Iphigenia. In Greek mythology, Iphigenia was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae. In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War. She retaliates by preventing the Greek troops from reaching Troy unless Agamemnon kills Iphigenia at Aulis as a human sacrifice. In some versions, Iphigenia dies at Aulis, but in others, Artemis rescues her. In the version where she is saved, she goes to the Taurians and meets her brother Orestes. Iphigenia means strong-born, born to strength, or she who causes the birth of strong offspring. Iphianassa is the name of one of Agamemnon's three daughters in Homer's Iliad The name Iphianassa may be simply an older variant of the name Iphigenia. Not all poets took Iphigenia and Iphianassa to be two names for the same heroine, Kerenyi remarks, though it is certain that to begin with they served indifferently to address the same divine being, who had not belonged from all time to the family of Agamemnon. In Greek mythology, Iphigenia appears as the Greek fleet gathers in Aulis to prepare for war against Troy. At Aulis, the leader of the Greeks, Agamemnon, accidentally kills a deer in a grove sacred to the goddess Artemis. She punishes him by interfering with the winds so that his fleet cannot sail to Troy. The seer Calchas reveals that, to appease Artemis, Agamemnon must sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia. Agamemnon at first refuses but, pressured by the other commanders, eventually agrees. Iphigenia and her mother Clytemnestra are brought to Aulis under the pretext of a marriage to Achilles, but soon discover the marriage is a ruse. In some versions of the story, Iphigenia remains unaware of her imminent sacrifice until the last moment, believing that she is led to the altar to be married. In some versions, Iphigenia is not actually sacrificed. According to Hyginus' Fabulae, Iphigenia was not sacrificed. Some sources claim that Iphigenia was taken by Artemis to Tauris at the moment of the sacrifice, and that the goddess left a deer or a goat in her place. The Hesiodic Catalogue of Women called her Iphimede and told that Artemis transformed her into the goddess Hecate. Antoninus Liberalis said that Iphigenia was transported to the island of Leuke, where she was wedded to immortalized Achilles under the name Orsilochia. In Aeschylus's Agamemnon, the first play in the Oresteia, the sacrifice of Iphigenia is given as one of the reasons that Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus plan to murder Agamemnon. In Euripides' Iphigenia at Aulis, it is Menelaus who convinces Agamemnon to heed the seer Calchas's advice. After Agamemnon sends a message to Clytemnestra informing her of Iphigenia's supposed marriage, he immediately regrets his decision and tries to send another letter telling them not to come. Menelaus intercepts the letter and he and Agamemnon argue. Menelaus insists that it is Agamemnon's duty to do all he can to aid the Greeks. Clytemnestra arrives at Aulis with Iphigenia and the infant Orestes. Agamemnon tries to convince Clytemnestra to go back to Argos, but Clytemnestra insists on staying for the wedding. When she sees Achilles, Clytemnestra mentions the marriage; Achilles, however, appears to be unaware of it, and she and Iphigenia gradually learn the truth. Achilles, angry that Agamemnon has used him in his plot, vows to help prevent the murder of Iphigenia. Iphigenia and Clytemnestra plead with Agamemnon to spare his daughter's life. Achilles informs them that the Greek army, eager for war, has learned of the seer's advice and now demand that Iphigenia be sacrificed. If Agamemnon refuses, it is likely they will turn on him and kill him and his family. Iphigenia, knowing she is doomed, decides to be sacrificed willingly, reasoning that as a mere mortal, she cannot go against the will of a goddess. She also believes that her death will be heroic, as it is for the good of all Greeks. Iphigenia exits, and the sacrifice takes place offstage. Later, Clytemnestra is told of her daughter's purported death, and how at the last moment, the gods spared Iphigenia and whisked her away, replacing her with a deer. Euripides' other play about Iphigenia, Iphigenia in Tauris, takes place after the sacrifice, and after Orestes has killed Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Apollo orders Orestes, to escape persecution by the Erinyes for killing his mother, Clytemnestra, and her lover, to go to Tauris. While in Tauris, Orestes is to carry off the xoanon of Artemis, which had fallen from heaven, and bring it to Athens.