The Electra

This edition of The Electra by Euripides contains the authoritative translation by revered classics scholar Gilbert Murray, who introduces and renders the text comprehensible for the modern reader.

Electra is the daughter of the renowned Greek general Agamemnon. Her sister, Iphigeneia, was sacrificed to Artemis - the Goddess of the Hunt - prior to the commencement of the play. Despite the sacrifice permitting his armies to sail to Troy, it aroused deep resentment in his wife Clytemnestra. After the Greek campaign was complete, Clytemnestra and her new lover Aegisthus murdered Agamemnon.

Fearing vengeance, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus married Electra to a kindly and respectful peasant in Mycenae. It is here that the chain of events in the tragedy opens, with Orestes - the estranged brother of Electra - soon entering the picture with an eye for determining whether Electra carries an appetite for revenge upon her murdering mother and stepfather.

A keenly written tragedy poignant for its setting deep within the myths of Greek antiquity, and its exploration of the notion of vengeance, the Electra remains a well-regarded play of Euripides. It is also notable for receiving an Oscar-nominated motion picture adaptation in 1962.