In The Iliad by Homer, Agamemnon upsets Artemis, which in result causes him and his men to be left stranded on an island with no wind to continue their journey. The only way to soothe the goddess's wrath is through Human Sacrifice, and not just any human, but the daughter of Agamemnon, Iphigenia. So as it happens, Iphigenia arrives to the island under the pretense of marrying Achilles. This doesn't happen, and she is instead sacrificed.
Guess what! She actually survives by the help of none other than...Artemis, who replaces the girl with...a deer! Later she has to flee to Tauris (today known as the Crimean Peninsula), where she is the priestess of Artemis and...has to sacrifice every foreigner who may set foot on the land. Things are going a-okay, until two foreigners set foot on the peninsula. Guess what! They are actually Orestes, the brother of Iphigenia, and his companion Pylades. Do you wonder what Orestes has been up to this time? Matricide, of course! A little backstory here: In The Oresteia, Clytaemnestra, the wife of Agamemnon murders him upon his return to Argos, after hearing the news of Iphigenia's murder (whoops...), oh and he also brought home a mistress who refuses to talk to Clytae. Orestes has been sent into exile some time before, and Electra, the only alive and well child of Agamemnon is basically imprisoned in the castle, so no one can take revenge on their father. In the second play of the trilogy, Orestes returns from exile with Pylades, meets Electra then later kills Clytaemnestra (and also her lover/husband's cousin, but he isn't really important). In the final play, The Furies (here referred to as the The Eumenides) chase Orestes into madness. In order to be saved, Apollo instructs Orestes to steal an image of Artemis which lays nowhere else than...Tauris!
This is where Euripides' drama picks up, and it was written sometimes between 414 BC and 412 BC.
Iphigenia in Tauris contains examples of:
- Actually, I Am Him: When Iphigenia tells the content of her letter to Pylades and the name of the receiver, Orestes reveals himself to be...Orestes.
- Arranged Marriage: Iphigenia was "supposed to" be married to Achilles. Orestes also gave the hand of his sister, Electra to Pylades.
- Author Tract: Against human sacrifice.
- Character Filibuster: Some characters go on with their monologue for ages, making the read of the play a bit menial.
- Deus ex Machina: Iphigenia is saved by the gods twice. First at Aulis before her sacrifice, then after fleeing Tauris.
- Happy Ending: Everyone has escaped from the clutches of the evil barbarians, they have the image of Artemis, the support of Athena, a place in Athens, no one of the trio had to die, and the long-lost siblings are reunited! Whoa.
- Human Sacrifice: Iphigenia is believed to have been sacrificed. She must also sacrifice any foreigner who steps foot on the peninsula.
- Locked Away in a Monastery: Iphigenia is exiled into Tauris where she has to be the virgin priestess of Artemis.
- MacGuffin: The image of Artemis (and the liberation which would follow) is the reason Orestes and Pylades are in Tauris.
- Matricide: Orestes killed his mother before the events of the play.
- No One Could Survive That!: Somehow Iphigenia and her brother survived escaping from Tauris, despite the Taurians believing that they will wash up dead.
- Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: Orestes' and Pylades' relationship could be (and was, by some Romans in later centuries) intrepreted this way, especially in this work.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Everyone back in Argos believes Iphigenia to be dead. She isn't.
- Sibling Murder: Subverted. This is what would have happened if Orestes didn't reveal himself to be Iphigenia's brother.
- Spared by the Adaptation: This is more of a fanfiction than adaptation of The Iliad and The Oresteia, but Iphigenia is still alive here while she isn't in former works.
- Targeted Human Sacrifice: Any Greek who arrives in Tauris must be sacrificed.
- Wedding Smashers: Subverted, sort of. Iphigenia was supposed to be killed on her marriage altar, unbeknownst to Achilles.
