Cronaca di una morte misteriosa. Variazioni sul mito di Ifigenia

The paper analyses two different mythical traditions related to the final moment of the sacrifice of Iphigenia, i.e. the death of the girl or her rescue by Artemis. The aim is to enquire wich of the two versions Euripides has chosen for the final of his drama Iphigenia in Aulis. The exodus of the tragedy when Iphigenia is substituted by a deer, has been considered spurious. For that reason, many scholars concluded that the drama ended with the death of the protagonist. However, the analysis of the mythic-ritual context and the dramatic plot can suggest that the safety of Iphigenia was the true conclusion.