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Menelaos
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 the context of Iphigeneia at Aulis Achilles is a relatively inexperienced young warrior who hasn’t yet come into his own. The son of the beautiful water nymph Thetis and the powerful king Peleus, Achilles was dipped in the River Styx as a child and granted virtual invincibility. The only part of his body that is not protected by the river’s power is his heel. Achilles is presented as a noble youth with a strong moral center who is disgusted when he learns that Agamemnon has brought Iphigeneia to Aulis to be sacrificed under false pretenses: Agamemnon lies to Iphigeneia and Clytemnestra that he’s arranged a marriage between Iphigeneia and Achilles. Achilles, however, represents the play’s calm moral center as he chooses not to overreact to the humiliation. He is a foil to Menelaos, who has overreacted to his own dishonor by rallying all of Greece’s armies to sail on Troy in pursuit of his wife, Helen. Instead, Achilles calmly tries to find a solution to the mess Agamemnon has created. Achilles nobly declares his intent to protect Iphigeneia from her father up until his very last breath, defending her as if she truly were his bride—but Iphigeneia eventually decides that she actually wants to offer herself up as a sacrifice so that Greece might come to glory in the war. Achilles begs Iphigeneia—with whom he has become infatuated—to come to her senses and fight for her life, but when she remains firm in her resolve, Achilles admits he admires her dedication to her country. Nonetheless, he offers to accompany her up to the sacrificial altar and he lets her know that if she changes her mind, he will defend her even at the moment the knife is brought to her throat. Gentle, kind, and levelheaded, the Achilles of Iphigeneia at Aulis offers an alternative view of the proud, fierce warrior represented in other stories of the Trojan War.
Achilles Quotes in Iphigenia at Aulis
The Iphigenia at Aulis quotes below are all either spoken by Achilles or refer to Achilles. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Iphigeneia at Aulis
Quotes
ACHILLES: It is not the same for all of us
having to wait here
by the straits. Some of us,
who have no wives, sit here by the shore, having left
empty houses at home. Others, who are married,
still have no children.
Such is the frenzy that has seized Greece
for this war,
not without the consent of the gods.
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CLYTEMNESTRA: Son of a goddess, I, a mortal,
am not ashamed to clasp your knees. What good
would pride do me now? What matters more to me
than my daughter's life?
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ACHILLES: Pride rises up in me
and draws me on. But I have learned
to curb my grief in adversity, and my joy
in triumph.
Mortals who have learned this
can hope to live by reason.
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ACHILLES: I will be watching, in the right place.
You will not have to be stared at
hunting through the troops to find me. Do nothing
that would disgrace your fathers.
Tyndareos should not suffer shame.
He was a great man in Greece.
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CHORUS: But you, Iphigeneia, on your
lovely hair the Argives will set
a wreath, as on the brows
of a spotted heifer, led down
from caves in the mountains
to the sacrifice,
and the knife will open the throat
and let the blood of a girl.
And you were not
brought up to the sound of the shepherd's pipe
and the cries of the herdsmen,
but nurtured by your mother
to be a bride for one of great Inachos’ sons.
Oh where is the noble face
of modesty, or the strength of virtue, now
that blasphemy is in power
and men have put justice
behind them, and there is no law but lawlessness,
and none join in fear of the gods?
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IPHIGENEIA: If it means that one man can see the sunlight
what are the lives of thousands of women
in the balance? And if Artemis
demands the offering of my body,
I am a mortal: who am I
to oppose the goddess? It is not to be
considered. I give my life to Greece.
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Achilles Quotes in Iphigenia at Aulis
The Iphigenia at Aulis quotes below are all either spoken by Achilles or refer to Achilles. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Iphigeneia at Aulis
Quotes
ACHILLES: It is not the same for all of us
having to wait here
by the straits. Some of us,
who have no wives, sit here by the shore, having left
empty houses at home. Others, who are married,
still have no children.
Such is the frenzy that has seized Greece
for this war,
not without the consent of the gods.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
CLYTEMNESTRA: Son of a goddess, I, a mortal,
am not ashamed to clasp your knees. What good
would pride do me now? What matters more to me
than my daughter's life?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
ACHILLES: Pride rises up in me
and draws me on. But I have learned
to curb my grief in adversity, and my joy
in triumph.
Mortals who have learned this
can hope to live by reason.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
ACHILLES: I will be watching, in the right place.
You will not have to be stared at
hunting through the troops to find me. Do nothing
that would disgrace your fathers.
Tyndareos should not suffer shame.
He was a great man in Greece.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
CHORUS: But you, Iphigeneia, on your
lovely hair the Argives will set
a wreath, as on the brows
of a spotted heifer, led down
from caves in the mountains
to the sacrifice,
and the knife will open the throat
and let the blood of a girl.
And you were not
brought up to the sound of the shepherd's pipe
and the cries of the herdsmen,
but nurtured by your mother
to be a bride for one of great Inachos’ sons.
Oh where is the noble face
of modesty, or the strength of virtue, now
that blasphemy is in power
and men have put justice
behind them, and there is no law but lawlessness,
and none join in fear of the gods?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
IPHIGENEIA: If it means that one man can see the sunlight
what are the lives of thousands of women
in the balance? And if Artemis
demands the offering of my body,
I am a mortal: who am I
to oppose the goddess? It is not to be
considered. I give my life to Greece.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
