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Electra

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This article is about the well-known mythological character from the Trojan Cycle. For other Greek mythological characters, see Electra (Greek mythology). For other uses, see Electra (disambiguation).
Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon, Frederic Leighton c. 1869

Electra, also spelt Elektra (/əˈlɛktrə/;[1] Ancient Greek: Ἠλέκτρα, romanized: Ēléktrā, lit. 'amber'; [ɛː.lék.traː]), is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies.[2] 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, Eugene O'Neill, and Jean-Paul Sartre.[2] She is a vengeful soul in The Libation Bearers, the second play of Aeschylus' Oresteia trilogy. She plans out an attack with her brother to kill their mother, Clytemnestra.

In psychology, the Electra complex is named after her.

Family

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Electra's parents were King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. Her sisters were Iphigenia 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.[3]

Murder of Agamemnon

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Orestes, Electra and Hermes at the tomb of Agamemnon, lucanian red-figure pelike, c. 380–370 BC, Louvre (K 544)

Electra was absent from Mycenae when her father, King Agamemnon, returned from the Trojan War. When he came back, he brought with him his war prize, the Trojan princess Cassandra, who had already borne him twin sons. Upon their arrival, Agamemnon and Cassandra were murdered, by either Clytemnestra herself, her lover Aegisthus, or both. Clytemnestra had held a grudge against her husband for sacrificing their eldest daughter, Iphigenia, to the goddess Artemis in exchange for a fair wind so that he could set sail for Troy. In some versions of this story, Iphigenia was saved by the goddess at the last moment.

Eight years later, Electra returned home from Athens at the same time as her brother, Orestes. (Odyssey, iii. 306; X. 542). According to Pindar (Pythia, xi. 25), Orestes was saved either by his old nurse or by Electra from being killed by his mother, and was taken to Phanote on Mount Parnassus, where King Strophius took charge of him. When Orestes was twenty, the Oracle of Delphi ordered him to return home and avenge his father's death.

Murder of Clytemnestra

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According to Aeschylus, Orestes recognized Electra's face before the tomb of Agamemnon, where both had gone to perform rites to the dead, and they arranged how Orestes should accomplish his revenge.[4] Orestes and his friend Pylades, son of King Strophius of Phocis and Anaxibia, killed Clytemnestra and Aegisthus (in some accounts with Electra helping).

There is some disagreement between sources on how to characterize Electra after the death of her father. According to Aeschylus, she is unsure of her own ability to avenge her father, though she is certain in her conviction that revenge is necessary. This version posits that she is a confused participant in the murder of her mother. She turns to her brother to take the role of avenger, uncertain or unwilling to kill Clytemnestra herself. Sophoclean Electra is much more imposing than Aeschylus’ character. She is consumed by hatred in reaction to her father’s death, a far cry from the more reluctant Aeschylus interpretation. Sophocles’ Electra is also uncontrollably saddened by her father’s murder which only serves to further her desire for revenge. Furthermore, she is borderline hysterical to avenge her father. This suggests that according to Sophocles, Electra was more attached to Agamemnon than Clytemnestra. In this version of events, Electra and Orestes are equal partners in Clytemenestra’s murder. Sophocles also goes as far as to present a more philosophical side of Electra. She confronts her mother about the morality of her actions, where she is presented with a logical defense of the murder by Clytemenestra. Electra rejects this colder view of the death of her father, focusing on the act of murder rather than the circumstances around the event. Electra goes as far as to show complete contempt for Clytemenestra, a unique feature of this interpretation. Euripides' Electra portrays her as a shrewd yet feeling figure. Unlike the Sophoclean Electra, Euripides’ tempers her emotions in order to accomplish her goals throughout the narrative. The act of avenging her father is understood as a necessity, not an emotional endeavor according to Euripedes. This colder portrayal of Electra has been interpreted to represent the strength of unmaternal temperaments, as well as an acute understanding between the two female characters the realities of the gendered world they move within. More divergently, this version of Electra sets the trap that kills Clytemnestra. Orestes is not an equal partner in the murder, with Electra being the ultimate leader of the entire machination. She even feigns maternalism in order to ensnare her mother, though interpretations vary on their relationship up until this point. Some suggest that this final interaction was actually adorned with mutual love and respect, paying homage to both character’s proclivities. With that being said, no love is lost between Electra and Clytemnestra. Despite her daughter killing her, Clytemenestra’s unmaternal bond holds true. In the same vein Electra harbors no hatred for her mother unlike in other tellings.[5]

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 Iphigenia was being held. The two met when Orestes and Pylades were brought to Iphigenia 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.[6]

Adaptations of the Electra story

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Electra and Orestes, from an 1897 Stories from the Greek Tragedians, by Alfred Church

Plays

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Opera

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Films

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Literature

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  • Elektra (Laodice) 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. (Bodley Head, 1963: Sphere Books., 1968).
  • Electra on Azalea Path is the title of Sylvia Plath's poem published in 1959, in reference to the Electra Complex
  • A central character in Donna Leon's crime fiction series is a present-day young woman named Elettra (the Italian form of "Electra"), who is highly resourceful and who bears some resemblance to the mythological character.
  • House of Names, by Colm Tóibín. A retelling of the story of Agamemnon's death and the resulting events. (Simon and Schuster, May 9, 2017. 275 pages[7])
  • Elektra, a novel by Jennifer Saint that tells the parallel story of Elektra's life, along with her mother Clytemnestra, and Cassandra of Troy

See also

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Bibliography

  • Evans, Bergen (1970). Dictionary of Mythology. New York: Dell Publishing. ISBN 0-440-20848-3.
  • Vellacott, Philip (1963). Euripides: Medea and Other Plays. London: Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044129-8.
  • Fagles, Robert (1977). Aeschylus: The Oresteia. London: Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0-14-044333-2.

References

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  1. ^ Wells, John C. (2000) [1990]. Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (new ed.). Harlow, England: Longman. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-582-36467-7.
  2. ^ a b Evans (1970), p. 79
  3. ^ "Agamemnon" in Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization, as quoted at eNotes.com
  4. ^ Fagles (1977), p. 188
  5. ^ Sex and sensuality in the ancient world. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2008. Translated by George Staunton from the Italian Eros tiranno: sessualità e sensualità nel mondo antico (2003).
  6. ^ Luke Roman, Monica Roman, Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman Mythology, Infobase Publishing, 2010, p.143.
  7. ^ Toibin, Colm (9 May 2017). House of Names: A Novel. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781501140211.
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