A Memory of Wind by Rachel Swirsky

The provided text is an excerpt from the short story "A Memory of Wind," which reinterprets the classical myth of Iphigenia as she narrates her own tragic fate at the hands of her father, King Agamemnon. The Greek army, stalled at Aulis by a lack of wind, is informed by the priest Calchas that the goddess Artemis requires the sacrifice of Agamemnon’s eldest daughter to allow them to sail to Troy. Iphigenia recounts how she was lured to the military camp under the guise of marrying the hero Achilles, all while her memories and sense of self begin to decay and transform. As she struggles with the profound betrayal by her family, particularly her mother Clytemnestra and father Agamemnon, she attempts to understand the human cost of war and heroic ambition. Ultimately, Iphigenia's body is consumed by the goddess, and her spirit becomes the very gale wind that drives the fleet to battle, embodying her powerful anger and vengeance.

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