In Greek mythology, the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia is one of the brave and tragic tales about the House of Atreus.
Iphigenia is usually called the daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. Agamemnon had angered the goddess Artemis. In order to propitiate the goddess, Agamemnon had to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia, at Aulis, where the Achaean fleet was impatiently waiting for a wind to cross over to Troy. In order to trick Iphigenia into coming, Agamemnon sent word to Clytemnestra that their daughter was to marry the great hero Achilles, so Clytemnestra willingly brought Iphigenia to the wedding/sacrifice. The girl, sometimes portrayed as brave enough to impress Achilles, realized her self-sacrifice was what the Greeks needed.
In some versions of the story, Artemis saves Iphigenia at the last minute.
In revenge for the trickery and killing of their daughter Iphigenia, Clytemnestra killed her husband when he returned from the Trojan War.
See #4 and 6 on Thursday's -cide words to learn.
