Instances of Death in Greek Tragedy

Book excerpt: In some versions of the myth, Iphigenia was due to be immolated by her father on Artemis’ altar before the beginning of the Trojan War, but was replaced by the goddess with a deer, at the last moment. This is the most staggering, and perhaps best-known, rite of sacrifice in Greek tragedy. Perfectly symmetrical, the end of this war is marked by another human tribute, Polyxena. Some of the topics investigated in this volume include whether these sacrifices, as well as similar ones such as those of Macaria and Menoeceus, the husbands of the Danaides, the hero Pentheus, and Aegisthus, are all a way to balance things out, or whether they cause an even greater unbalance.