Play: Electra

Overview
Sophocles’ Electra dramatizes the aftermath of Agamemnon’s murder and the long-nursed desire for justice in his house. Set before the palace at Mycenae, the play centers on Electra’s unyielding grief and her partnership with her exiled brother Orestes, who returns in secret to fulfill Apollo’s command to avenge their father’s death at the hands of their mother, Clytemnestra, and her consort, Aegisthus.

Opening and Setup
At dawn, Orestes arrives with his friend Pylades and an old Tutor who once saved the boy after the murder. They agree on a stratagem: the Tutor will spread a false report that Orestes has died in a chariot accident abroad, lowering the palace’s guard and clearing the path for a surprise attack. Orestes makes offerings at Agamemnon’s tomb, dedicating a lock of hair to signal his presence to the dead and the gods before slipping away.

Electra’s Lament and Family Conflict
Electra emerges and pours out a fierce, ritualized lament for her father, refusing to accept the new regime’s command that she be silent. The Chorus of Mycenaean women sympathizes but urges moderation. Her sister Chrysothemis, more cautious and compliant with the court, pleads with Electra to curb her defiance for the sake of survival. Their mother appears, and a bitter debate unfolds: Clytemnestra justifies killing Agamemnon by invoking his sacrifice of Iphigenia at Aulis, claiming a mother’s vengeance; Electra counters that murder within the household corrupts the state and that Aegisthus’ usurpation compounds the crime. The quarrel exposes a family torn between competing claims of justice, piety, and outrage.

False Tidings and Recognition
The Tutor arrives with the staged news of Orestes’ death at the Pythian games. The palace rejoices; Electra collapses into fresh mourning, for the hope of lawful redress seems extinguished. Chrysothemis soon reports signs at Agamemnon’s grave, fresh offerings and a lock of hair, that suggest Orestes’ return, but Electra rejects this as a false comfort. Orestes reenters carrying an urn said to contain his own ashes. In one of Sophocles’ most piercing scenes, Electra cradles the vessel and speaks to her brother as if to a shade, lamenting a life stripped of allies. Orestes can bear it no longer and reveals his identity. Unlike other versions that dwell on tokens of recognition, Sophocles drives the scene by the raw force of Electra’s grief and Orestes’ sudden, decisive disclosure. Siblings reunited, they steel themselves for the deed.

The Killings
Orestes and Pylades enter the house under cover of the false report. Clytemnestra is lured inside and slain offstage, her cries echoing through the skene as Electra stands guard and the Chorus thrills with foreboding and release. When Aegisthus returns, confident and eager to behold the supposed corpse of Orestes, he is confronted with Clytemnestra’s body. After a brief, sharp exchange, he is driven into the palace to die where he murdered Agamemnon. The stage is left with the tyrants overthrown and the house ostensibly set right.

Themes and Focus
Sophocles shapes the myth around Electra’s steadfastness: her voice, unsoftened by time or expedience, gives the play its driving energy. The work probes the perilous boundary between justice and revenge, the claims of divine ordinance and the corrosions of bloodshed within the oikos. With restrained staging and intense rhetorical contests, Sophocles emphasizes character and moral pressure over divine spectacle, leaving the final note triumphant yet troubled by the cost of restoring order through further killing.