Iphigenia Cycle Outline

The Iphigenia Cycle Outline

By Steve Schrum</H4>

#l Iphigenia in Aulis (Euripides)

A) Set in 1957

B) Men dressed in military garb; women in "nice" clothes

C) They are preparing for war, but gods hold them back

D) Agamemnon's sacrifice of his own daughter allows them to go on

E) Society is very traditional; even Achilles is part of the military-industrial complex

#2 Agamemnon (Aeschylus)

A) Set in 1967

B) Chorus of businessmen

C) Return of the glorious war-hero who is then killed by his wife

#3 The Libation Bearers (Aeschylus)

A) Set in 1968

B) The young people are splitting off from their elders

C) The older people still wear "establishment" clothing

D) The young people are dressed in the beginnings of Haight-Ashbury "summer of love fashions

E) Is Orestes' vision of the Furies really a drug-induced hallucination?

#4 The Eumenides (Aeschylus)

A) Set in 1969

B) All is Easy Rider and Woodstock

C) Orestes, with the help of a god and a court of law, is brought back to safety

D) The Furies, a dark force unleashed by murder, are turned into helpers

#5 Iphigenia in Tauris (Euripides)

A) Set in 1970

B) Thoas is a cult figure, maybe a Jim Jones (Guyana) kind of guy

C) Orestes finds Iphigenia alive, and rescues her.

D) Order is finally restored to the House of Atreus