Sophocles’ Electra was produced at the festival of the City Dionysia in Athens, probably in the 410s BCE.
The scene is set in Mycenae, in front of the palace of the Pelopidae (descendants of Pelops). Agamemnon, grandson of Pelops and king of Mycenae, was murdered on his return from the Trojan War by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. Orestes, only son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, was a child at the time of his father’s death. He was smuggled away from Mycenae by his older sister Electra, and brought up by his father’s ally Strophius, king of Crisa in Phocis. Pylades, the son of Strophius, is Orestes’ inseparable friend. Electra remained in the palace at Mycenae, loyal to her father’s memory and …
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Citation: Lloyd, Michael. "Electra". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 December 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5418, accessed 21 November 2024.]
