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Turkey/ Greece: ‘The Sacrifice of Iphigenia’—a 1671 oil painting by Jan Havicksz Steen.

Turkey/ Greece: ‘The Sacrifice of Iphigenia’—a 1671 oil painting by Jan Havicksz Steen.

In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the king of Mycenae, or Argos. He and his brother Menelaus were also known as 'Atrides', the sons of Atreus. Agamemnon had four children by his wife Clytaemnestra. Menelaus was married to Clytaemnestra's sister, Helen. When Helen was abducted—or seduced—by the Trojan Paris, the result was the Trojan war. Agamemnon was a central player in the war as both commander of the Greek fleet and Helen's brother-in-law. In order to summon up winds to propel his ships, he was forced to sacrifice his daughter Iphigeneia to the goddess Artemis. This eventually led to his downfall. Clytaemnestra never forgave Agamemnon for the death of her daughter and took her revenge years later when he returned from Troy.

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