Iphigenia on Tauris

"In his Iphigenia on Tauris, Goethe has achieved the most admirable and beautiful thing possible in this respect." - Hegel, Lectures on Aesthetics

First completed in prose in 1779 and later rewritten in blank verse for its 1787 publication, Iphigenia on Tauris (Iphigenie auf Tauris) marks a turning point in Goethe’s development toward classical humanism. Written during his early years in Weimar and heavily revised after his Italian journey, the play reimagines the ancient Euripidean myth of Iphigenia—rescued from sacrifice and now serving as a priestess in Tauris—within a moral framework shaped by Enlightenment ideals of reason, dignity, and inner transformation. The transition from the original prose version to the final metrical form reflects Goethe’s increasing commitment to clarity, restraint, and the aesthetic standards of antiquity.

In Goethe’s version, Iphigenia stands between barbarism and civilization, caught between loyalty to her Greek origins and duty to the Scythian king Thoas, who demands her hand in exchange for clemency. When her brother Orestes arrives, tormented by guilt and still pursued by the Furies, the drama centers not on action but on moral decision: truth, trust, and persuasion take the place of trickery and violence. Iphigenia’s refusal to deceive Thoas, even to save herself and her brother, becomes the decisive gesture that restores order without bloodshed. By placing ethical speech at the heart of the play, Goethe crafts a drama in which humaneness replaces fate, and personal conscience triumphs over inherited conflict—an expression of classical ideals filtered through modern self-awareness.

This critical reader's edition offers a fresh, modern translation of the original manuscript in Fraktur (the old German script), designed to help any curious reader delve into Goethe's works, using clear, contemporary language and straightforward sentences to illuminate his complex ideas. It includes supplementary material providing autobiographical, historical, and linguistic context to this 18th century work- including an afterword by the translator discussing Goethe’s history, impact, and intellectual legacy, alongside an index of the philosophical concepts he explored—with a focus on Romanticism and Classicism. Included is a comprehensive chronological list of his published writings and a detailed timeline of his life, highlighting the personal relationships that profoundly influenced his philosophy.