Editing Iphigenia (section)

===Among the Taurians===
[[File:Salle de Diane (Louvre) - Oreste et Iphigénie enlevant la statue de Diane Taurique.jpg|thumb|right|Orestes and Iphigéneia stealing the statue of Diana [[Tauri]]a]]
The people of [[Taurica|Tauris/Taurica]] facing the [[Euxine Sea]]<ref>[[Taurica]] (Greek: Ταυρίς, Ταυρίδα, Latin: Taurica) also known as the Tauric Chersonese and Chersonesus Taurica, was the name of [[Crimea]] in Antiquity.</ref> worshipped the maiden goddess Artemis. Some very early Greek sources in the [[Epic Cycle]] affirmed that Artemis rescued Iphigenia from the human sacrifice her father was about to perform, for instance in the lost epic ''[[Cypria]]'', which survives in a summary by [[Proclus]]:<ref>''Epicorum Graecorum Fragmenta'', ed. G. Kinkel, p. 19</ref> "Artemis ... snatched her away and transported her to the Tauroi, making her immortal, and put a stag in place of the girl [Iphigenia] upon the altar." The goddess swept the young princess off to Tauris where she became a priestess at the Temple of Artemis.

The earliest known accounts of the purported death of Iphigenia are included in Euripides's ''[[Iphigenia at Aulis]]'' and ''[[Iphigenia in Tauris]]'', both Athenian tragedies of the fifth century BC set in the Heroic Age. In the dramatist's version, the Taurians worshipped both Artemis and Iphigenia in the Temple of Artemis at Tauris. Other variants include her being rescued at her sacrifice by Artemis and transformed into the goddess [[Hecate]].<ref>''Hesiod, The Catalogues'', TRANS. by H. G. Evelyn-White, fragment 71</ref> Another example includes Iphigenia's brother, Orestes, discovering her identity and helping him steal an image of Artemis.<ref>Euripides, Iphigenia in Tauris</ref> Possible reasons for key discrepancies in the telling of the myth by playwrights such as Euripides are to make the story more palatable for audiences and to allow sequels using the same characters.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}

Many traditions arose from the sacrifice of Iphigenia. One prominent version is credited to the Spartans. Rather than sacrificing virgins, they would whip a male victim in front of a sacred image of Artemis. However, most tributes to Artemis inspired by the sacrifice were more traditional. Taurians especially performed sacrifices of bulls and virgins in honour of Artemis.<ref>Robert Graves, The Greek Myths, London: Penguin, 1955; Baltimore: Penguin pp. 73–75: "Iphigenia Among the Taurians"</ref>