In Greek mythology, Iphigenia appears as the Greek fleet gathers in
Aulis to prepare for war against
Troy. Here,
Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, hunts and then kills a deer in a grove sacred to the goddess
Artemis.
[6] Artemis punishes Agamemnon by acting upon the winds, so that Agamemnon's fleet cannot sail to Troy.
Calchas the seer tells Agamemnon that to appease Artemis, he must sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia. At first he refuses but, pressured by the other commanders, agrees.
[6][7]
Mosaic, 5th-century CE. From left to right: Iphigenia, Clytemnestra, Agamemnon.
Iphigenia and her mother Clytemnestra are brought to Aulis, under the pretext that
Achilles will marry the girl. They discover the truth. In some versions of the story, Iphigenia remains unaware of her imminent sacrifice until the last moment. She believes until the moment of her death that she is being led to the altar to be married.
In some versions, such as
Hyginus'
Fabulae, Iphigenia is not sacrificed.
[7] Some sources claim that Iphigenia was taken by Artemis to
Tauris (in
Crimea) at the moment of the sacrifice, the goddess having left a deer in her stead,
[8] or else a goat (actually the god
Pan) in her place.