to the play is corrupt.

Snell, Bruno. “From Tragedy to Philosophy: Iphigenia in Aulis.” In Oxford Readings in Greek Tragedy, edited by Erich Segal. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. Places the play in historical context, with special emphasis on the concepts of knowing and doing. Claims the play is indicative of Euripides’ tendency to begin plays with confusion and end them with heroism, the reverse of Sophocles’ technique.