Dreams and Tragedy. The Problem of Predictions in Euripides' Iphigenia in Tauris

Abstract

In the Iphigenia in Tauris the heroine wishes to avert her dream, although she misinterprets it, then comes to ignore it. The dream is to be contradicted by events, yet is, at the same time, fulfilled ironically, albeit incompletely. The tragedy challenges the assertion of dreams as predictions in ancient Greek religion and literature, and eventually stresses the unpredictability of the human condition. Responding to the sensitivity of Athenians on religious matters since the beginning of the Sicilian expedition, Euripides' play shows that the meaning of dreams, oracles and rituals is determined strictly by the way in which people use them.