Definition

Proper noun In Greek mythology, Iphigenia is the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. Her story is central to several myths concerning the Trojan War. Agamemnon was compelled to sacrifice her to the goddess Artemis to appease her and secure favorable winds for the Greek fleet, which was becalmed at Aulis en route to Troy. In most versions of the myth, Artemis rescues Iphigenia at the last moment, often by substituting a deer, and transports her to Tauris (modern Crimea), where she becomes a priestess in Artemis's temple.

Usage Examples

• Proper noun:
  • In Euripides' play Iphigenia at Aulis, the king faces the terrible decision of sacrificing Iphigenia.
  • The myth of Iphigenia explores themes of duty, sacrifice, and divine intervention.
  • Artemis made Iphigenia her priestess in the land of Tauris.

Advanced Usage

• "Iphigenia complex": A rarely used psychoanalytic term, not standard in Freudian theory, sometimes suggested in literary analysis to describe a father's submerged impulse to sacrifice a daughter for personal ambition or duty, analogous to the Oedipus or Electra complexes.
• "Iphigenia figure": Used in literary criticism to denote a character, typically young and female, who is presented as a sacrificial victim for a larger cause or to resolve a crisis.

Variants and Related Words

• Iphigenia at Aulis: Title of a tragedy by Euripides focusing on the sacrifice at Aulis.
• Iphigenia in Tauris (or ): Title of another tragedy by Euripides about Iphigenia's later life as a priestess.
• Iphigenic (adj): Pertaining to Iphigenia (e.g., an Iphigenic sacrifice).

Synonyms

• Sacrificial victim: (A general term for her role in the myth at Aulis).
• Priestess: (Describing her later role in Tauris).

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "An Iphigenia at Aulis": A literary allusion describing a person, especially a young woman, placed in a position of being sacrificed (literally or figuratively) for the success of a collective endeavor or to satisfy an authority.
  • The young diplomat felt like an Iphigenia at Aulis, offered up to appease the political crisis.

Noun

1. (Greek mythology) the daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon; Agamemnon was obliged to offer her as a sacrifice to Artemis when the Greek fleet was becalmed on its way to Troy; Artemis rescued her and she later became a priestess