Iphianassa

In Greek mythology, Iphianassa (/ˌɪfiəˈnæsə/; Ίφιάνασσα Īphianassa "strong queen") is a name that refers to several characters.

Daughter of Agamemnon

In the Iliad,^[1] Iphianassa is an obscure and controversial daughter of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra, sister to Laodice^[2] and Chrysothemis, sometimes considered identical to Iphigeneia.^[3]

Extant plays by Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides on the tale of Orestes and Electra do not include her as a character. This is consistent with the theory that she and Iphigeneia are one and the same. On the other hand, Sophocles does mention her, and hints that she lives in the palace of Aegisthus and Clytemnestra, together with Electra and Chrysothemis.^[4]

Lucretius, in De Rerum Natura, mentions Iphianassa being sacrificed by her father on the altar of the "Virgin of the Crossways" (Triviai virginis) Diana^[5] at Aulis as an offering to ensure a successful voyage, in undoubted reference to the tradition of Iphigeneia. Lucretius cited this episode to make the point: "Superstition (religio) was able to induce so great an evil."^[6]

Other characters

Iphianassa also refers to:

• One of the Nereids.^[7]
• The consort of Endymion,^[8][9] who is otherwise known as Asterodia, Chromia, Hyperippe or a nameless Naiad nymph.^[10][11]
• One of the three maenadic daughters of Argive Proetus by Stheneboea who were purified of their madness by Melampus. Iphianassa eventually married Melampus.^[12][13][14]
• Mother of Menalces by Medon of Cilla. Her son was killed by Neoptolemus.^[15]

Notes

1. Homer, Iliad, 9. 155, 287
2. This Laodice might or might not be the same figure as Electra, and therefore poses a problem parallel to that of Iphianassa : Iphigeneia
3. "An Iphianassa is listed as one of three daughters of Agamemnon and Clytemnaestra, but there is significant ambiguity as to Iphianassa's relation to or identity with Iphigeneia": Mary B. Hollinshead, "Against Iphigeneia's Adyton in Three Mainland Temples", American Journal of Archaeology, 89 1985:419ff.
4. Sophocles, Electra, 158
5. Roman Artemis, but compare Hecate.
6. Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, i, 84-101.
7. Lucian, Dialogues of the Sea-Gods, 14
8. Bibliotheca 1. 7. 6
9. Robert Graves, The Greek Myths 1960, 64a.
10. Pausanias, Description of Greece, 5. 1. 4
11. William Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, v. 2, page 16, under Endymion
12. Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. 2. 2
13. Servius on Virgil, Eclogue 6, 48
14. Graves 1960,72.g, j, k.
15. Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy, 8. 295 - 297