First produced soon after the great tragedian’s death in 405 BC in a winning tetralogy that included The Bacchae and Alcmaeon in Corinth, Iphigenia in Aulis is, perhaps, the most corrupted of all surviving plays by Euripides, so much so that it is difficult to say whether the play was even half-finished before he died. And even if they escape to Argos, the Greek armies will come and destroy his palace, “razing it to the ground, Cyclopean walls and all.” Even though there is obviously no easy way out for Agamemnon out of these painful perplexities, there is certainly one which seems less bloody. Iphigenie in Aulis – Fünfter Akt. Menelaos knows that his sense of pride—and his family’s legacy of honor—is riding on the events to come, and he doesn’t want Agamemnon’s selfishness to interfere with that. At the end of the play, a messenger comes to tell Clytemnestra that Iphigenia‘s body inexplicably disappeared just before the fatal blow from the knife. There are three versions of each chorus: One is a fairly direct translation. 2 Bände, Wien 1992. Giorgos Lanthimos spielt mit dem Titel seines Films The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) auf die Tragödie an und gibt damit gleichzeitig einen Schlüssel zu einer möglichen Interpretation dieses Werkes über Schuld, Verhängnis und Sühne. Achilles, Clytemnestra, and Iphigeneia all know that even if she resists going to her death, the men of the Greek army will kill her themselves. Die Bakchen | Die Worte der Liebe machen auch meine Liebe lebendig. Clytemnestra knows that as a woman, she cannot do anything to save her daughter. Die Troerinnen, Fragmente des Euripides und Kyklops (Satyrspiel), Dieser Artikel behandelt Euripides' Tragödie, Zuletzt bearbeitet am 4. Euripides "Iphigenie in Aulis" in einer Überstzung von Friedrich Schiller Seit der Renaissance entstanden viele Übersetzungen, Nachdichtungen und dramatische Bearbeitungen des Stückes. But, when Achilles discovers the truth, he is furious at having been used as a prop in Agamemnon‘s plan, and he vows to defend Iphigenia, although more for the purposes of his own honour than to save the innocent girl. Some analysts are of the opinion that some of the material in the play is inauthentic and that it may have been worked on by multiple authors. To what cruel straits have I been plunged!” Upon noticing the depth of his brother’s sorrow, Menelaus changes his mind and withdraws from his former proposals. … Agamemnon essentially stole Clytemnestra from her old life and committed terrible crimes against her. Jahrhundert entstanden, worunter Glucks Iphigénie en Aulide (Paris 1774) und Martín y Solers Ifigenia in Aulide (Neapel 1779). This ending is a classic. This suggests that the play will examine the reality of the struggle for pride and glory—and reveal that such pursuits are not always worthy. Agamemnon is clearly struggling greatly with the burden he feels he must bear as he succumbs to what he believes is the will of the fates. 61, my New York non-profit theater company, it would be much appreciated. This belief reflects Achilles’s faith in the man’s power to make rational decisions on his own behalf—but Achilles, having never met Agamemnon, clearly underestimates the man’s fear of the gods and willingness to surrender to the forces he believes to be “destiny.”. Agamemnon’s sorrowful response at the news touches Menelaus and he backs down. “Iphigenia at Aulis“ (Gr: “Iphigeneia en Aulidi“) is the last extant tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides. Upon being asked by Menelaus to clarify the reasons for this abrupt change, Agamemnon explains that if he doesn’t kill his daughter, the Greek army inevitably will, since Calchas will, sooner or later, reveal his oracles to the soldiers. Iphigeneia, however, is determined to turn her situation into something useful. Agamemnon may be behind the deception of Clytemnestra, Iphigeneia, and Achilles, but he himself is not entirely to blame. Iphigenie in Aulis – Fünfter Akt. Erster Auftritt. “I am anxious to test you,” he says, “and do not seek from rage to turn aside from the truth, nor will I on my part overstrain the case.” It is evident that Menelaus has other things against his brother as well, accusing him of falseness and disloyalty to his friends: before he became a commander, he had been humble, cordial and caring to everybody, but now he is suddenly “hard of access, seldom to be found at home.” And now this—he has put his own interests and family before that of the army and the state. Agamemnon has failed to keep his family safe from his own plot against them and now he must reckon with them directly. Agamemnon hears their quarrel and comes out of his tent. (including. Jean Racines Tragödie Iphigénie (1674) bildete neben dem euripideischen Original die Quelle für zahlreiche Opern, die ab dem 18. Vierter Auftritt. Iphigenia agrees, and is both surprised and joyful to learn that she will witness it firsthand. There is a great chance that the play was left unfinished at Euripides’ death; if it had been completed, then it has been severely edited ever since, and numerous interpolations and excisions (dating all the way to the play’s original production) have left the play in a pretty dire condition. Iphigeneia chooses to reframe the situation in her mind as an opportunity for glory, pride, and honor on her name, her house, and her country rather than what it actually is: a group of men calling for an innocent young woman’s death.  Those choruses are copyrighted by him and should not be used without his permission. Sense is what the general must have; since any man, with ordinary intelligence, can govern a state.”, Agamemnon begs to differ: in his eyes, he is the sensible one, and Menelaus the one acting foolishly. The Chalkidian women imagine the violence and terror waiting across the sea in Troy with a mixture of revulsion and excitement. Helena | As Clytemnestra delves into the history of her relationship with Agamemnon, it becomes clear that their past is far from perfect. Strangely enough, Agamemnon thanks Menelaus but doesn’t accept his proposal: he too has reverted from his previous position and is now all but sure that Iphigenia must be sacrificed! Possibly in admiration of Achilles’ decision to put the needs of a human in pain before those of the army, in the third stasimon, the Chorus sings of the famous wedding of his parents, Thetis and Peleus. “I know not how I am to say yes or no to that, my child,” he replies. Above all, the women are hoping for the men of the Greek armies to bring honor to their country. Erster Auftritt. Erster Auftritt. Achilles has come to see Agamemnon purely by chance. Dezember 2019 um 18:31, Griechische Dichter in neuen metrischen Uebersetzungen, https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iphigenie_in_Aulis&oldid=194634637, „Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike“. She is led off to die, leaving her mother Clytemnestra distraught. Compared to Euripides‘ earlier treatment of the Iphigenia legend in the rather lightweight “Iphigenia in Tauris”, this later play is much darker in nature. Iphigenia thanks him, but says that there is no need for such a heroic act: after hearing out her father’s arguments, she has changed her mind and is now resolved to die for the future glory of her country. Agamemnon’s explanation of his family’s complicated lineage and entanglements serves two purposes. Iphigenie bei den Taurern | Die Tragödie Iphigenie in Aulis hat große Wirkung auf die Literatur und andere Künste ausgeübt. However, due to the lack of favorable winds, the fleet has remained stuck at the port for quite some time, and just recently Agamemnon has learned from the great prophet Calchas the reason for this: the guardian-goddess of Aulis, Artemis, asks for a blood sacrifice, more precisely that of Agamemnon’s own teenage daughter, Iphigenia. Diese Seite wurde zuletzt am 4. She knows that in a world of men, there are only so many roles she can play; perhaps she would rather be an object of glory and reverence than simply a wife. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Iphigenia at Aulis, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Though both Agamemnon and the audience know that he is about to betray them, Clytemnestra and Iphigeneia (and certainly the infant Orestes) are blissfully unaware of what is in store for them. The old man’s nuanced approach to the conflict at hand represents the voice of reason in a cacophony of confusion, anger, and misdirection. Home; Script. In fact, as one Euripides’ scholar notes (Cecelia A. E. Luschnig) the text of Iphigenia in Aulis is so corrupted that “every reader must also be a playwright, called upon to put together from a multiplicity of possibilities a drama that is coherent and makes sense as a piece of theater.”, • Agamemnon, supreme commander of the Greek forces under Troy, husband of Clytemnestra, and father of Iphigenia, Orestes and Electra, brother of Menelaus• Menelaus, king of Sparta and husband of Helen; brother of Agamemnon• Clytemnestra, daughter of Tyndareus, sister of Helen, wife of Agamemnon• An Old Man, a loyal Servant of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra• Iphigenia, virgin-daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon• Achilles, the greatest Greek warrior under Troy, demigod: son of Thetis, a nymph, and Peleus, king of Phthia• First Messenger, attendant of Clytemnestra• Second Messenger• Chorus of young married women from Chalcis, a city in Euboea across from Aulis. Elektra | Even so, as reconstructed, the play is not without its virtues, most markedly Euripides’ subtle criticism of the role of the archetypal hero, probably directly influenced by the seemingly endless Peloponnesian War, which, with interruptions, had been led for the entire quarter of a century before the death of Euripides. Köln 1790 (ursprünglich erschienen in der Thalia 2,6–7, 1788). The chorus clearly adores Achilles for his goodness and rationality—he embodies the values of levelheadedness and empathy that are actually important rather than the false sense of pride that the other men in the play seem to embody. Menelaos turns out to have been moved deeply by Agamemnon’s lament—and perhaps by the realization that his own sister-in-law, niece, and nephew have come to the camp. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.”, LitCharts uses cookies to personalize our services. The production was partly inspired by Eric Shanower’s Eisner Award-winning graphic novel, Age of Bronze, as you can tell from our production photographs. She must rely on a man to influence fate for them both, and since Agamemnon is ready to turn Iphigeneia over to the sacrificial altar, Clytemnestra knows that the powerful and influential Achilles is her last hope. It was written sometime between 408 and 406 BCE (the date of his death) and was first produced in the year following his death, where it won first place at the Athenian City Dionysia contest. Prologue; Scene 1; Chorus 1 (A) Chorus 1 (B) Chorus 1 (C) Scene 2; Chorus 2 (A) Chorus 2 (B) Chorus 2 (C) Scene 3; Chorus 3 (A) Chorus 3 (B) Chorus 3 (C) Scene 4; Chorus 4 (A) Chorus 4 (B) Chorus 4 (C) Scene 5; Chorus 5 (A) Chorus 5 (B) Chous 5 (C) Epilogue; Supplemental Materials.  Further information about the process is in the translation notes.  Thematic information can be found in my original Director’s Note. Die Schutzflehenden (Hiketides) | Menelaos wird von Mitleid gepackt und will die Opferung verhindern, aber Agamemnon beschließt, das Opfer durchzuführen und vor Klytaimnestra geheimzuhalten. Agamemnon returns with Clytemnestra, Iphigenia and the baby Orestes. Menelaos doesn’t understand the complicated problems Agamemnon is trying to work through and the many different people and situations tugging at the strings of his loyalty to discern where it lies. ("Agamemnon", "Hom. Leipzig 1988 (Bibliotheca Teubneriana). I envy the man with the quiet life, the safe life. Iphigenie in Aulis – Vierte Zwischenhandlung. Our, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in, At predawn, the Greek army is camped near the bay at Aulis in front of.