Isaac sacrifice vs. Iphigenia
Most of us are familiar with the story of Abraham and Isaac from the bible. In contrast, many may not be acquainted with the Greek myth of Agamemnon. This is the brief recap of the two stories: in the old testament of the bible, God commands Abraham to sacrifice his only son that he got at an older age after God had promised him. It is a paradox story in that the same God who blessed Abraham and Sarah with the child is the same God that wants Abraham to sacrifice Isaac his child. Abraham obeys God but in the process God stopped him to do so and substitute Isaac with a ram.
Greek myth of Agamemnon, there story is just the same as that of Abraham’s. Agamemnon was commanded by Zeus to go and fight in a war, there, horrible winds occurred that could not enable him to travel by ship. The only way the wind could stop is through sacrifice. The Artemis commanded Agamemnon to sacrifice Iphigenia his daughter. At the end Artemis appeared and snatched Iphigenia replaced her with a deer. After reading the two stories the author of this paper would like to highlight some of the similarities and differences portrayed in them.
The biblical and the Greek myth stories hold many similarities, Both Isaac and Iphigenia were to be sacrificed by their own fathers but finally they escaped the sacrifice through substitution by animals which were brought in the scene by the same people who ordered the sacrifice (God and Artemis respectively)(Hayward 293). The ethical implications in these cases were the same with almost same moral results. Obedience became the subject of the matter that was seen in both cases. Abraham obeyed God while Agamemnon obeyed Artemis. However, there are two different stories of Iphigenia, both says how she was sacrificed to Artemies. One story is more fortunate than the other story. One story says she was replaced by a deer and the other one says she was replaced by a deer.
The unfortunate story of Iphigenia ends as she comes to her father in her wedding clothing and finally was led out of the wood with Agamemnon and some of his men. While the fortunate story ends with happiness. After knowing why she has to die, she accepts this fate, as she knows she is doing a great duty for Greece in saving a thousand of people’s lives.
The fathers in both cases were great patriarchs in their respective traditions. Agamemnon is the great son of Atreus house while Abraham is the first biblical patriarch. They play an important role in the sacrificial movements. Abraham was promised that if he does this sacrifice he would bring blessings to the nations under the sun. His role was not different with that of Agamemnon of bringing the house of Atreus to justice after along injustice through winning the war. “The House of Atreus has always been a cursed bloodline and the blood of one of the family calls for the blood of another. The House of Atreus eats itself up from the inside with bloody vengeance and grim justice (Hayward 290).”
Both of the children had no information about the sacrifice. Isaac kept on asking his father about the lamb. He asked Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? “Abraham responded simply, “God will provide himself a lamb for the burnt offering (Calvin 265). Both Isaac and Iphigenia were deceived by their parents. Additionally, although the parents were obedient to follow the orders, both of them were tormented. Agamemnon says he was out of his mind and even says that he is in the verge of collapsing. Abraham on the other hand wondered why God wants him to sacrifice the only son He gave to him.
Both of the parents, also known as great leaders of men were put in difficult situations. The sacrifices were great test to them. One is tested on how he handles the conflict between the nation and the family issues or in this case when the promises and commands from the same God appear incompatible. Both of them were either to fail or to gain greatness.
Conversely, there are also differences in these two stories. First, while both children were saved by the animals, Isaac place of sacrifice was not revealed. He kept on getting instruction from God to where he was heading to until he reached the place. Abraham travelled with Isaac alone while the servants were left behind. This means that his sacrifice was private unlike to Iphigenia’s which was public and politically pushed. On the same note, Isaac’s sacrifice concerned only God and the people he commanded while Iphigenia’s was motivated under political grounds (Cohen 54).
In the case of Agamemnon, there was something to be gained after killing the daughter. Contrary to Abraham, there was no gain. “What made God’s command so incongruous is that Isaac was the promised seed, the product of a miraculous conception. All of Abraham’s future children were to come from this son. It did not make sense by any stretch of the imagination for God to ask Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, to take his life, to literally cut the lifeline that would be the channel through whom God had said He would carry out His promise”. (Cohen 58) this justifies that he only obeyed God’s command and nothing was to be gotten out of it
Sacrifice of Isaac according to the bible is a test of faith, while Iphigenia’s sacrifice is like removing a block in the path of success. Artemies told Agamemnon that if he does not kill the daughter then they will tear her apart since she is blocking the path to defeat (Calvin 250). This means that, Agamemnon is burdened by pressure from political grounds while Abraham works for the faith. Abrahams was only answerable to God while undertaking his actions while Agamemnon was answerable to his wife, army, divinities as well as his people.
The life of Isaac and Iphigenia also continued to be differently distinctive even after escaping the sacrifices. Iphigenia later in life became priestess who was killing barbarian worshipers (Hayward 295). On the hand, Isaac grew like his father to be the second patriarch in the bible where a lot of his stories are told. He marries a wife and lives with his two children unlike Agamemnon’s daughter who did not marry. Finally, the sacrifice of Iphigenia happened at Aeschelus’ Orestaia while that of Isaac happened at Mount Moriah.
In conclusion, Abraham, Isaac story has substantive contrasts and comparison to that of Greek myth of Agamemnon. In comparison both of the children were to be sacrificed by their own father and were saved by the animals. Again, in both cases, the parents were patriarch in respective traditions and were involve in difficult situations. Finally, the children did not know about the sacrifice hence were deceived by their parents. In contrast, Isaac place of sacrifice was not revealed until that point was reached while Iphigenia’s place was known. Isaacs’s case was private while Iphigenia’s was public at Aeschelus’ Orestaia. In Agamemnon’s case, it was pressure from people while it was a test for faith in Abraham’s story. Agamemnon’s had something to gain for killing her daughter while Abraham had absolutely nothing gain. Isaacs’s life became more catastrophic than Iphigenia’s life after they escape sacrifice.
Work Cited
Calvin, John. Genesis. Calvin’s Commentaries. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,( 2010):250-260
Cohen, Ted. "CHAPTER FIVE: More From The Bible: Abraham And God." Thinking of Others. 53. n.p.: 2008.
Hayward, C.T.R. "The Sacrifice Of Isaac And Jewish Polemic Against Christianity." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 52.2 (2011): 292-298
