Electra

Electra is the daughter of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, who was murdered in his bath on his return from Troy. His wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus killed him. Electra's brother Orestes was smuggled out of the city as a boy, so that he would not share his father's fate.

Electra stayed behind. To make sure she bore no heir who might avenge the king, Aegisthus and Clytemnestra married her to a poor farmer, and she lost her royal standing.

Years later Orestes comes back to Argos as a young man, accompanied by his companion Pylades. An old family servant identifies him by a scar. Brother and sister then plan the deaths of both Aegisthus and Clytemnestra.

This Greek tragedy in play form is built on a myth that earlier writers had already told. Euripides shows the killings, and Orestes's hesitation before the second one, in a blunt, psychological manner that departs sharply from those earlier versions.

The revenge is questioned as it happens, both its heroism and its justice. The play ends with the divine twins Castor and Pollux passing judgment on what the brother and sister have done.