Klytaimestra My dear Lord, Agamemnon! In order to appease her and sail on to Troy, Agamemnon was forced to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia; the Chorus describes in detail her pitiful cries for mercy as her father's men cut her throat. Agamemnon You are much happier than me for knowing less than I do. And there, along the white sands below, Nereus fifty daughters whirled and weaved their dance circles and made splendid the wedding of the Nereid. A city built by the Cyclopes! No, its not my ambition thats bothering you, my brother! First Chorus What an awful thing it is for brothers whose views differ to come to insults! Daughter of Tyndareus! Ah! But let me try and persuade you and let her stay inside the tent. You shouldnt go against them! After that, Paris, the man who, according to the legend, judged the three goddesses, Hera, Aphrodite and Athena, for their beauty, arrived atSparta. Ill obey your every command. Old Man Psssst! Achilles Yes, it might be just that. Word Count: 1230. I beg you, father! Euripides, Iphigenia in Aulis, line 1338 - Perseus Project I have brought this bride here with strong hopes for a wonderful marriage. They will sail over to our home, to Argos and kill our children and the two of us as well! Let her keep her dignity intact. Why are you leaving? 640. Iphigeneia begins towards the tent but is stopped by her father. What about your own soldiers, Achilles, what about your Myrmidons? Clytemnestra hears that Achilles is faithless, whereupon she at once urges Iphigenia to leave Aulis and return home. Shell be his wife. Chorus There goes the girl wholl soon stain the altar of the murderous goddess with the gushing blood of her beautiful throat! (A father's conduct here I blame), A joyless victim bred; When o'er the strand of Aulis, in the pride. Old Man To stop you By then he had come back to his senses. First Chorus I, too, feel pity for you if it is at all proper for a foreigner to feel pity for the plight of kings. They were sitting together on stools, joyfully immersed in a game of draughts, a game full of complex moves. Youll soon hear it all. Master! You are indeed a brave, noble person, Iphigeneia and for that reason I want you to be my wife. What did you say? Iphigeneia is crying. And I beg you also for my mothers sake, the woman who laboured to bring me to life, the woman who is being tortured even now. Agamemnon You, too, Iphigeneia, you also have a journey to make. A coward. He was her lord. They fuse into one. And may my father work well his right hand upon me at the altar! He walks slowly about the stage for a moment, anxiously searching the starry sky. Come, look up there! Klytaimestra My question is nothing but reasonable. Where are we going to set it up? I Im not so sure. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS Essay Summary A monologue from the play by Euripides NOTE: This monologue is reprinted from The Plays of Euripides in English, vol. Iphigeneia Make your worries go away, daddy. 231. Both you and I, whether we want to or not, must help Hellas stand free Hellas men cannot have their wives stolen from their beds. She goes to her death, so her father won't have to carry the guilt of. For a while, Iphigenia in Splott (a district of Cardiff about 20 minutes' walk from the the theatre) seems like a pretty normal contemporary monologue. Klytaimestra Achilles, son of the Nereid! Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides | Analysis & Themes | Study.com And, do I not also have the right to make my own prayer to the gods about you? With blessings or with force? Iphigeneia at Aulis. Well, Helen, unfortunately, old man, chose Menelaos! How I wish he never lived at that meadow where all the flowers bloomed: roses and hyacinths, all those flowers that the goddesses plucked. Where shall I go to find your hand, to ask you to help me in my hour of despair? Iphigeneia I am ashamed because my marriage has turned out to be such a dismal failure. Iphigeneia Dont leave home, daddy. Agamemnon So you broke its seal and read its contents? PDF STUDY GUIDE - Court Theatre Well, then, may you and your friends also enjoy a marriage such as mine! She will say to me! And, no, I will not murder my children and certainly wont do it so that you can wrongfully enjoy some sort of vengeance exacted from a disgraceful wife, while I waste away in tears day and night because I had committed such a godless crime against them, against my own flesh and blood. Attic tragedies were performed in Athens about the 5th century BC. Iphigenia in Aulis Character Analysis | Course Hero Its good that the children will be spared. Over the centuries other hands have contributed to the text we now have but even so for the most part it shows Euripides at his finest. Agamemnon Can you not see him standing in the midst of all the Greeks, telling them all about Calchas prophesies and all about how Ive promised to sacrifice my daughter to Artemis but then went back on my word? Mother, wholl come with me when theyll come and drag me by my hair? He, madam, hes the cause of all your torment, madam. LibriVox You felt a great deal of joy when you came in that house, and when you went out of it you felt a wealthy man. Chorus Alas! First Chorus We have come to watch the army of the divine Greeks and their thousand ships. 1350. Now, come, take me away to the altar! Klytaimestra Thats what a mob is like! I accepted my fortune and youll admit that I have always been a good wife to you. She reminds him of how they used to plan her future and tells him how much she wants to live. This might turn out to be a blessing for us -. Agamemnon Zeus. Iphigenia in Aulis. Think nothing of it! Agamemnon And dont waste any time hanging about some watering hole in the woods and dont fall victim to the magic of sleep! I was beaten by all the noise. Klytaimestra Thats where they say the centaurs live. Iphigeneia No, mother! Help us for that reason and help us, too, because if my daughter is killed on the altar that would be a bad omen for your future marital prospects, an omen you should try and avoid. Gluck's 'Iphigenia in Aulis,' Marriage or Murder? : NPR Both of us, darling! Chorus Come back to us once youve taken from that city her fairest spoils! Making the Call: Reflections on This Is War - academia.edu By the gods, Agamemnon! Your current position in the text is marked in blue. The future of our Greek women rests upon my actions. Klytaimestra Peers into the distance anxiously for a moment but is finally relieved. You know very well how humble you were during the days you wanted to be the leader of the Trojan expedition. Whats with this flushed face of yours? Iphigenia hoped for but now lacks, and which the chorus explicitly offers as a measure of Iphigenia's cruel fate: she should not be a sacrificial animal but a bride for kings (1085 ff.). 164. Shes about to be slaughtered by the hand of her own father! Poor, poor child! What a terrible shame! I acted like a stupid child before but now I thought more deeply about what its really like to kill your own children. Please, father! Here comes Agamemnon! And how is it that you, a woman, is here, where the whole army of the Greek men and their shields is gathered? That in itself is your admission. Such is "Iphigenia" (1977), by Greek director Mikhali (Michael) Cacoyannis, based on Euripedes' tragedy, "Iphigenia in Aulis." "Iphigenia" relates the story of an incident that took place just prior to the Trojan War. Achilles Then listen to me carefully, madam so that well achieve our aim. But tell me what I must do. 1200. 65. Klytaimestra Stop your shouting. 0 rating. Wont you cry with me, Orestes? There are times when the gods shun you, reject you, thwart your every effort and there are times, too, when the whining and the moaning of your men crush you! Whos calling through that half-opened door? Iphigeneia Are you sending me to live with another family, daddy? First, come, give your father a kiss. Stay here. Other men may have different views but let me give you my own. This got me so angry that the very next moment I ordered Talthybius to use his powerful voice and call the army to disband. The Chorus turns in the direction of the scream and responds! So, calm yourself now, Klytaimestra. Menelaos Why is that? Iphigeneia Wish them joy for me and take good care of my little brother, Orestes for me. How can you prove that you and I have the same father? What a dreadful thought to have in your mind! There will be no grave. Iphigeneia If only it were possible to take me with you, father. Here, father, here is the body of a suppliant! I take your kind welcome and gracious words as signs of a good omen. But as for you, daughter of Agamemnon! Gluck: Overture to "Iphigenia in Aulis" / Mori - YouTube All of us we all heard the awful thud of the striking sword but when we looked up, we could not see the girl anywhere! Not unless I obey the priests demand, not unless I sacrifice you. He goes to the tent and shouts through its door. Pronunciation of iphigenia in aulis with 1 audio pronunciations. Please refer to our Privacy Policy. The only voice I have, father, my only skill, is in my tears and, here, father, Im giving them to you! 1130. 910. 1580. No fancy, confusing words for you. What destruction! Iphigeneia at Aulis Quotes THE OLD MAN: Atreus did not sire you, Agamemnon, into a world of pure happiness. She is in there, crying and falling from one abyss of misery into another. Promise me, mummy! Pleas or no pleas the result will be the same with me because I have only one thing in mind, now: to save you both from this disaster! Gone are the harsh words, suddenly! That light, this light all around us, will cut all other arguments to pieces. Are you still sleeping my baby? Helen, the sister of the Heaven-dwelling twins, the Dioscuri. Iphigenia at Aulis | The Mercurian The thought that you would no longer lead our thousand ships against Priam, that you would no longer conquer his city with our soldiers all that filled you with utter distress and dismay! 691. Dent & Sons, 1920. I hate such relationships; they bring bitter pain to all. Agamemnon Zeus himself gave her to him. He and no one else! 1180. But go! Come, tell me, share your story with me. And thats when shell discover my treachery! My friend, neither kill nor be killed because of me. Your current position in the text is marked in blue. People will talk about how Ive saved Greece. Then the priest lets out a huge roar and the whole army roared with him as they saw the most unbelievable sight, a sight that must have been sent by Heaven, a sight that made them question their very eyes. The only other Greeks who know about this are Calchas, Odysseus and Menelaos. He came all the way fromTroy, dressed in all his colourful garb, and, typical of the barbarians love for splendour, his whole body was sparkling with gold jewels! The circumstances are too dire now for modesty and for polite coyness! What a shocking thing that would be! George Bell and Sons. Volume II. 150. Come out here immediately! Agamemnon An eloquent covering of a shameful act! Family and Duty Theme in Iphigenia at Aulis | LitCharts 1290. Chorus And to the feast of the gods and to Bacchus wine-mixing bowl came, too, with spears of fir and with wreaths of green leaves, the troupe of horse-mounted centaurs. Iphigeneia But but look at you, father! Hide browse bar 919. And so, the Greeks ordered you to let them board their ships and go back home and to stop wasting their efforts here. Its true, my lady that there are times when it is more pleasant to avoid excessive wisdom and there are times when wisdom is helpful but I, madam, I was raised in the house of Chiron, a centaur who respected the simple ways, the honest ways. I shall do as you say. Iphigenia at Aulis seems to have been constructed in a society in which it was ideal to put nation and family ahead of oneself. Prepare my sacrifice. Chorus There they will arrive with their war-whetted spears and shields to wrest Helen from Priams city and bring her back toGreece. The suitors should all swear a solemn oath, by giving their right hand and by making sacred sacrifices, that each and every one of them would defend the man who won Helens hand in marriage, no matter who that would be and to come to his aid in case someone stole her from their home and thus deprived that man of his legal conjugal bed. She had vanished, my lady! Come, then, father, turn to me and give me a final kiss. Then seiz'd and sever'd me from those I lov'd, And wrench'd with iron grasp the beauteous bands. First Chorus Their captain was Eurytus. 110. Ask me, what is it? Menelaos Listen to me, Agamemnon! The girl is with the gods! I cannot stop crying! Klytaimestra Is it your wish to kill our child? Leave now, Achilles. Old Man The priest, my lady. Iphigenia in Aulis has been added to your Cart . Words escape me! A dreadful sickness! What pain should I mention first or second, or last? Not a sound to be heard anywhere, old man! Chorus Enjoy now the sacrifice of blood and then help the Greek army launch its expedition to the land of the Phrygians, Troy the treacherous! 1080. Chiron, they cried out, Chiron who knows well the meaning of Apollos words, foretells that youll give Thessaly a son, a boy wholl be its brightest light. But I have no such skill.