S10E5 - Troy Story: Iphigenia LIVES

stories featured in Greaking Out are original adaptations of classic Greek myths.

This week's story features siblings, human sacrifice, an excessive amount of revenge murder, an Achilles cameo, and two-part episodes.

I bet a lot of you listening have siblings or cousins that you spend a lot of time with, no matter how often you fight.

And I know you do fight sometimes, but in the end, siblings are friends you get for life.

Am I right?

Well, in this episode, we're headed back to ancient Greece to talk a little bit more about some sibling relationships and some characters from one of the most popular stories in Greek mythology, the Trojan War.

We dedicated most of the sixth season to discussing the Trojan War.

Yeah, we did, Oracle.

And in one of those episodes, we introduced the star of today's episode, Iphigenia.

Iphigenia appeared in the episode, Rallying the Troops.

Right, and she has kind of a sad story.

Now, like the Oracle said, we go into great detail about how the Trojan War got started back in season six, but today's story is going to pick up right when the Greek soldiers were ready to set sail and head to Troy to start the war.

Picture this.

King Agamemnon is ready.

He's been

Agamemnon was the brother of Menelaus and the husband of Clytemnestra, Helen's fraternal twin sister.

He was the one who was leading the Greeks into battle against Troy.

Yes, and Agamemnon had been building his army for months.

He had recruited the best of the best.

He even managed to get both Odysseus and Achilles to join the fight through various methods.

The entire fleet of ships was filled with the greatest heroes the world had ever seen.

Everybody was ready to go to Troy, kick some Trojan butt, and rescue Queen Helen from that whiny Prince Paris.

The sun was shining, the ocean was sparkling, the ships were ready to sail.

There was just

one tiny problem.

There was no wind.

Right.

None.

Nada.

Zip.

Zero.

No wind to be found.

And the ships couldn't sail without wind.

Wind is defined as the movement of air.

It is created by the uneven heating of the Earth by the sun.

and is also affected by Earth's rotation.

That's true, Oracle.

But remember, at the time, people didn't really understand the intricacies of weather patterns.

They didn't have their five o'clock meteorologist.

Instead, they relied on the gods.

And when the weather didn't cooperate, they believed that they had somehow managed to anger the gods.

And that's exactly what happened here.

I must have done something wrong, Agamemnon said.

I have to find a way to get on the gods' good side, or we're going to lose this war before it even starts.

Agamemnon decided to ask an oracle for help, but the advice he received was a little disturbing.

Artemis was angry that Agamemnon had killed one of her sacred deer.

And because she had a close relationship with her twin brother Apollo, she used his power to slow the winds and trap the Greeks on shore.

This oracle said there was only one way to make amends.

Agamemnon had to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia.

Now, if you're thinking this is a particularly harsh demand from Artemis, you are right.

And we don't know if Agamemnon would have gone through with it on his own, but now that everybody was so riled up for war,

one death seemed like nothing compared to what they were all prepared to do.

I am not going to let Agamemnon off the hook so easily.

He was in charge.

He could have said no.

This is not an Agamemnon Apologist podcast.

Okay, okay, that's fair.

That is fair, Oracle.

In different versions of this story, Agamemnon has various feelings about this, ranging from totally uncaring to completely devastated, but at the end of the day, he still goes through with it, or lets it happen, depending upon how you look at it.

This story could be about the difficulty of ignoring calls to war once they have been made.

Even if, as an individual, you can tell that it is wrong.

Yes, and of course, Agamemnon stands to gain a lot from a successful war.

The wealth of Troy was famous throughout the ancient world.

With the army he'd assembled, Agamemnon believed that wealth could be his.

Lots of reasons, none of them good.

Exactly.

Well, however he feels about it, Agamemnon hatches a plan.

He writes a letter telling his wife Clytemnestra that Iphigenia is going to be married to the warrior Achilles and that she should be sent to the army encampment.

No need to come yourself, though, my dearest wife, he wrote.

It's really going to be no big deal, not worth you making the trip, really.

Also, he adds, you don't need to discuss or even mention this to Achilles.

It's totally no big deal.

But of course, Clytemnestra wants to see the wedding of her eldest daughter, so she arrives in camp with Iphigenia and her small son Orestes in tow.

Oh, you all came, Agamemnon said upon seeing them.

That's so great.

I'm so happy.

Even though Agamemnon was determined, killing his daughter in front of his wife was going to be very difficult.

To add to this comedy of errors, Achilles runs into Clytemnestra around camp and is very confused when she starts talking about the wedding.

Who is getting married?

I'm getting married.

And that's when the whole thing comes out.

There's no more hiding that Agamemnon has lured Iphigenia there to die.

Human sacrifice for religious purposes has been documented all over the world, from ancient Egypt to ancient China and ancient Maya to ancient Rome.

Fun facts about human sacrifice.

That's what we do here.

Continue with the story.

Okay, anyway.

So, Clytemnestra is furious.

Iphigenia is devastated and totally freaked out.

And Achilles is genuinely baffled that anyone would treat their own children like this.

And also, Achilles has to be at least a little mad that Agamemnon used his name to kick off all of these shenanigans in the first place.

You don't have to do this, Iphigenia, said Achilles.

If you want to leave, I will defend you against anyone who will try to make you stay.

But Iphigenia was smart and she could see the writing on the wall.

There was no actual writing on the wall.

They were probably in a tent.

Writing on the wall just means something that is obvious to everyone.

Yes, well, exactly.

Thank you, Oracle.

And the thing that was obvious to everyone in this case was that Iphigenia had to sacrifice her life for the good of of the Greeks.

I do not think that is the lesson here.

Well, I don't either, to be honest, but the ancient Greeks valued courage and sacrifice, and Iphigenia was really embodying those traits here.

She wasn't just Agamemnon's daughter.

In a way, she was a daughter of the Greeks, and she would support their cause.

So, in the end, Iphigenia went to her death willingly.

She asked her mother to take little Orestes and stay in the camp while she was brought to the temple for the sacrifice.

Now, in most versions, that's the end of the story.

But

that's kind of depressing and way less fun than the version we're going to go with, in which Iphigenia meant to sacrifice herself, but at the last second, as the knife was coming for her,

she disappeared.

In this version of the story, the goddess Artemis saved Iphigenia at the very last moment.

Right.

And that, you know, changes everything.

Instead of Iphigenia's life ending, it continues.

What if

we took a break?

Yeah, just hear me out on this.

We're just going to take a small pause.

I'm going to get some water.

You can talk amongst yourselves.

And then when we get back, we'll keep going with the story.

I think this is a good spot for that.

Hey there.

Do you ever wonder what would happen if Cinderella started her own rock band or if Medusa realized just how cool her hair was?

Well, there's a Webby award-winning show called Girl Tales that takes classic stories and puts a unique twist on them, giving girls the chance to save the day, use their intelligence and bravery, and show that they can be the heroes of their own stories.

If you are ready for an adventure, find Girl Tales wherever you get your podcasts.

Okay, I feel better.

Yes, thanks for the break.

We're back with more Greaking Out.

Now, naturally, Iphigenia was kind of confused.

One second, she was about to be used as a human sacrifice, and the next, she was in a pretty stand of trees with a rather fierce-looking goddess staring down at her.

Where am I?

Am I dead?

If you are dead, then I am not a very good goddess.

You're a goddess?

Yes, I am Artemis.

Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, and vegetation.

On the flip side, she is also the goddess of the care of children.

When Iphigenia realized who she was talking to, she fell to her knees.

I am honored to be in your presence.

Did you

save you from being your father's human sacrifice?

Yes.

Yes, I did.

I figured there was no way he'd sacrifice his own flesh and blood, but I suppose even I underestimated his determination.

Does my father know I'm alive?

Iphigenia asked, trying to take it all in.

If he does, he's much smarter than I give him credit for, Artemis replied.

Iphigenia just stared.

She definitely didn't know what to think.

He thinks you're dead, Iphigenia.

They all do.

It's a goddess thing, don't question it.

But lucky for you, you are very much alive.

Well, what am I going to do now?

Iphigenia asked.

I thought you'd never ask.

Artemis explained that Iphigenia was near the region of Taurus, home of the Taurian people.

Taurus was located in what is now known as Crimea on a mountainous peninsula.

Right, and Artemis had a very important job for Iphigenia here in Taurus.

I need someone to serve as my priestess here, and you look like just the former human sacrifice for the job.

Iphigenia resigned herself because, well, really, what choice did she have?

Artemis had saved her life, and anyway, it's not like she was going to hike back home to a father who tried to kill her.

Working as a priestess sounded like as good a plan as any.

Priestesses were responsible for maintaining the temples where they led rituals and made offerings to the gods on behalf of her community, including sacrifices.

Yeah, no word on how she felt about being in charge of sacrifices when she herself had been a sacrifice, but anyway, Iphigenia accepted her post and stayed there in Taurus for a long time, like a really long time.

When the Trojan War finally ended, Iphigenia was still there doing her priestess duties.

She had a nice life in Taurus, but she missed her family, especially her two siblings.

In addition to her brother, Orestes, Iphigenia also had a sister named Elektra.

Yes, indeed, and if those names sound familiar, that's because we've talked about them before.

We talk about Orestes and Electra in our Curse of the House of Atreus episode.

Yeah, yeah, it's a really great but slightly depressing episode.

You should check it out.

But in the meantime, we'll do a speed through of the story, okay?

So after the Trojan War was over, Agamemnon comes back home to where his wife Clytemnestra and his remaining children are waiting for him.

Obviously, Clytemnestra is still pretty upset about the whole human sacrifice thing, so she decides to get revenge by killing Agamemnon in his sleep when he returns from Troy.

When Electra and Orestes hear about this, they're totally heartbroken and they're told by Apollo that the only way they could avenge their father was for Orestes to kill Plytemnestra, his mother.

Since this is the second mention of murder in less than five seconds, I feel obligated to point out that killing is bad in any and all situations.

Here at Greaking Out, We advocate for effective communication, not murder.

Thank you, Oracle.

Always good to clear that up.

Yeah, the conflict resolution skills in this family are not good, to say the least.

And longtime listeners will know it's not entirely their fault, though.

I mean, their family was under a curse and everything.

But anyway, Orestes ultimately stood trial for his crime, and through a suspicious legal system, it was determined that he actually did the right thing.

Which, again, I don't completely agree with.

This is not a pro-murder podcast.

No, it is not.

Murder is still a big no-no, but Apollo told him to do it.

And so maybe Apollo felt the need to make things right.

In fact, Apollo acted as his representation in the trial.

Orestes' lawyer, if you will, throughout the whole thing.

So after this whole ordeal, Orestes had lost the right to inherit his father's throne.

That's not really true.

Okay, all right, fine.

To be more precise, Orestes faked his own death so he could sneak up on Clytemnestra and the man who had taken his father's throne, so now everyone thought he was dead and therefore couldn't inherit the kingdom.

Precise language is important in all aspects of communication.

Thanks.

I'll remember that.

Orestes had to appeal to his divine connections to help him get the throne back.

Bright Apollo, you have advised me in the past.

Now I'm trying to regain my throne.

What can I do to win your favor?

Well, maybe Apollo felt bad for Orestes after everything he'd been through, but he couldn't just give the guy back the throne without righting a few wrongs.

Apollo, after all, was a fan of siblings, being a sibling himself.

I will help you,

but only if you bring me the sacred statue of the goddess Artemis.

MacGuffin is a word for an object in a story that is not really important,

but that drives the plot.

Other famous MacGuffins include the Golden Fleece, the Holy Grail, and the One Ring.

The sacred statue of Artemis?

Why?

You have to prove yourself capable enough or lucky enough to be a king.

By stealing a holy artifact from a guarded temple, you will show what you are really made of, Apollo said.

Okay, I understand, Apollo, sir.

Just one question.

Where exactly is the sacred statue of Artemis?

It is in a little place called Taurus.

Taurus is the city where Iphigenia was serving as the priestess to Artemis.

Yeah,

now you see how it's all coming together now.

Apollo is cooking up a scheme to help a couple couple of long-lost siblings.

A recent study shows that you spend more time with your siblings than anyone else.

By the time you are 11, you are likely spending around 33%

of your time with your sibling.

Yeah, brothers and sisters are worth going the extra mile for, even if you don't always get along.

Anyway, Orestes agreed to go to find this holy macguffin as it was the only way to secure his kingship the very next day he set sail for taurus eager to get the statue and reclaim his throne this is another cliffhanger you are now suspended yep sorry about that but we gotta leave you hanging again this episode is over and next week we will see what happens to these siblings dealing with the aftermath of the trojan war Greaking Out!

That's it for today.

Come back next episode for the rest of the story.

Greaking Out, Gods and Heroes, amazing feats.

Listen and you'll see it Greaking

Out.

National Geographic Kids Greaking Out is written by Jillian Hughes and Kenny Curtis and hosted by Kenny Curtis.

With Tori Kerr as the Oracle of Wi-Fi, audio production and sound design by Scotty Beam, and our theme song was composed by Perry Gripp.

Dr.

Meredith Saffron is our subject matter expert, Emily Burquette and Laurie Broda are our producers, and Emily Everhart is our senior producer.