ABSTRACT
The subject of virgin sacrifice resonates powerfully in the visual arts of the ancient world. The persistence with which the stories of the sacrificial virgins Iphigeneia and Polyxena appear in Western art and literature seems to support Poe's assertion, its misogynistic underpinnings aside. Iphigeneia, the sacrificial virgin par excellence, appears in medieval manuscripts and in paintings by artists from Tiepolo to Goya, and from Benjamin West to Mark Rothko. Post-Classical artists also appreciated the interweaving stories and iconographies of the sacrificial virgins and other women in the Trojan War. Philip the Bold's Des cleres et nobles femmes, for instance, visually links the figures of Polyxena and Kassandra. The subject of virgin sacrifice raises deep moral and ethical questions about the value of human life. In particular, it addresses the value and expendability of women's lives, and by extension the place and identity of women in Greek and Roman society.
