Electra (Ancient Greek: Ἠλέκτρα, Ēlektra, also called The Electra), is a Greek tragedy by Sophocles. Its date is not known, but various stylistic similarities with the Philoctetes (409 BC) and the Oedipus at Colonus (406 BC) lead scholars to suppose that it was written towards the end of Sophocles' career. Jebb dates it between 420 BC and 414 BC.
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👉 Electra (Sophocles play) in the context of Sophocles
Sophocles (/ˈsɒfəkliːz/; Ancient Greek: Σοφοκλῆς, pronounced [so.pʰo.klɛ̂ːs], Sophoklễs; c. 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those of Aeschylus and earlier than, or contemporary with, those of Euripides. Sophocles wrote more than 120 plays, but only seven have survived in a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, Women of Trachis, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. For almost 50 years, Sophocles was the most celebrated playwright in the dramatic competitions of the city-state of Athens, which took place during the religious festivals of the Lenaea and the Dionysia. He competed in 30 competitions, won 24, and was never judged lower than second place. Aeschylus won 13 competitions and was sometimes beaten by Sophocles; Euripides won four.
The most famous tragedies of Sophocles feature Oedipus and Antigone: they are generally known as the Theban plays, though each was part of a different tetralogy (the other members of which are now lost). Sophocles influenced the development of drama, most importantly by adding a third actor (attributed to Sophocles by Aristotle; to Aeschylus by Themistius), thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot. He also developed his characters to a greater extent than earlier playwrights.
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Electra (Sophocles play) in the context of Electra
In Greek mythology, Electra, also spelt Elektra (/əˈlɛktrə/; Ancient Greek: Ἠλέκτρα, romanized: Ēléktrā, lit. 'amber'; [ɛː.lék.traː]), is a princess of Mycenae and the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Famously, Electra and her brother Orestes attack and kill Clytemnestra to avenge their father's murder.
She is the titular main character of 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. She is a vengeful soul in The Libation Bearers, the second play of Aeschylus' Oresteia trilogy.
Electra (Sophocles play) in the context of Electra (Euripides play)
Euripides' Electra (Ancient Greek: Ἠλέκτρα, Ēlektra) is a tragedy probably written in the mid 410s BC, likely before 413 BC. A version of the myth of the house of Atreus, Euripides' play reworks important aspects of the story found in Aeschylus' Oresteia trilogy (especially the second play, Libation Bearers) and also in Sophocles' Electra, although the relative dating of Euripides' and Sophocles' plays remain uncertain. In his tragedy, Euripides introduces startling and disturbing elements that ask his audience (and readers) to question the nature of tragic 'heroism,' assumptions of appropriate gender behavior, and the morality of both human characters and the gods.