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not bad pero las intervenciones del coro se me hacen soporíferas, insoportable total
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Euripides: Iphigenia at Aulis
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Iphigenia at Aulis dramatises the myth of Iphigenia, the young virgin sacrificed by her father Agamemnon at the start of the expedition against Troy. Produced at the end of the Peloponnesian war, it explores the breakdown of social norms which turns Greeks against Greeks, men against women, & condemns young brides to death. Pantelis Michelakis examines the mythological, socio-political & institutional context, the main themes & major issues in modern criticism, ending with an outline of performance history & reception.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1,-0405
This edition
- Format
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176 pages, Paperback
- Published
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March 9, 2006 by Bristol Classical Press
- ISBN
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9780715629949
- ASIN
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0715629948
- Language
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English
Characters More characters
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Menelaus
In Greek mythology, Menelaus (Ancient Greek: Μενέλαος, Menelaos) was a king of Mycenaean Sparta, the husband of Helen of Troy, and a central figure in the Trojan War. He was the son of Atreus and Aerope, brother of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and, accordin...
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Iphigeneia Princess Of Argos
In Greek mythology, Iphigenia was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Argos....
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Achilles
Achilles is a mythological hero featured in Homers Iliad, where he is depicted as the most feared warrior of his age, a son of the nymph Thetis. Later authors rewrite his story to make him invulnerable, having been dipped in the river Styx by his mo...
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Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (Ancient Greek: Ἀγαμέμνων; modern Greek: Αγαμέμνονας, "very resolute") is the son of King Atreus of Mycenae and Queen Aerope; the brother of Menelaus and the husband of Clytemnestra; different mythological versions make him t...
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Euripides (Greek: Ευριπίδης) (ca. 480 BC–406 BC) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him, but the Suda says it was ninety-two at most. Of these, eighteen or nineteen have survived more or less complete (Rhesus is suspect). There are many fragments (some substantial) of most of his other plays. More of his plays have survived intact than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles together, partly because his popularity grew as theirs declined—he became, in the Hellenistic Age, a cornerstone of ancient literary education, along with Homer, Demosthenes, and Menander.
Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. This new approach led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, some of which are characteristic of romance. He also became "the most tragic of poets", focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown. He was "the creator of ... that cage which is the theatre of William Shakespeare's Othello, Jean Racine's Phèdre, of Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg," in which "imprisoned men and women destroy each other by the intensity of their loves and hates". But he was also the literary ancestor of comic dramatists as diverse as Menander and George Bernard Shaw.
His contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of a decadent intellectualism. Both were frequently lampooned by comic poets such as Aristophanes. Socrates was eventually put on trial and executed as a corrupting influence. Ancient biographies hold that Euripides chose a voluntary exile in old age, dying in Macedonia, but recent scholarship casts doubt on these sources.
Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that have profoundly influenced drama down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. This new approach led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, some of which are characteristic of romance. He also became "the most tragic of poets", focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown. He was "the creator of ... that cage which is the theatre of William Shakespeare's Othello, Jean Racine's Phèdre, of Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg," in which "imprisoned men and women destroy each other by the intensity of their loves and hates". But he was also the literary ancestor of comic dramatists as diverse as Menander and George Bernard Shaw.
His contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of a decadent intellectualism. Both were frequently lampooned by comic poets such as Aristophanes. Socrates was eventually put on trial and executed as a corrupting influence. Ancient biographies hold that Euripides chose a voluntary exile in old age, dying in Macedonia, but recent scholarship casts doubt on these sources.
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5/08/18 Upon reading this play again, my feelings concerning the character's actions have definitely changed.
Last I read this play I described Agamemnon as morally divided on what course he should take, but now I kinda seeing Menelaus' point - he can't stick with the decision he's made and in the end he no longer has the choice. Iphigenia, who I had previously described as choosing to sacrifice herself for Greece, really didn't have a choice either like I said she did. I imagine she put on a brave face and only described her death as something noble for the sake of her parents like she had a choice in the matter.
And Achilles' role in all of this! To him, defending Iphigenia from the mob that was the Greek army, was something he was willing to die for. Sure, he involved himself because he felt that it was wrong that his name should be used by Agamemnon without his prior consent, but he still stood by Iphigenia.
This truly is a heart-breaking play. By the end of the play, a mother and father had no choice but to watch their daughter walk to her death with a smile on her face, as if her death was a noble sacrifice.
14/06/16 I went into this book with the wrong expectations. Or rather I went into this expecting the story and characters as the online classics community tends to know them in general, which looking back on it would had provided me with one-dimensional characters and a rather weak plot-line. It certainly didn't help that the only other interpretation I've read is that of The Song of Achilles.
To put it simply, I found myself blown away by the story I found.
For in this interpretation, Agamemnon, while still extremely problematic, finds himself morally divided throughout the play. I was presented with an entirely different dynamic in the relationship between Menelaus and Agamemnon, something that I felt just wasn't present in the Iliad. I found that Clytemnestra was actually present during the events, and looking back on it why wouldn't she attend her eldest daughter's wedding? And Iphigeneia was not the damsel in distress I expected, instead at the end she chose to sacrifice herself for the sake of Greece.
Achilles, was perhaps that only one I didn't find myself surprised with as from what I can gather, what he cared most about was his honour and how Agamemnon attempted to use his name without his prior knowledge. Though he was willing to fight the army to protect her and tarnish his reputation so perhaps a bit of his humanity was shown.
The story itself is extremely tragic. A mother accompanies her daughter to what she expects to be a wedding and instead finds her husband wanting to sacrifice her daughter for the sake of the army instead. And although in the end, none of the key players wish to go through with the sacrifice as originally planned they find their hand is forced by the Greek army itself.
The mob mentality and the lethal damage that it can do shines through in the end. Instead of bringing ruin to her family the daughter allows herself to be sacrificed ignorant that her actions will lead to the downfall of the family. A family, might I add, that while they had their differences were presented as a healthy family during the story.
Last I read this play I described Agamemnon as morally divided on what course he should take, but now I kinda seeing Menelaus' point - he can't stick with the decision he's made and in the end he no longer has the choice. Iphigenia, who I had previously described as choosing to sacrifice herself for Greece, really didn't have a choice either like I said she did. I imagine she put on a brave face and only described her death as something noble for the sake of her parents like she had a choice in the matter.
And Achilles' role in all of this! To him, defending Iphigenia from the mob that was the Greek army, was something he was willing to die for. Sure, he involved himself because he felt that it was wrong that his name should be used by Agamemnon without his prior consent, but he still stood by Iphigenia.
This truly is a heart-breaking play. By the end of the play, a mother and father had no choice but to watch their daughter walk to her death with a smile on her face, as if her death was a noble sacrifice.
14/06/16 I went into this book with the wrong expectations. Or rather I went into this expecting the story and characters as the online classics community tends to know them in general, which looking back on it would had provided me with one-dimensional characters and a rather weak plot-line. It certainly didn't help that the only other interpretation I've read is that of The Song of Achilles.
To put it simply, I found myself blown away by the story I found.
For in this interpretation, Agamemnon, while still extremely problematic, finds himself morally divided throughout the play. I was presented with an entirely different dynamic in the relationship between Menelaus and Agamemnon, something that I felt just wasn't present in the Iliad. I found that Clytemnestra was actually present during the events, and looking back on it why wouldn't she attend her eldest daughter's wedding? And Iphigeneia was not the damsel in distress I expected, instead at the end she chose to sacrifice herself for the sake of Greece.
Achilles, was perhaps that only one I didn't find myself surprised with as from what I can gather, what he cared most about was his honour and how Agamemnon attempted to use his name without his prior knowledge. Though he was willing to fight the army to protect her and tarnish his reputation so perhaps a bit of his humanity was shown.
The story itself is extremely tragic. A mother accompanies her daughter to what she expects to be a wedding and instead finds her husband wanting to sacrifice her daughter for the sake of the army instead. And although in the end, none of the key players wish to go through with the sacrifice as originally planned they find their hand is forced by the Greek army itself.
The mob mentality and the lethal damage that it can do shines through in the end. Instead of bringing ruin to her family the daughter allows herself to be sacrificed ignorant that her actions will lead to the downfall of the family. A family, might I add, that while they had their differences were presented as a healthy family during the story.
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Euripides' Iphigenia in Aulis, a riveting tragic masterpiece, plunges headlong into the treacherous maelstrom where the tempestuous forces of sacrifice, familial obligation, and the grim spectre of war converge. It's an odyssey of moral tribulations where the compass of personal ethics skews wildly off course, drowned by the turbulent sea of the greater good. The story unfolds with the Greek army, under the command of Agamemnon, stranded at Aulis due to the whims of the goddess Artemis. The seer Calchas unravels the chilling revelation that the winds refuse to blow because Agamemnon had once killed a sacred deer in Artemis's grove. The sole means to appease the vengeful deity is the ultimate sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter, Iphigenia. This gripping exploration of the Greek army's ill-fated journey to Troy serves as a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of war, offering a sombre reflection on the sacrifices made in the name of conflict and the ever-pressing conflict of personal ethics versus the greater good. Vivid characters grapple with ethical torment, divine caprice, and the haunting repercussions of violence, making it a timeless and thought-provoking masterpiece. Through this haunting tapestry, Euripides paints a bleak picture of the unchecked martial ardor personified by characters like Menelaus and Achilles. Their ruthless pursuit of victory and glory underscores the darker, savage facets of the human psyche, further complicated by the whims of the capricious gods.
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adeta throwback to İlyada gibi kitap. çok beğendim, diyaloglar harika ve grek mitlerine dair güzel hikayeler var. retellingler bu kitaptan çokça beslenmiştir. Ari Çokona çevirisi mükemmel. tek eleştirim kritik bilgilerin sonnot olarak eklenmiş olması. sürekli kitabın sonuna bakmaya çalışarak okumak biraz gıcık ediyor. koşarak İphigenia Tauriste'ye başlıyorum.
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Quality.
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4.5 stars
You could call this play Agamemnon vs Achilles: Origins
This play sets up so many relations for the stories that were written before it, I really liked it!
You could call this play Agamemnon vs Achilles: Origins
This play sets up so many relations for the stories that were written before it, I really liked it!
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Agamemnon: I'm so sad.
Old Man: Yo, what's up?
Agamemnon: Helen, that hot chick from Troy, picked my brother Menelaus to marry. But Paris stole her. Now we gots to get her back, but some prophet said that we can't leave to do that until I kill my daughter Iphigenia!
Old Man: Uh... okay.
Agamemnon: Take this letter to my wife. I sent her one already that lied and said that I was marrying Iphigenia to the hot dude Achilles, but this one says it was all a lie and not to come here. I don't want to kill my daughter.
Menelaus: What's this? A letter?
Old Man: No! Give it back!
Menelaus: *reads the letter* That bastard!
Old Man: Agamemnon! Help!
Agamemnon: What is going on?
Menelaus: You tell me.
Agamemnon: Uhh... why do you have my letter?
Menelaus: A-HA! You're going back on your promise to kill your daughter! You're a lying bastard!
Agamemnon: Yeah, well... at least I don't have a whore for a wife!
Menelaus: You were never a good leader at all! No one can count on you. Greece is going to lose to Troy and I will never get my wife back because you won't kill your daughter.
Agamemnon: You are married to a whore and you would have a young girl slain just to get your wife back! Why should I kill my daughter, who has nothing to do with the whole mess, just so you can keep a whore?
Menelaus: Grrr.
Agamemnon: Grrr back at you.
Messenger: Iphigenia and her mother, your wife Clytemnestra have arrived!
Agamemnon: Oh, shit.
Menelaus: Yo, dude. Wait. I totally see your point now. Let's not kill Iphigenia, k?
Agamemnon: Whoa, dude... I didn't expect this. Um, too bad that I decided that I am going to sacrifice her after all. Otherwise, the guys that I told about the sacrifice would be pissed at me and would probably kill me.
Iphigenia: I love you, daddy!
Agamemnon: I love you too.
Iphigenia: I am blessed to be married to Achilles!
Agamemnon: *drops lots of hints about the fact that he's actually going to kill her*
Clytemnestra: So who is this Achilles?
Agamemnon: A good man.
Clytemnestra: Okay, let me handle the wedding stuff.
Agamemnon: No, no, no-- go home to be with your other daughters, I'll take care of everything.
Clytemnestra: Uh... the domestic realm is MY realm, thank you very much. You can't stop me.
Agamemnon: Oh, shit.
Achilles: I am Achilles!
Clytemnestra: Oh. Hello, Achilles.
Achilles: What's up?
Clytemnestra: Nothing, just preparing for your wedding to my daughter.
Achilles: What? I am not being married.
Clytemnestra: What? Yes you are.
Achilles: Am not.
Clytemnestra: Oh, shit.
Old Man: Yo, guys. C'mere. Agamemnon just lied; he's going to sacrifice Iphigenia. He sent a letter telling you not to come, but his brother took it.
Clytemnestra: Damn him!
Achilles: I will not allow your daughter to die; let me be a man and protect her!
Clytemnestra: Okay.
Agamemnon: Let us prepare Iphigenia!
Clytemnestra: Uh... I have a bone to pick with you.
Agamemnon: Go ahead.
Clytemnestra: Are you trying to kill our daughter?
Agamemnon: What makes you think such a thing?!
Clytemnestra: Are you trying to kill her, or not?
Agamemnon: Oh, shit. Yes, I am. Sorry.
Clytemnestra: You bastard. You took me into marriage by force, I gave you children, treated you well even though you were a bastard, and you repay me by killing our first-born child? To honor some whore?
Agamemnon: *gulps*
Iphigenia: Don't kill me! A lowly virgin am I.
Agamemnon: Damned if I do, damned if I don't.
Clytemnestra and Iphigenia: *weep*
Achilles: A mob is coming!
Clytemnestra: What?
Achilles: I tried to tell them they wouldn't kill Iphigenia and they stoned me. They are coming to kill her themselves.
Clytemnestra: Oh noes!
Achilles: Don't worry; I'll protect her!
Iphigenia: No, you won't. I am sacrificing myself.
Clytemnestra: WHAT??
Iphigenia: It is an honor to sacrifice myself for Greece. I'll be like, famous and shit. To the altar!
later...
Messenger: Extra! Extra!
Clytemnestra: What now?
Messenger: Your daughter is alive.
Clytemnestra: What? How?
Messenger: She went to sacrifice herself and when the priest went to slit her throat, everyone looked away. When they turned back, there was a deer killed in her place.
Clytemnestra: Joy!
Messenger: But your daughter is still gone. But she's at least still alive, right?
Clytemnestra: WTF?
Old Man: Yo, what's up?
Agamemnon: Helen, that hot chick from Troy, picked my brother Menelaus to marry. But Paris stole her. Now we gots to get her back, but some prophet said that we can't leave to do that until I kill my daughter Iphigenia!
Old Man: Uh... okay.
Agamemnon: Take this letter to my wife. I sent her one already that lied and said that I was marrying Iphigenia to the hot dude Achilles, but this one says it was all a lie and not to come here. I don't want to kill my daughter.
Menelaus: What's this? A letter?
Old Man: No! Give it back!
Menelaus: *reads the letter* That bastard!
Old Man: Agamemnon! Help!
Agamemnon: What is going on?
Menelaus: You tell me.
Agamemnon: Uhh... why do you have my letter?
Menelaus: A-HA! You're going back on your promise to kill your daughter! You're a lying bastard!
Agamemnon: Yeah, well... at least I don't have a whore for a wife!
Menelaus: You were never a good leader at all! No one can count on you. Greece is going to lose to Troy and I will never get my wife back because you won't kill your daughter.
Agamemnon: You are married to a whore and you would have a young girl slain just to get your wife back! Why should I kill my daughter, who has nothing to do with the whole mess, just so you can keep a whore?
Menelaus: Grrr.
Agamemnon: Grrr back at you.
Messenger: Iphigenia and her mother, your wife Clytemnestra have arrived!
Agamemnon: Oh, shit.
Menelaus: Yo, dude. Wait. I totally see your point now. Let's not kill Iphigenia, k?
Agamemnon: Whoa, dude... I didn't expect this. Um, too bad that I decided that I am going to sacrifice her after all. Otherwise, the guys that I told about the sacrifice would be pissed at me and would probably kill me.
Iphigenia: I love you, daddy!
Agamemnon: I love you too.
Iphigenia: I am blessed to be married to Achilles!
Agamemnon: *drops lots of hints about the fact that he's actually going to kill her*
Clytemnestra: So who is this Achilles?
Agamemnon: A good man.
Clytemnestra: Okay, let me handle the wedding stuff.
Agamemnon: No, no, no-- go home to be with your other daughters, I'll take care of everything.
Clytemnestra: Uh... the domestic realm is MY realm, thank you very much. You can't stop me.
Agamemnon: Oh, shit.
Achilles: I am Achilles!
Clytemnestra: Oh. Hello, Achilles.
Achilles: What's up?
Clytemnestra: Nothing, just preparing for your wedding to my daughter.
Achilles: What? I am not being married.
Clytemnestra: What? Yes you are.
Achilles: Am not.
Clytemnestra: Oh, shit.
Old Man: Yo, guys. C'mere. Agamemnon just lied; he's going to sacrifice Iphigenia. He sent a letter telling you not to come, but his brother took it.
Clytemnestra: Damn him!
Achilles: I will not allow your daughter to die; let me be a man and protect her!
Clytemnestra: Okay.
Agamemnon: Let us prepare Iphigenia!
Clytemnestra: Uh... I have a bone to pick with you.
Agamemnon: Go ahead.
Clytemnestra: Are you trying to kill our daughter?
Agamemnon: What makes you think such a thing?!
Clytemnestra: Are you trying to kill her, or not?
Agamemnon: Oh, shit. Yes, I am. Sorry.
Clytemnestra: You bastard. You took me into marriage by force, I gave you children, treated you well even though you were a bastard, and you repay me by killing our first-born child? To honor some whore?
Agamemnon: *gulps*
Iphigenia: Don't kill me! A lowly virgin am I.
Agamemnon: Damned if I do, damned if I don't.
Clytemnestra and Iphigenia: *weep*
Achilles: A mob is coming!
Clytemnestra: What?
Achilles: I tried to tell them they wouldn't kill Iphigenia and they stoned me. They are coming to kill her themselves.
Clytemnestra: Oh noes!
Achilles: Don't worry; I'll protect her!
Iphigenia: No, you won't. I am sacrificing myself.
Clytemnestra: WHAT??
Iphigenia: It is an honor to sacrifice myself for Greece. I'll be like, famous and shit. To the altar!
later...
Messenger: Extra! Extra!
Clytemnestra: What now?
Messenger: Your daughter is alive.
Clytemnestra: What? How?
Messenger: She went to sacrifice herself and when the priest went to slit her throat, everyone looked away. When they turned back, there was a deer killed in her place.
Clytemnestra: Joy!
Messenger: But your daughter is still gone. But she's at least still alive, right?
Clytemnestra: WTF?
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One cannot fight the will of the gods. Ultimately they will win. This is an important lesson for Greeks citizenry from plebians to patricians. The gods require allegiance even as they make no promises to be kind to the citizenry. In this spirit, Euripides wrote/started this play for public celebration and remembrance.
Reading this play, I can see the long arm of influence this play had on Shakespeare when writing the history plays, particularly Henry V where a strong king serves the good of the commonwealth and where sometimes a young woman must be sacrificed. Menelaus is swapped and altered as Henry V while Iphigenia is swapped and altered as Joan la Pucelle. . . .possibly. . . .
Reading this play, I can see the long arm of influence this play had on Shakespeare when writing the history plays, particularly Henry V where a strong king serves the good of the commonwealth and where sometimes a young woman must be sacrificed. Menelaus is swapped and altered as Henry V while Iphigenia is swapped and altered as Joan la Pucelle. . . .possibly. . . .
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