Winds of Fate
The wind plays a major role in the play. Because the wind has died to nothing, the Greek warriors cannot set sail for Troy. The wind is situated as a symbol of fate, but the ironic reality is that this “fate” is really just the fickle finger of a meddling mythological god:
“And if only Zeus had not breathed his contrary wind upon Euripus, this wind that stopped this expedition from leaving for Troy!...He sends all sorts of winds to sailors: winds to make them happy to lift their sails and plunge into the sea, winds to make them sad because they must furl their sails; and winds that make other sailors crazy because they’re forced to move too slowly.”
Daddy’s Thoughts
Much of the irony in this play is embedded in tragic fact that Iphigenia is not made aware of what is really going on. Thus, in their initial reunion, her failure to interpret the unusual moodiness of her father provokes some really quite cruel individual expressions of irony. For instance, the following example is profoundly ironic precisely because all daddy (Agamemnon) has been thinking about is Sophie’s Choice-esque decision he must make regarding his daughter’s life.
“Make your worries go away, daddy. From now on, think only of me.”
Achilles
Achilles alone tries to intervene to get Agamemnon to decide not to sacrifice Iphigenia. As well he might, considering that she has been promised to him as bride. For his actions, Achilles is set upon by the rest of the army who are all-in on avoiding the catastrophic consequences of protecting Iphigenia. Achilles will become known as the greatest of all the Greek warriors, so there is irony in the fact that not just his own soldiers turn upon him, but in the particular manner in which they add insult to this injury:
“They jeered at me! Called me slave to a wedding bed!”
The Final Irony
The final irony of the story is the ultimate. After all the hullaballoo about whether to sacrifice Iphigenia or risk the consequences of not doing so, Iphigenia is saved at the last second through the intrusion of Artemis. The goddess of the hunt replaces Iphigenia with a sacrificial stag and Iphigenia is whisked to safety in Taurus.
The Cruelest Irony
The cruelest irony in the play is contained within a short passage of dialogue between father and daughter in which Iphigenia is begging Agamemnon not to sail to Troy. It is an irony almost too sharp to withstand and so the conversation collapses upon itself from the heavy burden:
Agamemnon: Yes but first I must make a sacrifice here, in Aulis.
Iphigeneia: Of course. We must do what we must do, to please the gods.
Agamemnon: You’ll be able to see the sacrifice. You’ll be standing right there at the altar.
