In Greek mythology, Electra was the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen
Clytemnestra, and thus princess of Argos. She and her brother Orestes
plotted revenge against their mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus
for the murder of their father, Agamemnon.
Electra is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies.
She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, Electra by Sophocles and
Electra by Euripides. She is also the central figure in plays by Aeschylus,
Alfieri, Voltaire, Hofmannsthal, and Eugene O'Neill.
In psychology, the Electra complex is named after her.
Family Electra's parents were King Agamemnon
and Queen Clytemnestra. Her sisters were Iphigeneia and Chrysothemis, and her
brother was Orestes. In the Iliad, Homer is understood to be referring to Electra
in mentioning "Laodice" as a daughter of Agamemnon.
Murder of Agamemnon Electra was absent from Mycenae when her
father, King Agamemnon, returned from the Trojan War to be murdered, either by
Clytemnestra's lover Aegisthus, by Clytemnestra herself, or by both.
Clytemnestra had held a grudge against her husband Agamemnon for agreeing to
sacrifice their eldest daughter, Iphigenia, to Artemis so he could send
his ships to fight in the Trojan war. When he came back, he brought with him
his war prize, Cassandra, who had already borne his twin sons. Aegisthus
and/or Clytemnestra killed Agamemnon upon his arrival, and they killed
Cassandra as well. Eight years later, Electra was brought from Athens with her
brother, Orestes.. According to Pindar, Orestes was saved
by his old nurse or by Electra, and was taken to Phanote on Mount Parnassus,
where King Strophius took charge of him. When Orestes was 20, the Oracle of
Delphi ordered him to return home and avenge his father's death.
Murder of Clytemnestra According to Aeschylus, Orestes saw
Electra's face before the tomb of Agamemnon, where both had gone to
perform rites to the dead; a recognition took place, and they arranged how
Orestes should accomplish his revenge. Pylades and Orestes killed Clytemnestra
and Aegisthus. Before her death, Clytemnestra cursed
Orestes. The Erinyes or Furies, whose duty it is to punish any violation of
the ties of family piety, fulfill this curse with their torment. They pursue
Orestes, urging him to end his life. Electra was not hounded by the Erinyes.
In Iphigeneia in Tauris, Euripides tells the tale somewhat differently. In his
version, Orestes was led by the Furies to Tauris on the Black Sea, where his
sister Iphigeneia was being held. The two met when Orestes and Pylades were
brought to Iphigeneia to be prepared for sacrifice to Artemis. Iphigeneia,
Orestes, and Pylades escaped from Tauris. The Furies, appeased by the
reunion of the family, abated their persecution. Electra then married
Pylades. Adaptations of the Electra story
= Plays= The Oresteia, a tetralogy of plays by
Aeschylus Electra, play by Sophocles
Electra, play by Euripides Orestes, play by Euripides
Electra, a lost play by Quintus Tullius Cicero of which nothing is known but the
name and that it was "a tragedy in the Greek style"
Electra a play by Benito Pérez Galdós Elektra, a 1903 play by Hugo von
Hofmannsthal, based on the Sophocles play
Elektra, a 1909 opera by Richard Strauss, libretto based on
Hofmannsthal's play Mourning Becomes Electra, 1931 play by
Eugene O'Neill, based on Aeschylus Electra, 1937 play by Jean Giraudoux
The Flies, a 1943 play by Jean-Paul Sartre, modernizing the Electra myth by
introducing the theme of existentialism Elektra, a play by Ezra Pound and Rudd
Fleming Electra, or The dropping of the masks a
play by Marguerite Yourcenar Electra, 1995 drama by Danilo Kiš
Electricidad, 2004 play by Luis Alfaro, modern adaptation of Electra based in
the Chicano barrio Elektra/Orestes, 2015 play by Jada
Alberts and Anne-Louise Sarks = Opera=
Elektra, by Richard Strauss, with libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, based
on his own play Elektra, by Mikis Theodorakis
Mourning Becomes Electra, by Marvin David Levy, based on Eugene O'Neill's
play Idomeneo, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
where she plays the role of rejected lover/villain
Electra, opera by Johann Christian Friedrich Haeffner, Libretto by Adolf
Fredrik Ristell after Nicolas Francois Guillard
= Films= Electra, a film by Michael Cacoyannis,
starring Irene Papas, based on Euripides Mourning Becomes Electra, a film by
Dudley Nichols, starring Rosalind Russell and Michael Redgrave
Ellie, a film which transfers the story to a Southern U.S. locale
Szerelmem, Elektra, film by Miklós Jancsó, starring Mari Törőcsik
Filha da Mãe and Mal Nascida, both by Portuguese film director João Canijo
elektraZenSuite, medium-length film by Alessandro Brucini, based on texts by
Aeschylus, Sophocles, William Shakespeare, Hugo von Hofmannsthal,
Sylvia Plath, and the Zen Buddhist monk Takuan Soho
Electra, film by Shyamaprasad, starring Nayanthara, Manisha Koirala and Prakash
Raj, based on Euripides = Literature=
Elektra is the unnamed protagonist and speaker in Yannis Ritsos's long poem
Beneath the Shadow of the Mountain. This poem forms part of the cycle
colloquially referred to as the New Oresteia.
Electra is the eponymous narrator of her story in the book 'Electra' by Henry
Treece.. = Comics=
In the Marvel Comics universe, the character Elektra Natchios is partly
based on Electra. References
Bibliography Evans, Bergen. Dictionary of Mythology.
New York: Dell Publishing. ISBN 0-440-20848-3.
Vellacott, Philip. Euripides: Medea and Other Plays. London: Penguin Classics.
ISBN 0-14-044129-8. Fagles, Robert. Aeschylus: The Oresteia.
London: Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0-14-044333-2.
External links "Electra". New International
Encyclopedia. 1905. Media related to Electra at Wikimedia
Commons