The focus of this paper is the analysis of the film Sophie’s Choice (1982) from the perspective of the classical reception. Traditionally, it has been mostly analyzed with a philosophical and an ethical perspective, but not from the point of view of Classical Philo­logy and Comparative Literature. Specifically, I shall study this film as a reformulation of Iphigenia myth, placing emphasis on the leitmotiv of the sacrifice and on Sophie, a mother who has to decide which of her children to sacrifice. Furthermore, I shall examine how the myth has been adapted into the Holocaust context.

This article received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 952366.