Iphigenia

The two Greeks landed secretly on Tauris and made their way to the temple of Artemis before dawn. They were Orestes and Pylades. Orestes had come to obtain the sacred statue of Artemis, following Apollo’s command, while the Erinyes still pursued him after his mother’s murder. The Taurians captured the strangers and condemned them to sacrifice.

Iphigenia questioned the prisoners before the rite. She asked where they had come from and what homes they would never see again. Orestes answered that he came from Mycenae, once ruled by Agamemnon. He said that Agamemnon had been killed by his wife, and that their son had killed her. Iphigenia asked whether the prisoners were brothers. Orestes replied that they were brothers in affection, though not by birth.

The answers turned Iphigenia’s thoughts towards Mycenae. She told Pylades that the woman sacrificed at Aulis was alive, and ordered him to carry a message to Orestes, the son of Agamemnon. Orestes heard his own name and cried out that the claim could not be true. Iphigenia gave Pylades a letter from his sister. When he named Orestes as its recipient, Orestes accepted it. Iphigenia then recognised him as her brother, and they briefly embraced. She pulled away, still struggling to believe what had happened.

Iphigenia secretly joined Orestes and Pylades in planning their escape. She intended to persuade the King to let her messenger leave, and made Pylades memorise her message in case the letter was lost. The plan also required the sacred statue. Iphigenia helped Orestes secure it and load it onto a vessel bound for Greece. They escaped Tauris with the statue. Athena then appeared and instructed Orestes to take it to Halae in Attica and establish a temple to Artemis there. Iphigenia was to be taken to Brauron, where she would serve Artemis as a priestess for the rest of her life.

Orestes and Pylades reached Tauris on Apollo’s command. They sought the ancient, sacred image of Artemis. The Taurians captured them and prepared them for human sacrifice. Iphigenia, who had been taken to Tauris by Artemis, served as the goddess’s priestess and prepared foreigners for the rite. Orestes and Pylades had killed their mother, and Iphigenia told King Thoas that Artemis regarded them as polluted.

Iphigenia refused Orestes’ suggestion that they kill Thoas. The king had treated her well, so she would not harm him. She formed another plan. She entered the temple, then came out carrying the image of Artemis. When Thoas approached, she ordered him to stop. She said that the image and the captives had to be purified at the seashore before the sacrifice could take place. The rite had to be performed in solitude, and she told him to proclaim through the city that no one should approach her.

Thoas accepted her explanation and allowed her to take as much time as necessary. Iphigenia led the procession towards the inlet where Orestes’ ship lay. Orestes and Pylades followed her, while attendants carried vessels for the purification. She prayed that Artemis would dwell where purity was found. When they reached the shore, Iphigenia helped Orestes secure the image and load it onto the ship. The three escaped from Tauris by sea, with the sacred image aboard.

Athena then appeared and directed Orestes to take the image to Halae in Attica and establish a temple to Artemis there. Iphigenia was to be taken to Brauron, where she would remain as Artemis’ priestess for the rest of her life.

At Aulis, the Greek fleet lay unable to sail because the winds remained unfavourable. Calchas declared that Artemis had caused this hardship after Agamemnon accidentally killed a deer sacred to her. The goddess required the sacrifice of Agamemnon’s daughter, Iphigenia. Agamemnon summoned Iphigenia and Clytemnestra to Aulis by claiming that Iphigenia would marry Achilles. When she learned the truth, Iphigenia begged her father to spare her. She was bound to the altar, and the sacrificial knife was raised.

Before the blow fell, Iphigenia disappeared. Artemis placed a deer on the altar instead and carried Iphigenia through the air to Tauris, on the northern coast of the Black Sea. There, Iphigenia became the goddess’s priestess. Her duty was to prepare foreigners for the human sacrifices performed by the Taurians in Artemis’s worship. She also held charge of the temple.

Later, Orestes came to Tauris with his friend Pylades. Apollo had commanded him to obtain an ancient and especially sacred image of Artemis. Iphigenia helped Orestes secure the image and load it onto a vessel bound for Greece. The three escaped with the statue. Athena then appeared and instructed Orestes to take the image to Halae in Attica and establish a temple to Artemis there.

Athena gave Iphigenia a different destination. She was to go to Brauron in Attica, where she would serve Artemis as priestess for the rest of her life. There, after leaving Tauris, she guarded the goddess’s rites and image.