Iphigenia In Aulis Questions PDF

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This document contains answers to questions for the ancient Greek story/ play "Iphigenia In Aulis" by Euripides....

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Iphigenia In Aulis Questions HUMN115 Troy and the Trojan War 1: This is a play where people change their minds. Who does so and what are their reasons? One character who changes their mind in this play is Agamemnon. He feels sorrow regarding the fact that he sent a letter to his wife telling her that Iphigenia would be wed to Achillies. The reason he sent this letter in actuality is because he was planning on sacrificing Iphignia to the goddess Artemis. Due to the guilt Agamenon is feeling, he sends a second letter to his wife telling her the wedding the wedding would be postponed; that way his daughter would not come to meet her death. Another character who comes to change their mind in Agamenons brother, Menelaos. Menelaos changes how he views his relationship with Agamenon and how he views him. He changes his opinion because he feels solemn that his brother is sacrificing his own daughter in order to get his wife back. Menelaos’ change of heart can be seen when he says, “It is unjust that your children should die while mine still enjoy the sunlight.” (Euripides, 480) 2: Why does Menelaos push Agamemnon into sacrificing his own daughter (Iphigenia)? Give the reasons that convince Agamemnon to do so. Menelaos pushes Agamemnon into sacrificing his own daughter because the prophet Calchas predicted that the only way to be victorious against Troy and Menelaus was by sacrificing Iphegnia. Another reason why Agamemnon goes through with planning to sacrifice his daughter is because Odyssues knows about the plan and also has the Greek army on his side. In turn, Agamemnon is scared that if he doesn’t follow through with his plan, Odysseus will tell the army and both Agamemnon and Iphegnia will be killed. 3: What are Achilles reasons to back off protecting Iphigenia? What do you think of his actions? Achilles decides to back off protecting Iphigenia because she doesn’t want to be protected; she wants to be sacrificed. Achilles' reaction to her request of not being protected is to comply. This can be seen when he says, “No, Iphigeneia! You are; indeed, a noble soul and you leave me speechless and unable to argue against your views. The decision is yours and it is a brave one, I admit that.” (Euripides, 1421) 4: Is Acilles behavior honorable or is he just being a “gentleman” protecting the damsel in distress? Explain your reasoning. I find that Achilles is a “gentleman.” This is because his intentions were mostly focused on protecting his own name and honor. He was willing to marry Iphignia so she wouldn’t be sacrificed but the sole reason he was willing to marry her was to defend his name. He later turns into someone who is trying to protect the damsel in distress by wanting to marry her without being told he has to. This is shown when he says, “You are indeed a brave, noble person, Iphigeneia and for that reason I want you to be my wife. I want to marry you, to take you to my home and to protect you. I swear by my mother, the goddess Thetis, that I shall fight the Greeks to save you!” I believe he is solely offering that only to make himself feel like a hero and to make himself feel brave, not to save Iphignias life for the right reasons.

5: List the reasons Iphignia gives to go quietly to be sacrificed. Do you agree with her? Explain your reasons. One reason Iphegina decides to go quietly is because she believes there is no escaping her sacrifice. So, instead of a fight she will go holding her head high. This is backed up when she states, “It’s obvious that there’s no escaping my death; so now, I want to die nobly.” (Euripides 1380) Another reason she decides to be sacrificed is because she believes that the fate of the expedition to Troy and the future of Greek women depends on her. If she is sacrificed she thinks she will go down as a hero; people will talk about how she saved Greece. Lastly, she doesn’t believe she is worth enough for her life to be fought over....