Iphigenia in Tauris

Iphigenia in Tauris (German: Iphigenie auf Tauris) is a reworking by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe of the ancient Greek tragedy Ἰφιγένεια ἐν Ταύροις (Iphigeneia en Taurois) by Euripides. Euripides' title means "Iphigenia among the Taurians", whereas Goethe's title means "Iphigenia in Taurica", the country of the Tauri.


Goethe wrote the first version of his play in six weeks, and it was first performed on April 6, 1779, in prose form. He rewrote it in 1781, again in prose, and finally in 1786 in verse form. He took the manuscript of Iphigenia in Tauris with him on his famous Italian Journey.