The first written record of the myth of Electra appears in Homer’s The Odyssey, although it is likely that the story had been passed down orally long before Homer wrote it. The legand reappears in several greek tragedies including Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Sophocles’ Electra, and Euripedes’ Electra. While there are several variations in each retelling, the basic plot remains the same throughout.
To understand the myth of Electra, it is important to first examine the origins of the curse on the House of Atreus. The House of Atreus began with Tantalus. Tantalus was a son of Zeus and a nymph named Pluto. He liked to try to outwit the gods. He attempted to do this by killing his son Pelops and feeding him to the gods. While most of the gods realized the trick, Demeter, who was distraught about her daughter Persephone’s kidnapping, took a bite of Pelops shoulder. When she realized what had happened, she cursed Tantalus and sent him to the underworld where he was tied to a tree near a pool of water. Anytime Tantalus attempted to drink the water, the pool would start to drain so that the water was out of his reach. Anytime he would reach up to pick fruit from the tree he was confind to, the branches would move upward out of his grabs. Tantalus stayed her for eternity, while his son Pelops was revived by Demeter and given an ivory shoulder.
The House of Atreus
Pelops then went on to compete in a chariot race against King Oenomaus. If Pelops won, King Oenomaus promised he would give his daughter, Hippodamia’s hand in marriage. Pelops along with Myrtilus sabotaged King Oenomaus’ chariot, causing Pelops to win Hippodamia. Pelops then pushed Myrtilus off a cliff so that he did not have to share the glory of winning the chariot race or Hippodamia with anyone. As Myrtilus was falling he put a curse on Pelops bloodline.
Pelops and Hippodamia went on to have several children including Atreus and Thyestes. Once Thyestes and Atreus reached adulthood, they were banished from Olympia, after murdering their half-brother Chrysippus. They came to Mycenae were the two brothers fought constantly over the throne. Atreus eventually became king and married Aerope. Shortly after, Thyestes had an affair with Aerope. When Atreus found out, he murdered Thyestes’ two sons, bakes them into a pie, and fed it to Thyestes. As his final revenge, Atreus exiled Thyestes from Mycenae.
Thyestes then visits an oracle which told him that if he has a son with his own daughter Pelopia, then that son would grow up to kill Atreus. Thyestes raped Pelopia and conceived Aegisthus. Ashamed of Aegisthus, Pelopia abandoned him as a baby. He was discovered by a shepherd who took him to Atreus. Atreus raised Aegisthus as his own son. Once Aegisthus was full gown, Thyestes revealed to him that he is his father. Upon hearing this, Aegisthus decided to fulfill the oracle’s prophecy and kills Atreus.
After the murder, Thyestes and Aegisthus took over the throne and banish Atreus’ sons Agamemnon and Menelaus to Sparta. It is in Sparta that Agamemnon met and married his wife Clytemnestra the princess of Sparta. Agamemnon then returned to Mycenae to revenge his father’s death. He killed Thyestes and became king of Mycenae.
As the king and queen of Mycaene, Agamemnon and Clytemnestra had five children, Iphigenia, Iphianassa, Chrysothemis, Electra, and Orestes. The year Iphigenia was born, Agamemnon killed a deer in a sacred forrest that belonged to the goddess Artemis. He then boast that he was a greater hunter then her. Years later, when he tried to set sail for the Trojan War, Artemis stilled the winds and demanded that Agamemnon sacrifice his most prized possession from the year he killed the deer. Agamemnon sent for Iphigenia who accepted her fate and met her father for the sacrifice. In some versions of the story, Artemis disguised a deer and replaced Iphigenia with it at the last moment, unbeknownst to Agamemnon. Iphigenia was then sent to live in Colchis to serve as a priestess to Artemis. Her family however, continued to believe that she was killed by Agamemnon.
Agamemnon did not return from the Trojan Wars for 10 years. In this time, Clytemnestra, who was furious at Agamemnon for killing Iphigenia, had an affair with Aegisthus. When Agamemnon returned from Troy with his concubine Cassandra, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus plotted Agamemnon’s murder. Early renditions of the myth, such as Homer’s Odyssey, tell the story of Agamemnon’s murder as committed by Aegisthus with Clytemnestra’s help. Whereas later versions of the myth, have Clytemnestra committing the actual crime.
Once Electra heard of her father’s murder, she took away her young brother Orestes, and gave him to a shepherd who took him to Delphi in order to keep him safe. Clytemnestra and Aegisthus ruled Mycenae for twelve years while Electra and her sisters were made to suffer. Once Orestes was full grown, he returned to Mycenae where he found Electra. The two then plotted the murder of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. This particular story is told through both Sophocles and Euripedes versions of Electra.
After killing his mother, Orestes was riddled with guilt and haunted by his mother’s ghost as well as the furies. He was put on trial by the furies with Athena as the judge. Apollo pleaded for Orestes. Athena eventually ruled that Orestes was right in avenging his father’s murder despite the fact that this meant he killed his mother. Athena then lifts the curse of the House of Atreus off of Orestes.
