Athena

The goddess Athena appears at the end of the play to order King Thoas not to pursue the fleeing Hellenes. She represents wisdom and the disciplined aspects (rather than the aggressive aspects) of war, and she announces that human sacrifice will no longer be practiced. She also announces that it will henceforth take a majority of votes to condemn a man for a crime. Finally she blesses the safe return of Orestes, Iphigenia, and Pylades. The goddess supports the interests of the Hellenes, nottheTaurians.

Chorus

The chorus consists of female attendants to Iphigenia. These are captured Greek women who occupy a lower social status than Iphigenia Their choral strophes comment upon and generalize the events of the play, transforming tragic events to moments of lyric beauty.

Herdsman

The herdsman is a messenger who supplies the part of the story concerning the capture of Orestes and Pylades by the...