The Sacrifice of Iphigenia
The Greek fleet is unable to sail for Troy until Agamemnon confronts the demand that his daughter Iphigenia be sacrificed to Artemis.
The Story
The Greek coalition gathered at Aulis to sail for Troy.
But the fleet could not leave.
The winds failed or turned against them.
The seer Calchas revealed that Artemis was angry with Agamemnon.
Ancient traditions give different reasons for the goddess' anger.
Agamemnon may have killed a sacred deer, boasted that he was a better hunter than Artemis, or offended her in another way.
Whatever the cause, the solution was terrible.
Agamemnon was told that his daughter Iphigenia must be sacrificed.
Iphigenia was brought to Aulis under a deception.
In a famous version, Clytemnestra was told that her daughter was to marry Achilles.
Instead, the girl arrived to discover that she had been brought for sacrifice.
Agamemnon faced an impossible conflict.
As father, he was expected to protect his child.
As commander, he was responsible for an enormous army waiting to sail.
In some traditions Iphigenia is killed.
In others Artemis intervenes at the final moment and replaces her with a deer, carrying the girl away to serve the goddess elsewhere.
The winds returned.
The fleet sailed.
But the consequences did not disappear.
For Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's willingness to sacrifice their daughter became one of the central reasons for the hatred that awaited him when he eventually returned from Troy.
The war had not yet begun, and the House of Atreus had already suffered another devastating wound.
Key Figures
Why It Matters
The sacrifice of Iphigenia connects the Trojan expedition with the curse of the House of Atreus. It also creates one of Greek tragedy's most difficult conflicts between family duty, military leadership and divine demand.
Traditions & Variations
Ancient sources disagree fundamentally over Iphigenia's fate. In some she dies at Aulis; in others Artemis rescues her and substitutes an animal. Her later appearance in Tauris depends on the rescue tradition.