Introduction
Iphigenia was the eldest daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. When the Achaean fleet was stranded at Aulis by contrary winds sent by an offended Artemis, the seer Calchas declared she must be sacrificed to appease the goddess.
Family
- Father: Agamemnon
- Mother: Clytemnestra
- Siblings: Orestes
Sacrifice and Surviving Traditions
Agamemnon lured Iphigenia to Aulis under the pretext of marrying her to Achilles, then had her sacrificed. In the oldest tradition she simply dies; a later and very influential variant (developed by Euripides) has Artemis substitute a deer at the last moment and spirit Iphigenia away to Tauris to serve as her priestess, where she is eventually reunited with her brother Orestes. Her death is the wound that drives Clytemnestra's later revenge on Agamemnon.
As with all figures of Greek heroic legend, sources diverge on many particulars; the account above follows the most widely transmitted classical tradition.