Iphigenia
Iphigenia was Agamemnon's eldest daughter, sacrificed at Aulis to gain winds for Troy — or rescued at the last moment by Artemis and whisked to Tauris.
The Legend of Iphigenia
Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, Iphigenia was summoned to Aulis under the pretence of marriage to Achilles. Instead, Artemis demanded her sacrifice as the price for winds to carry the Greek fleet to Troy. Agamemnon, agonised, consented. In some versions Iphigenia died on the altar; in others, Artemis snatched her away at the last moment, substituting a deer, and transported her to Tauris as a priestess. Her brother Orestes later found her there. The sacrifice drove Clytemnestra to murder Agamemnon, igniting the bloodshed that only Athena's judgment could end.
Parents
Agamemnon and Clytemnestra
Symbols
Fun Fact
Iphigenia is the Iliad's original casualty — sacrificed before the war even begins, her death taints everything that follows.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Polyxena
🗡 herosacrifice
Trojan princess sacrificed on Achilles's tomb after the fall of Troy to appease his ghost.
Macaria
🗡 heroSelf-Sacrifice, Female Heroism, Heraclidae
Daughter of Heracles who voluntarily sacrificed herself so that the Heraclidae could defeat Eurystheus.
Clytemnestra
🗡 heroQueen who murdered Agamemnon
Clytemnestra murdered Agamemnon on his return from Troy, driven by rage over Iphigenia's sacrifice.
Menoeceus
🗡 herosacrifice, prophecy
A young Theban nobleman who sacrificed himself by leaping from the city walls to fulfil Tiresias's prophecy that only royal blood could save Thebes from the Seven.
Alcestis
🗡 heroWife who died for her husband
Alcestis was the devoted wife who volunteered to die in place of her husband Admetus — the only person willing to make the sacrifice.
Androgeos
🗡 heroAthletics, sacrifice
Son of King Minos whose murder at Athens caused the tribute of seven youths and seven maidens to the Minotaur
Chryseis
🗡 heroCaptive who caused the quarrel of the Iliad
Chryseis was the priest's daughter whose captivity by Agamemnon and forced return sparked the quarrel with Achilles that drives the entire Iliad.
Cassiopeia
🗡 heroQueen whose vanity endangered her daughter
Cassiopeia was the queen who boasted her beauty exceeded the sea nymphs — provoking Poseidon to demand her daughter Andromeda as sacrifice.
Sacrifice of Iphigenia
💭 conceptsacrifice, wind
Agamemnon's sacrifice of his daughter at Aulis to appease Artemis and gain favourable winds for the Greek fleet to sail to Troy.
Hecuba
🗡 herovengeance
Queen of Troy who survived the fall, witnessed the sacrifice of Polyxena, and took savage revenge on the man who murdered her son Polydorus.
Haemon
🗡 heroNone recorded
Son of Creon and fiancé of Antigone who died beside her in defiance of his father
Leodes
🗡 heroNone recorded
Reluctant suitor and sacrificial priest who failed to string Odysseus' bow