Classics Department

The names and deeds of the Greek heroes Agamemnon, Achilles and Menelaus have been told through the generations.  However, in his tragedy Iphigenia at Aulis, the Greek playwright Euripides, never one to shy away from subverting established conventions, portrays these characters not as heroes at all, but as weak and selfish men.

Having angered the gods by killing a deer sacred to the goddess Artemis, the Greek army have been delayed by unfavourable winds at the port of Aulis on their way to the Trojan War.  The Greek commander, Agamemnon (Stephen Powell) has been told that the only way he can appease the goddess (and therefore set sail again) is by making the ultimate sacrifice – his daughter Iphigenia (Lizzie Parr). Despite his horror at this, Agamemnon has sent a message to his wife Clytemnestra (Lucy White) telling her to bring Iphigenia to Aulis, on the pretext that she is going to be married to the Greek warrior Achilles (William Blanchard).  As the play begins, Agamemnon, caught between his responsibilities as a commander and a father, is having second thoughts about going through with the sacrifice and confides his fears to an old slave (Isaac Murdy). He decides to write a letter to Clytemnestra telling her to ignore his original message, but before he can send it, the letter is intercepted by his brother Menelaus (Andrew Wright), who is desperate to go to war to win back his wife Helen. As the brothers fiercely debate the issue, news arrives that Clytemnestra is already on her way to Aulis with Iphigenia, ready for the wedding….

Although this play was written 2500 years ago, it still speaks clearly to modern audiences of war fought for dubious reasons and power struggles resulting in needless suffering and death.  Iphigenia at Aulis will be performed in the Founder Hall at Nottingham High School on 24^th and 25^th March at 7:30 pm.

(Post By Robert Grant)