Iphigenia at Aulis

[Flashcad]

Agamemnon’s sacrifice of his oldest daughter, Iphigenia, at the Boeotian port of Aulis prior to the Achaean fleet sailing for Troy.
This is an old diorama that’s been screaming out to be redone for a very long time now – looks like it's taking place in the middle of a swamp.
I’m finally getting very close to getting on with revamping both the diorama and certain of the figures.
Zeus is 80mm, Ares is 75mm and the rest are 54mm.



















Cheers

[Bluefalchion]

A lot to take in here. Your ability with female faces is exceptional. I also like the different sizes to show gods v. mortals. That Satyr in the background is ready to get the party started.

Is Achilles there? In some versions of the tale, Iphigenia was lured to the spot with a promise that she would be marrying the hero. Instead...

[Michael Robert]

Another one of your highly charged dios, Flashcad.
The satyre and nymphs could be a stand- alone dio. Also, you forgot to mention « slight nudity » )
It’s a feast
Michael

[Flashcad]

The figure carrying the green shield with the Lion of Mycenae design is Agamemnon.
To his right is his brother and King of Sparta, Menelaus.
The figure who looks like he's about to give Iphigenia the chop is Greater Ajax of Salamis; Lesser Ajax of Locris is at the back carrying a red shield with a Pegasus design.
Odysseus is in a light blue cloak with his helmet pushed back and carrying a shield with a Medusa design.
There’s a brief glimpse of Old King Nestor standing just behind Odysseus in the sixth photo down.
Diomedes, King of Argos, is in a red cloak and has a transverse crest on his helmet.
At the right-hand side, Calchas The Soothsayer can be spotted leaning against a ruined column.
Directly opposite Agamemnon and furiously arguing with him over Iphigenia’s fate is Achilles, foreshadowing the deadly feud between the two men that Homer used to form the background to The Iliad. Achilles hair and beard were subsequently changed from black to a golden red-ish color when I remembered Homer’s description of him.
The remaining un-named figures are just random lookers-on watching the car crash developing.

[Flashcad]

Another one of your highly charged dios, Flashcad.
The satyre and nymphs could be a stand- alone dio. Also, you forgot to mention « slight nudity » )
It’s a feast
Michael

And there was me thinking I'd successfully avoided any hint of T&A...
Can you please let me know what make of microscope you're using when looking at the photos Michael?...Only kidding.
Seems like we're pretty much on the same page though as I've been considering removing the Satyrs and Nymphs from that hollow at the back, placing them front center-stage and making this diorama all about them. Perhaps with a couple of Hoplites up on the rocks at the back.
The rest of the figures are earmarked for a new diorama which will be set on the beach at Aulis.

[dombom]

Wow, very nice work. I like the impressions of the soldiers and of the poor Iphigenia.
She won't last any much longer it seems. That was a really hard decision from her father to take, just to get some wind going. He should have abondon the war plans, get her married of and enjoy the party instead going to war for 10 years.
Well at least we got some story to listen the way it "was".

[Flashcad]

Wow, very nice work. I like the impressions of the soldiers and of the poor Iphigenia.
She won't last any much longer it seems. That was a really hard decision from her father to take, just to get some wind going. He should have abondon the war plans, get her married of and enjoy the party instead going to war for 10 years.
Well at least we got some story to listen the way it "was".

Perhaps taking a bath as soon as he returned to Mycenae after "Burning The Topless Towers Of Ilium" and introducing his new girlfriend, Cassandra, to Clytemnestra don't rank among Agamemnon's brightest ideas.
...
The Ancient Greeks never seemed to be much into happy endings. Apart from claiming that Artemis substituted Iphigenia for a deer at the last possible moment.
...

[Bessiere]

Beautiful work. It takes me to a mythic world I rarely get to see so thank you for the glimpse.

[Flashcad]

Beautiful work. It takes me to a mythic world I rarely get to see so thank you for the glimpse.

You are most welcome...
Always glad to share some photos which, (hopefully), shine a glimmer of light in these gloomy and difficult times.

Some Background
This was the first "real" diorama I ever created, although I do intend to re-build it in the very near future -- while most likely splitting it into two different scenes.

Inspiration was by way of a poem from the pen of Alfred Lord Tennyson and the play "Iphigenia in Aulis" written approximately 2,500 years old by Euripides; both of which I read in my early-teens while attending Classical Studies classes at school.

It was the first of my dioramas to be featured in a hobby magazine -- but certainly not the last, (there have been several).



I have been advised that my latest article shall appear in the next issue of Toy Soldier Collector magazine, to be released end of this month. Once published, I will post photos of the featured diorama both in the WIP and also this Gallery section of the forum.

Although the title of the magazine suggests that it primarily focusses on toy soldiers, that is not completely true, as the Editor also welcomes articles that include assembled and painted kit figures, plus converted miniatures. I have seen quite a few posts of extremely well done 20mm - 28mm figures on this forum that would definitely be considered if submitted for publication -- they really are that good.

PS. If you left-click on the photo of the "Iphigenia" feature, then that should take you to my PostImage page. You can then read the text I wrote for the article.
Here's the third page:-



Cheers

[Peter]

Wonderfull work!