Iphigenia in Tauris

Roles

• Iphigenia - Teenager (13-19), Young Adult (20-35), Female

About this piece

Iphigenia laments the death of her family

Summary

Iphigenia at Tauris is the sequel of Iphigenia at Aulis. In the background story Agamemnon, a Greek commander, was forced to sacrifice his daughter to the goddess Artemis in order to allow his army to sail to Troy and start the Trojan war. This event later will lead to Clytemnestra's murder of Agamemnon for revenge and then later Orestes' murder of his mother Clytemnestra and her lover to avenge his father's murder. The play's story is based on the assumption that Iphigenia didn't actually die in the sacrifice. She was replaced with a deer at the last moment by Artemis and led to Tauris where she became a priestess. One of her tasks there is to kill any foreigner that lands on King Thoas' shores. The play focuses on her being reunited with her brother Orestes, whom she believed was dead. Orestes lands on King Thoas' land in order to steal a sacred statue of Artemis in order to stop a curse that she has unleashed on him. Iphigenia and Orestes escape from the island together. This monologue comes at the beginning of the play. Iphigenia has just had a prophetic dream about her brother and believes he is now dead. She laments the fate of her family.

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