Cover of Electra
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Electra

First published 1912 Reading time about 50 minutes

Sophocles’ Electra is a tragedy that follows Electra, the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, as she seeks revenge for her father’s murder at the hands of her mother and her mother’s lover Aegisthus. Mourning her father’s death, Electra yearns for justice and the return of her brother, Orestes, who has been exiled. When Orestes returns, the siblings plot and carry out the murders of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus, fulfilling their desire for vengeance. The play explores Electra’s conflicting feelings of triumph and horror at the matricide.

  • Tragedies
  • Electra (Mythological character) · Drama
  • Greek drama (Tragedy) · Translations into English

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