Source edition
Euripides. Euripidis Fabulae, Vol. III. Murray, Gilbert, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913. (Reprinted 1920-1978)
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This Greek tragedy depicts the harrowing dilemma of Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek expedition, who is forced to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia in the port of Aulis to appease the goddess Artemis and secure favorable winds for Troy. To bring her to the camp, Agamemnon devises a deceptive plot, promising her marriage to the hero Achilles, but he soon becomes tormented by regret. When his wife Clytemnestra and Iphigenia arrive, the deception is uncovered, prompting an outraged Achilles to vow protection and sparking intense confrontations over the morality of the sacrifice. Despite desperate pleas from her mother and herself, the pressure of the assembled army demanding war makes the sacrifice seemingly inevitable. In a dramatic turn, Iphigenia courageously embraces her fate, choosing a noble self-sacrifice for the sake of Greece rather than causing further bloodshed. At the altar, a divine miracle occurs as she is suddenly replaced by a deer and saved by the goddess, allowing the Greek fleet to set sail at last.