Iphigenia in Aulis

Roles

• Clytemnestra - Adult (36-50), Senior (>50), Female

About this piece

Clytemnestra begs Agamemnon not to sacrifice their daughter

Summary

The story of Iphigenia at Aulis would be the background story of Aeschylus' Agamemnon. The play takes place at Aulis where the Greek army is ready to sail for Troy and start the war. The goddess Artemis, however, has made so that there are no winds for sail since Agamemnon , a Greek general, has caused her offense. In order to satisfy the goddess, Agamemnon learns that he has to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. He asks Clytemnestra, his wife, to send Iphigenia to Aulis so that she can marry Achilles, the greatest of Greek warriors. The play starts with Agamemnon changing his mind. He sends another message to his wife to stop her from sending Iphigenia. The message, however, is intercepted by Menelaus, his brother, who gets upset at his brother. During the play they debate whether they should go ahead with the sacrifice and eventually Agamemnon makes up his mind to do it but Menelaus changes his mind. When Clytemnestra and Iphigenia arrive, they learn the truth. In this monologue Clytemnestra laments to Agamemnon the fact that he wants to sacrifice their daughter and begs him to change his mind.

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