this creates a world with which most readers are familiar and thus transfers his indictment of modern society into the images of the cultural psyche. The poet borrows a scene from Greek mythology depicting the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter Iphigenia to Artemis at the beginning of the Trojan War, which serves as the ultimate expression of the intimate intermingling of war and religion. The Greek gods were not only intimately involved in the action of the Trojan War, they were also the
killing Clytemnestra, their mother. Electra sends word that she has given birth. Clytemnestra visits and does a rather convincing job of explaining her side to all the famous events, particularly her wrath at Agamemnon for tricking their daughter Iphigenia to her sacrificial death before the Trojan War. She was also less than pleased that Agamemnon brought back Cassandra as his new slave toy. The Chorus is characteristically idiotic: "Your words are just; yet in your 'justice' there remains / Something
Comparing the Portrayal of Clytemnestra in Agamemnon and Electra In both Electra and Agamemnon, Euripides and Aeschylus have chosen to represent Clytemnestra as a complex character being neither all bad nor all good - the signature of a sophisticated playwright. In Agamemnon, Clytemnestra is a morbidly obsessive woman, utterly consumed by the murder of her daughter for which the audience cannot help but sympathise; she is capable only of vengeance. In the Electra, Clytemnestra
The Strong Women in The Orestia by Aeschylus To most readers, the women of The Orestia are evil and vindictive, a disgrace to all chaste and righteous women. Aeschylus portrayed women as equals to men, which was not the opinion of most Greeks at the time. Although he showed some of his women characters as evil, he granted them power, and emasculated the men around them. Unlike Homer, the women of Aeschylus show both ranges of emotions, both the good and the bad. A woman portrayed as a villain
The Greek interpretation of what makes a man “civilized” and what makes him “savage” is a recurring theme throughout the ancient epics, battle narratives, and dramas, including Aeschylus’ Agamemnon. In this first installment of The Oresteia, the chorus of Argive elders expresses keen outrage at the killing of Agamemnon, which suggests that they equate savagery with the madness they see in Clytemnestra: “just as your mind is maddened by the bloody deed, the blood-fleck in your eyes is clear to see”
Iphigenia at Aulis Review I attended Iphigenia in Aulis at the Getty Villa on Thursday, September 21 at 8:00 PM. Iphigenia in Aulis is an Ancient Greek play written by Euripides. The play was set in the small amphitheater at the Getty Villa. In the beginning of the play, Agamemnon has second thoughts about the sacrifice he must make, and he sends a letter to his wife telling her not to come to Aulis. Agamemnon’s brother gets the letter before Agamemnon’s slave can send it, and argues with Agamemnon
Amongst the drama Iphigenia among the Taurians, roles of genders have been used and manipulated either in favor of one of the characters or against them. One example of how gender influenced a better outcome in an episode is during Iphigenia’s conversation with the Chorus right before her escape with Orestes and Pylades from land of the Taurians. In this episode, Orestes and Iphigenia are talking about how to escape and making sure that no one would discover their plans. When reasoning that talking
audience. Iphigenia Among the Taurians is a tragedy written by Euripides in the early 400’s BC that follows the family of Orestes. While Iphigenia Among the Taurians is considered within the genre of ancient tragedy, the play may not be the first example someone might conjure up since the main conflict is resolved and the story ends with Iphigenia and her brother Orestes successfully escaping the barbarians to go home to Greece. However, despite the non-traditional ending for a tragedy, Iphigenia Among
When we are first introduced to Iphigenie, she laments her life as a woman, and contrasts it with the life of a man. Goethe's Iphigenia in Tauris abounds with references to gender roles: behavioral norms considered appropriate for an individual based on their gender. However, while Iphigenie is portrayed as the epitome of a feminine being (compassionate, gentle, pure/devout, honest and effective at communicating1), her interactions with the male characters challenge the construct of traditional gender
the death of their daughter, Iphigenia. As a result of their stories and coping mechanisms being different, the unity of their home is disrupted. Like most stories with multiple authors there are discrepancies, exaggerations, disregarded information, and changes in the way the story is told in order to support the narrators’ agenda. In Agamemnon, Aeschylus reveals through the transformed relationship between Clytemnestra and Agamemnon-as a result of the death of Iphigenia-that when marital partners
In his tragedy Iphigenia in Aulis, Euripides portrays Iphigenia with qualities that were especially uncommon for the women of Greek literature. Although a majority of the tragedy is centered around Agamemnon’s struggle to make a seemingly impossible decision, the significance and beauty of this tragedy is highlighted near the end of the tragedy when Iphigenia chooses to sacrifice herself to Artemis for the greater good of Greece. This act of selflessness highlights qualities such as courageousness
serve to remedy an error made by another person. Within The Iliad and Iphigenia at Aulis, there is a sense of a sacrificial character, in which a character dies for the greater good. The character that is “sacrificed” (Iphigenia and, in a sense, Patroclus) exhibits characteristics that compensate for the tragic flaw of another character, in both cases, the one that essentially causes the death (Agamemnon and Achilles.) Iphigenia willingly gives her life in order to appease the gods and relieve her
just that. Cacoyannis created a cinematic version of the classic in 1977. Even with a few faults the movie still remains a standout for viewers when considering the ethical modifications of to a classic. This movie brought a modern adaptation of Iphigenia when compared to Euripides; there should be examination of the content, cinematics, and overall reception of the movie. The movie starts off with Agamemnon’s troops acting barbarius. In an attempt to control the blood thirst of the troops Agamemnon
since it was written. The Iliad teaches life lessons and is one of the most important pieces of history ever written, overall. For instance, in the story of Iphigenia teaches its readers to know that the most evil things can be disguised to look normal. Also, it is taught that the worst things can happen to people with the purest of hearts. Iphigenia was the daughter of Clytemnestra and King Agamemnon. While her father and the rest of the Greek army was getting ready to go to war, they upset Artemis,
sacrifice really happened at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO, on April 20, 1999. In the story Iphigenia and in today’s society, justification can be found in favor of the sacrifice of life for the lives of others, for the sake of one’s country, and for one’s religious beliefs. First, one can see the importance of the sacrifice of one life in order to save many more. In the Grecian tale, Iphigenia is forced by her father and the multitudes of Grecian soldiers to sacrifice her life in order to appease
true motives, Aeschylus makes it clear they are not justified in their actions. Agamemnon kills his daughter, Iphigenia, for power and respect. This power is more important to him than his daughter, thus he sacrifices Iphigenia instead of stepping back and letting someone else lead the armies to battle. The Chorus emphasizes this when they recall his words before he sacrifices Iphigenia “However he did not shrink from slaying a victim daughter in aid of war raged” (Aeschylus 20). He is more worried
The Virulent Nature of Divine Vengeance Euripides’ plays Hippolytus, The Bacchae and Iphigenia at Aulis all revolve around the journey of key characters that fail to show respect to various deities within the Greek Pantheon. This disrespect, in all three plays, is met out with retaliation from the gods themselves, thus effecting those that disrespected them as well as their families. To convey these tales Euripides implements many themes, one such theme being divine retaliation. Euripides’ use of
leadership, decisiveness. After eventually choosing power over his own blood, he distances himself and is not direct with his own family due to his ultimate decision and even blatantly states ““I work out clever schemes to deal with those I love” (Iphigenia at Aulis pg. 244). In saying this, he essentially admits to his immaturity, as a true patriarch would lead his family with openness and honesty. Refusal to accept the consequences and criticisms for his decisions thus translates to an overarching
dependence on men and their vulnerability and maudlinism. The Greek theme of women suffering at the hands of men continues with the myth of Iphigenia. In the most famous incident of sacrifice of a young person, a prophet tells Agamemnon that in order to cease the wrath of Artemis so that he may sail to Troy, he must appease her by sacrificing one of his daughters, Iphigenia. This story is told by the playwright Aeschylus in his drama... ... middle of paper ... ...ce. Her head is covered by a veil,
about the prophecy that Agamemnon received, she becomes exasperated as a mad person and argues violently with Agamemnon. She doesn’t accept the idea of possibility that the prophecy is true and just treats that as a bad dream. After Agamemnon kills Iphigenia, she acts like she changes her attitude towards him: “I know you feel it. I know it was hard. I do know that. And I do love you’ He kisses her gently, no reaction, he leaves. She sits for a while, entirely alone on the stage” (Aeschylus, 59.) This