Electra
Electra and Orestes by Alfred Church
Written by	Sophocles
Chorus	Women of Mycenae
Characters	Orestes Electra Chrysothemis old man Clytemnestra Aegisthus
Mute	Pylades handmaid attendants
Setting	Mycenae, before the palace of the Pelopidae
This box: view • talk • edit

Electra or Elektra is a Greek tragic play by Sophocles. Its date is not known, but various stylistic similarities with the Philoctetes (409 BC) and the Oedipus at Colonus (401 BC) lead scholars to suppose that it was written towards the end of Sophocles' career. It is based around the character of Electra, and the vengeance that she and her brother Orestes take on their mother Clytaemnestra and step father Aegisthus. Electra and Orestes - Project Gutenberg eText 14994 - http://www. ... This article is about the Greek tragedian. ... A clay tablet with writing in Linear B from Mycenae. ... Orestes Ορεστης is a Greek name, literally he who stands on the mountain, or mountain-dweller. Orestes can refer to: In Greek mythology, the son of Agamemnon. ... Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Electra was daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. ... In Greek mythology, Chrysothemis was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. ... Clytemnestra trying to awake the Erinyes while her son is being purified by Apollo, Apulian red-figure krater, 480–470 BC, Louvre (Cp 710) After the murder (1882 painting) Clytemnestra (or Clytaemestra) ‘‘(Eng. ... In Greek mythology, Aegisthus (goat strength, also transliterated as Aegisthos or Aigísthos) was the son of Thyestes and his daughter, Pelopia. ... Pylades and Orestes by Francois Bouchot In Greek mythology, Pylades is the son of King Strophius of Phocis and is mostly known for his strong friendship with Orestes. ... For other uses, see Tragedy (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Greek tragedian. ... In Greek mythology, Philoctetes (also Philoktêtês or Philocthetes, Φιλοκτήτης) was the son of King Poeas of Meliboea in Thessaly. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC - 400s BC - 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC Years: 414 BC 413 BC 412 BC 411 BC 410 BC - 409 BC - 408 BC 407 BC... Oedipus at Colonus (also Oedipus Coloneus, and in Greek Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ) is one of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC - 400s BC - 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC Years: 406 BC 405 BC 404 BC 403 BC 402 BC - 401 BC - 400 BC 399 BC... Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Electra was daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. ... Orestes Ορεστης is a Greek name, literally he who stands on the mountain, or mountain-dweller. Orestes can refer to: In Greek mythology, the son of Agamemnon. ... Clytemnestra (also Klytaimnéstra or Clytaemnestra, praiseworthy wooing) was the wife of Agamemnon, king of the Greek kingdom of Mycenae or Argos. ... In Greek mythology, Aegisthus (goat strength, also transliterated as Aegisthos or Aigísthos) was the son of Thyestes and his daughter, Pelopia. ...

Background

When King Agamemnon returns from the Trojan War with his new concubine, Cassandra, his wife Clytemnestra (who has taken Agamemnon's cousin Aegisthus as a lover) kills them. Clytemnestra believes the murder was justified, since Agamemnon had sacrificed their daughter Iphigeneia before the war, as commanded by the gods. Electra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, rescued her infant brother Orestes from her mother by sending him to Strophius of Phocis. The play begins years later when Orestes has returned as a grown man with a plot for revenge. This article is about a character in Greek mythology. ... The fall of Troy, by Johann Georg Trautmann (1713–1769). ... For other uses, see Cassandra (disambiguation). ... Clytemnestra trying to awake the Erinyes while her son is being purified by Apollo, Apulian red-figure krater, 480–470 BC, Louvre (Cp 710) After the murder (1882 painting) Clytemnestra (or Clytaemestra) ‘‘(Eng. ... In Greek mythology, Aegisthus (goat strength, also transliterated as Aegisthos or Aigísthos) was the son of Thyestes and his daughter, Pelopia. ... 112 Iphigenia is an asteroid. ... Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Electra was daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. ... Orestes Ορεστης is a Greek name, literally he who stands on the mountain, or mountain-dweller. Orestes can refer to: In Greek mythology, the son of Agamemnon. ...

Storyline

Orestes arrives with his friend Pylades, son of Strophius, and a paedagogus, i.e. tutor(an old attendant of Orestes, who took him from Electra to Strophius). Their plan is to have the tutor announce that Orestes has died in a chariot accident, and that two men (really Orestes and Pylades) are arriving shortly to deliver an urn with his remains. Pylades and Orestes by Francois Bouchot In Greek mythology, Pylades is the son of King Strophius of Phocis and is mostly known for his strong friendship with Orestes. ...

Electra laments over her father, first on her own, then (in lyrics) with the newly-arrived chorus. She bitterly argues first with her sister Chrysothemis over her accommodation with her father's killers, and then with her mother over her father's murder. Her only hope is that one day her brother will return to avenge him. When the messenger arrives with news of the death of Orestes, Clytemnestra is relieved to hear it. Electra however is devastated. Chrysothemis then enters: she has seen some offerings at the tomb of Agamemnon and (correctly) concludes that Orestes has returned. Electra dismisses her arguments, sure that Orestes is now dead. She suddenly turns to her sister with a proposal to kill Aegisthus, but Chrysothemis refuses to help, pointing out the impracticability of the plan. In Greek mythology, Chrysothemis was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. ...

After a choral ode Orestes arrives, carrying the urn supposedly containing his ashes. He does not recognize Electra, nor she him. He gives her the urn and she delivers a moving lament over it, unaware that her brother is in fact standing alive next to her. Now realizing the truth, Orestes reveals his identity to his emotional sister. She is overjoyed that he is alive, but in their excitement they nearly reveal his identity, and the tutor comes out from the palace to urge them on. Orestes and Pylades enter the house and slay his mother Clytemnestra. As Aegisthus returns home, they quickly put her corpse under a sheet and present it to him as the body of Orestes. He lifts the veil to discover who it really is, and Orestes then reveals himself. They escort Aegisthus off set to be killed at the hearth, the same location Agamemnon was slain. The play ends here, before the death of Aegisthus is announced.

Similar works

The story of Orestes' revenge was told at the end of the lost epic Nostoi, and the events are also brought up in the Odyssey. It was a popular subject in Greek tragedies, and there are surviving versions from all three of the great Athenian tragedians: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. The first and largest is the Libation Bearers in the Oresteia Trilogy by Aeschylus (458 BC). Euripides wrote an Electra play. He tells a very different version of this same basic story as Sophocles despite them being written in proximity and time. The Nostoi (Greek: Νόστοι; also known as Nosti in Latin; English: Returns;) is a lost epic of ancient Greek literature. ... This article is about Homers epic poem. ... This article is about the ancient Greek playwright. ... A statue of Euripides. ... The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 5th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC - 450s BC - 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC Years: 463 BC 462 BC 461 BC 460 BC 459 BC - 458 BC - 457 BC 456 BC... Euripides Electra was probably written in the mid 410s BC, likely after 413 BC. It is unclear whether it was first produced before or after Sophocles version of the Electra story. ...

Translations

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Electra

Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article:

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ

• Lewis Campbell, 1883 - verse
• Richard C. Jebb, 1904 - prose: full text
• Francis Storr, 1912 - verse
• Francis Fergusson, 1938 - verse
• E.F. Watling 1953 - prose
• David Grene, 1957 - verse
• H. D. F. Kitto, 1962 - verse
• J. H. Kells, 1973 - verse (?)
• Henry Taylor, 1998 - verse
• Anne Carson, 2001 - verse
• Jenny March, 2001 - prose (acting edition)
• G.Theodoridis, 2006 - prose: full text=

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Lewis Campbell (September 3, 1830 - October 25, 1908), British classical scholar, was born at Edinburgh. ... Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb (August 27, 1841 - December 9, 1905) was a British classical scholar and politician. ... Francis Fergusson (1904–1986) was an American academic and critic, known as a theorist of drama, and for his interest in mythology. ... Humphrey Davy Findley Kitto (6 February 1897-21 January 1982) was a British classical scholar. ...

Adaptations

• Hugo von Hofmannsthal, 1903

	Plays by Sophocles Ajax | Antigone | The Trachiniae | Electra | Oedipus the King | Philoctetes | Oedipus at Colonus