Iphigenia's Ghost Reflects On Her Loss Poem by Dennis Ryan

"It's Greece for which I must sacrifice you..."
- Agamemnon speaking to his daughter Iphigenia in Euripide's Iphigenia in Aulis

I was betrayed, put to death in Aulis for what?
For favorable winds in an army's sails, a father's honor?
His sense of duty?Masculine pride on the inside?
Just as mother had suspected, the whole story proved a lie!
Cut off from myself, hopeless, isolated, ashamed, what was I to do?
Protest further in my own voice?No, my father's-
I spoke brave words to serve a male order, subordinated myself
in the struggle for power.I became, in their words, a shining example
for all Greek women to follow—"the woman who set Greece free."
Me?This the rationale for my sacrifice?Muthos.Myth.Story.
Faded glory—only an image to hold onto following my loss.