Iphigenia at Aulis Character Analysis

Agamemnon

The king of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaos, and the leader of the Greek expedition against Troy. Agamemnon is the play’s protagonist and its complicated moral center. As leader of the Greek armies, his… read analysis of Agamemnon

Iphigeneia

Agamemnon and Clytemnestra’s daughter and the central figure of Iphigeneia at Aulis. Iphigeneia is summoned to the port of Aulis by her father under false pretenses—she is told that she’s being brought to… read analysis of Iphigeneia

Clytemnestra

Agamemnon’s wife, queen of Mycenae, and mother to Iphigeneia and Orestes. Like several other characters in the play, such as Achilles, the Clytemnestra presented in Iphigeneia at Aulis is very different than… read analysis of Clytemnestra

Menelaos

Agamemnon’s brother and the king of Sparta. Menelaos’s wife, Helen, has recently absconded to Troy with the young Trojan prince Paris. Menelaos is a jealous and prideful man obsessed with maintaining his… read analysis of Menelaos

Achilles

A “hero-to-be of the Trojan War,” Achilles is a young man of immense strength and beauty. Though Achilles is a major figure in Greek myth and is the central character of Homer’s Iliad, in… read analysis of Achilles

Chorus of Chalkidian Women

A chorus of women who claim to have come to Aulis all the way from Chalkis simply to glimpse the might of the Grecian army as the men prepare to sail for Troy. In Greek… read analysis of Chorus of Chalkidian Women

The Old Man

One of Clytemnestra’s slaves who has been in her employ since her wedding to Agamemnon. The old man has accompanied Agamemnon to Aulis to serve as his attendant. Though put-upon and condemned to… read analysis of The Old Man

Helen

Menelaos’s wife and the queen of Sparta. Helen has absconded to Troy with her lover Paris, a young Trojan prince. This leads the humiliated Menelaos to gather up the armies of Greece together… read analysis of Helen

Artemis

A daughter of Zeus, Artemis is the Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon and is protectress of virgins. Artemis stalls the winds at the port of Aulis to prevent the Greek army from… read analysis of Artemis

Minor Characters

Paris

A handsome young Trojan prince who has stolen Helen away from Menelaos and brought her to Troy to be his queen. Though never seen onstage, Paris’s actions motivate the entirety of the long and bloody Trojan War.

Kalchas

A prophet and priest who has declared that Agamemnon must sacrifice his daughter Iphigeneia to Artemis in order to lift the calm that has settled over the winds and which prevents the Greek armies from sailing across the sea to Troy.

Orestes

Clytemnestra and Agamemnon’s infant son and Iphigeneia’s brother.

Chorus of Attendants

A chorus made up of Clytemnestra’s servants and attendants.

A Messenger

A messenger who comes to deliver the news that the goddess Artemis has spared Iphigeneia’s life.