In the Iliad,Homer, Iliad 9.155 & 287 Iphianassa (; ) is an obscure and controversial daughter of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra, sister to LaodiceThis Laodice might or might not be the same figure as Electra, and therefore poses a problem parallel to that of Iphianassa : Iphigeneia and Chrysothemis, sometimes considered identical to Iphigenia."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. For discussion of "Iphianassa" in Homer, see Porter, Andrew. 2017. Agamemnon the Pathetic Despot. Pp. 110, 196.
Mythology Iphianassa is mentioned in Book 9 of the Iliad, although unlike later descriptions of Iphigenia she is implied to be living; when Agamemnon attempts to entice Achilles back into his army with promises of riches and women, he includes arranging the marriage of Achilles to one of his three daughters.Homer, Iliad 9.145.Friedrich Solmsen, "The Sacrifice of Agamemnon's Daughter in Hesiod's' Ehoeae", The American Journal of Philology 102:4 (Winter 1981), p. 353.
Extant plays by 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 Iphigenia 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.Sophocles, Electra 158
Lucretius, in De Rerum Natura, mentions Iphianassa being sacrificed by her father on the altar of the "Virgin of the Crossways" (Triviai virginis) DianaRoman Artemis, but compare Hecate. at Aulis as an offering to ensure a successful voyage, in undoubted reference to the tradition of Iphigenia. Lucretius cited this episode to make the point: "Superstition (religio) was able to induce so great an evil."Lucretius, De Rerum Natura 1.84-101
Notes
References Homer, The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. . Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Homer, Homeri Opera in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920. . Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library. Agamemnon the Pathetic Despot by Dr. Andrew Porter. Harvard (CHS) Pp. 110-196. Sophocles, The Electra of Sophocles edited with introduction and notes by Sir Richard Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1893. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Sophocles, Sophocles. Vol 2: Ajax. Electra. Trachiniae. Philoctetes with an English translation by F. Storr. The Loeb classical library, 21. Francis Storr. London; New York. William Heinemann Ltd.; The Macmillan Company. 1913. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Further reading Bartelink, Dr. G.J.M. (1988). Prisma van de mythologie. Utrecht: Het Spectrum.