Iphigenia at Aulis is one of Euripides' most intriguing and challenging plays. It dramatises the myth of Iphigenia, the young virgin sacrificed by her father Agamemnon at the start of the expedition against Troy. Produced at the end of the Peloponnesian war, it explores the breakdown of social norms which turns Greeks against Greeks, men against women, and condemns young brides to death. Pantelis Michelakis examines the mythological, socio-political and institutional background, as well as the cultural, political, institutional, and theatrical contexts within which it was originally composed and performed.He highlights the main themes and major issues in modern criticism, and ends with an outline of its performance history and reception.

Pantelis Michelakis is Lecturer in Classics, University of Bristol. He is the author of 'Achilles in Greek Tragedy' , and co-editor of Homer, Tragedy and Beyond: essays in honour of P.E. Easterling (2001) and Agamemnon in Performance, 456BC - AD2004.