Electra by Sophocles
"Electra" is a tragic play by the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, composed around 418-410 BCE. The narrative revolves around Electra, the daughter of Agamemnon, who is consumed by grief and rage following the murder of her father by her mother, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus. As Electra mourns her lost youth and the dishonor inflicted upon her family, she becomes obsessed with avenging Agamemnon's death. The story takes a pivotal turn when her brother, Orestes, returns from exile, guided by the god Apollo to enact revenge stealthily.
Disguised as a stranger, Orestes approaches Electra, presenting what he claims to be their father’s ashes, which sparks a reunion filled with both hope and sorrow. The plot thickens as Electra encourages Orestes to fulfill their vengeance, leading to a series of tragic confrontations. Key themes in the play include the complexities of familial loyalty, the consequences of revenge, and the struggles of personal identity in the face of overwhelming grief. Ultimately, "Electra" explores intense emotions and moral dilemmas, making it a compelling work within the classical canon that continues to resonate with audiences today.
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Electra by Sophocles
First published:Ēlektra, 418-410 b.c.e. (English translation, 1649)
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Tragedy
Time of plot: c. 1250-1200 b.c.e.
Locale: Mycenae, Greece
Principal characters
Paedagogus , a servant of OrestesOrestes , the son of the murdered King AgamemnonElectra , the daughter of AgamemnonChrysothemis , sister of Electra and OrestesClytemnestra , Agamemnon’s widowAegisthus , Agamemnon’s cousin and Clytemnestra’s loverChorus , women of Mycenae
The Story:
When Clytemnestra and Aegisthus murder King Agamemnon, Electra has her brother, Orestes, spirited away by the Paedagogus, a loyal servant charged with caring for the boy. When Orestes becomes a man, he, the Paedagogus, and Orestes’ friend Pylades return to avenge the murder. Urged on by Electra, Orestes is counseled by Apollo to gain vengeance stealthily. Wishing to take the culprits off guard, Orestes pretends that he and his companions are strangers, that Orestes was killed in a chariot accident, and that they come to return the princely ashes to his mother.
Even as Orestes explains his plan to the Paedagogus, intending also to lay an offering at Agamemnon’s grave, Electra, wailing, emerges from the palace. The three men leave, and Electra bemoans her lost youth, spent in mourning for her slain father. Oppressed with sorrow, she remains unbedded (a-lectra), a virgin obsessed with vengeance against her adulterous mother and Aegisthus. The Chorus’s advice about reasonable limits to mourning and expressions of rage do not sway her from her course. She saw Aegisthus kill her father at his hearth, and she is anguished to see the murderer ruling her father’s kingdom, wearing her father’s clothes, and sleeping with her father’s wife. Electra is now beyond childbearing, beyond marrying, and her life seems incapable of gaining meaning except through avenging the murder.
Electra’s sister, Chrysothemis, arrives bearing burial offerings that Clytemnestra, troubled by dreams, orders her to take to Agamemnon’s grave. Chrysothemis, though outraged, hopes to live comfortably, and she advises Electra to control herself; otherwise, Electra will be imprisoned, and she will have to live out her life alone. The prospect does not frighten Electra, who relishes the thought that Clytemnestra dreamed that Agamemnon returned, planted his scepter at his hearth, and produced foliage that covered all Mycenae. With the Chorus’s approval, she urges Chrysothemis to offer locks of her own hair and Electra’s hair and belt rather than what their corrupt mother sent.
Clytemnestra, emerging from the palace, accuses Electra of bringing sorrow upon herself by her insolence. Although the Chorus and Electra believe that Clytemnestra assassinated Agamemnon out of lust for Aegisthus, Clytemnestra claims that she killed him because, on his way to Troy, he sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia. Electra retorts that Iphigenia was sacrificed because Agamemnon, mistakenly killing a stag of Artemis, was doomed with all his crew to be stranded, unable to proceed or retreat, unless he sacrificed the girl. Even if Agamemnon had a wrong motive for the sacrifice, she argues, Clytemnestra’s act remains unacceptable.
After Clytemnestra prays to Apollo for a peaceful life with loving children, the Paedagogus enters to report Orestes’ death. Clytemnestra claims that she does not know whether to respond with joy at the end of a potential threat or with sorrow at the loss of her child. Actually, however, she is relieved. Electra, on the other hand, is crushed by the report. She resolves to bring on her own death by wasting away at the gate.
Chrysothemis returns with news that Orestes is back. She found a lock of his hair at Agamemnon’s grave, along with other offerings. Believing their brother to be dead, however, Electra guesses that someone left the offerings as a tribute to the deceased Orestes. Chrysothemis accepts the explanation.
Electra, devoid of hope of getting help from the outside, resolves to kill Aegisthus herself. She invites Chrysothemis to lend a hand, the rewards being twofold: admiration from the dead, who will honor their piety, and freedom for Chrysothemis to marry someone worthy. Chrysothemis is fearful, however, and argues that justice is sometimes harmful to the just. Electra is undeterred, and the Chorus praises her.
When Orestes arrives, pretending that he is a Phocian, he hands Electra what he claims to be her brother’s ashes; she laments the death of the child she saved from being murdered. Orestes, moved to reveal himself, is loath to do so in front of the Chorus, which advises Electra to moderate her mourning. Assured that the Chorus is on Electra’s side, however, he identifies himself, cautioning the joyous Electra to restrain herself and focus on what they had to know and to do in order to succeed.
The Paedagogus reappears with the news that Clytemnestra and Aegisthus are relieved by the thought that Orestes is dead. Orestes and Pylades enter the palace, and, after hearing vain cries for mercy from Clytemnestra, the Chorus and Electra hear the queen die. Orestes returns in a sober mood, hoping that Apollo’s prophecy and his fulfillment of it will have positive results.
Aegisthus arrives almost immediately, happily expecting more news about Orestes’ death. Electra leads him to believe that Orestes’ body is in the palace, and he orders the doors to be thrown open, so that any who still hope for Orestes’ return can see the proof of his demise. Confronted by Clytemnestra’s corpse, Aegisthus thinks that it is Orestes’, but he soon recognizes his plight. Orestes forces him to enter the palace where, like Clytemnestra, Aegisthus meets his end.
Bibliography
Beer, Josh. Sophocles and the Tragedy of Athenian Democracy. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2004. Analyzes Sophocles’ plays within the context of Athenian democracy in the fifth century b.c.e., focusing on the political issues in the dramas. Examines Sophocles’ dramatic techniques and how they “revolutionized the concept of dramatic space.” Chapter 8 discusses Electra.
Garvie, A. F. The Plays of Sophocles. Bristol, England: Bristol Classical, 2005. Concise analysis of Sophocles’ plays, with a chapter devoted to Electra. Focuses on Sophocles’ tragic thinking, the concept of the Sophoclean hero, and the structure of his plays.
Lloyd, Michael. Sophocles: “Electra.” London: Duckworth, 2005. A companion to the play, providing information about the myth of Electra before Sophocles adapted it, the theater in Sophocles’ time, and the action, stagecraft, and characterization of the play. Discusses the play’s depiction of matricide, questioning if it is a just and final act of violence or if it is more problematic than it seems.
Morwood, James. The Tragedies of Sophocles. Exeter, England: Bristol Phoenix Press, 2008. Analyzes each of Sophocles’ seven extant plays, with chapter 6 devoted to Electra. Discusses several modern productions and adaptations of the tragedies.
Reinhardt, Karl. Sophocles. Translated by Hazel Harvey and David Harvey. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1979. A structural appreciation of Electra as the first of Sophocles’ uniquely related last plays.
Ringer, Mark.“Electra” and the Empty Urn: Metatheater and Role Playing in Sophocles. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998. Focuses on elements of metatheater, or “theater within theater,” and ironic self-awareness in Sophocles’ plays, with special focus on Electra. Analyzes plays-within-plays, characters who are in rivalry with the playwright, and characters who assume roles in order to deceive one another. Chapter 7 provides a lengthy discussion of Electra.
Sophocles. Electra. Translated by William Sale. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1973. Sensitive, detailed analyses of theme, meaning, and structure. Introduced by Eric A. Havelock’s excellent general survey and Adam Parry’s sketch on metrics.
Webster, T. B. L. An Introduction to Sophocles. 2d ed. New York: Methuen, 1969. A challenging portrait of a pious Sophocles, for whom god-inspired matricide is good.
Whitman, Cedric H. Sophocles: A Study of Heroic Humanism. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1966. Sees Electra as a play that embraces the Homeric values of the Odyssey. Celebrates Electra’s suffering, endurance, and wise triumph.
Winnington-Ingram, R. P. “The Electra of Sophocles: Prolegomena to an Interpretation.” In Oxford Readings in Greek Tragedy, edited by Erich Segal. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. Presents an interpretation in which the Furies were operative on Electra and Clytemnestra before her murder, allowing for both Homeric and Aeschylean interpretations.