Beatrice Lang
The name Electra has a variety of meanings and interpretations. In Greek mythology, Electra was the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and the sister of Orestes. Electra is also the title of various plays and literary works focused on the mythological character, most famously by Sophocles and Euripides. In literature, Electra is a vengeful soul who plots with her brother Orestes to kill their mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus for the murder of their father, Agamemnon. In psychology, the Electra complex is a term coined by Sigmund Freud to describe a girl's psychosexual competition with her mother for her father's affection.
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What You'll Learn
- Greek mythology: Electra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and sister of Orestes
- Psychology: The Electra complex, a girl's psychosexual competition with her mother
- Literature: The title of various plays and literary works, most famously by Sophocles and Euripides
- Astronomy: One of the Pleiades stars in the Taurus constellation
- Music: A name used by various bands and artists
Greek mythology: Electra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and sister of Orestes
In Greek mythology, Electra is the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae. She is the sister of Orestes, as well as Iphigenia and Chrysothemis.
Electra is a central character in Greek tragedies, most notably in plays by Sophocles, Euripides, and Aeschylus. She is consumed by hatred for her mother, Clytemnestra, who, along with her lover, Aegisthus, usurped the throne and murdered her father upon his return from the Trojan War. Electra is also furious with her mother for sacrificing her sister, Iphigenia, to the goddess Artemis to ensure favourable winds for their boats to sail to Troy.
When King Agamemnon returns from the war, he brings the Trojan princess Cassandra, who has already borne him twin sons, as his war prize. Clytemnestra lures him into a bath and kills him, along with Cassandra. Electra and Orestes seek refuge in Athens, and when Orestes is 20 years old, he consults the Oracle of Delphi, who instructs him to take revenge for his father's death.
In Aeschylus' interpretation, Electra is unsure of her ability to avenge her father and turns to her brother to take on the role of the avenger. In Sophocles' version, Electra is portrayed as being more attached to her father than her mother, and she is hysterical with grief and a desire for revenge. Euripides' Electra is shrewd and calculated, tempering her emotions to accomplish her goals. She is the leader of the plot to kill her mother and even feigns maternalism to ensnare Clytemnestra.
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Psychology: The Electra complex, a girl's psychosexual competition with her mother
The Electra complex is a psychoanalytic term for a daughter's psychosexual competition with her mother. The concept is derived from the Greek mythological character Electra, who plotted to kill her mother, Clytemnestra, with her brother Orestes, to avenge the murder of their father, Agamemnon.
In psychology, the Electra complex was first proposed by Carl Jung in 1913 as the female equivalent of the Oedipus complex. Sigmund Freud, however, rejected the term as psychoanalytically inaccurate, believing that the Oedipus complex applied only to males. Despite this, Freud's theories on female sexual development described the psychodynamics of a girl's sexual competition with her mother for the sexual possession of the father. This competitive dynamic arises during the phallic stage of development (between ages three and six), when a girl becomes aware of physical sex differences and desires her father.
According to Freud, the Electra complex, if left unresolved, can result in neurosis and mental illness. This occurs when a girl's initial sexual attachment to her mother ends upon discovering that she does not have a penis. She then transfers her sexual attachment to her father and increases sexual competition with her mother. This penis envy is caused by the mother, who is also blamed by the girl for her "castrated state," leading to tension in their relationship.
The Electra complex has been criticized by modern psychology due to a lack of supporting evidence and is considered an antiquated concept. Critics have questioned the methodology of Freud's original case studies and argued that the concept may have been created as a cover-up for sexual trauma. Despite this, the Electra complex still holds a place in the modern consciousness and has been referenced in various fields, including literature and music.
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Literature: The title of various plays and literary works, most famously by Sophocles and Euripides
Electra is the title of various plays and literary works, most famously by Sophocles and Euripides. The character of Electra, the mythical princess of Argos, is a tragic figure who has appeared in many plays and interpretations of Greek mythology.
Electra by Sophocles
Sophocles' "Electra" is a Greek tragedy, likely written towards the end of his career, around 410 BCE. It is set in the city of Mycenae a few years after the Trojan War and tells the story of Electra and her brother Orestes' struggle for justice for their murdered father, Agamemnon, at the hands of their mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus. Electra is driven by grief and a need for revenge, urging her brother to take action. The play is notable for its emphasis on action and its examination of Electra's morals, motives, and psychology.
Electra by Euripides
Euripides' "Electra" is also a tragedy, probably written in the mid-410s BCE, and it reworks important aspects of the story found in Sophocles' play. In Euripides' version, Electra is no longer a princess but is married off to a farmer outside of her city-state. The play takes place outside of Argos, in and around Electra's small house with her husband. While the major plot points are the same, there are intriguing differences, such as the recognition scene between Orestes and Electra, which mocks Aeschylus' account in "The Libation Bearers." Euripides' play introduces disturbing elements that question assumptions of gender behaviour and the morality of human characters and the gods.
Other Works
In addition to the plays by Sophocles and Euripides, the character of Electra also appears in other works, including Libation Bearers by Aeschylus and adaptations of "Electra" by Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Ezra Pound and Rudd Fleming. The story has also inspired operas by Richard Strauss and Mikis Theodorakis.
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Astronomy: One of the Pleiades stars in the Taurus constellation
The name Electra is associated with a multitude of meanings and references across various fields. In this case, the prompt refers to the astronomical meaning of the word, which is one of the Pleiades stars in the Taurus constellation.
Electra, also designated as 17 Tauri, is a blue-white giant star located in the Taurus constellation, which is represented by the celestial bull. It is a member of the Pleiades open star cluster, also known as Messier 45, which is one of the nearest and most prominent open clusters in the sky. The Pleiades cluster is very bright, but it cannot be viewed during May and June due to the Sun's position.
Electra is the third brightest star in the Pleiades cluster, with an apparent magnitude of 3.70 and an absolute magnitude of -1.77. It is located approximately 400 light-years away from the Sun. As a giant star of the spectral type B6, Electra has prominent emission lines of hydrogen in its spectrum, indicating that it is a Be star. Be stars have a high rotation rate, which can lead to mass loss even during minor prominences. This high rotation rate has resulted in a unique shape for Electra, where its equatorial radius is greater than its polar radius, causing higher surface temperature, gravity, and brightness at the poles—a phenomenon known as gravity darkening.
Infrared observations of Electra revealed an excess level of radiation by about 0.5 magnitudes, likely caused by a gaseous disk formed by radiation-driven mass loss and the star's rapid rotation. This disk is believed to be created by the ejection of material roughly every ten years, which then settles into the equatorial plane. The bright nebulosity surrounding Electra makes observations challenging.
The star Electra draws its name from Greek mythology, where Electra was one of the Pleiades sisters and the daughter of the Titan Atlas and the Oceanid nymph Pleione. In Greek, the name "Electra" translates to "amber" and "bright." Electra played a significant role in Greek tragedies, including the works of Sophocles, Euripides, and Aeschylus, where she is often portrayed as seeking revenge for her father's death alongside her brother, Orestes.
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Music: A name used by various bands and artists
The name Electra has been used in the music industry in various ways. Firstly, as a variation of the name 'Elektra', which is a Greek name meaning "amber", and thus "shining" or "incandescent". The name has been used by a character created by Welsh recording artist Marina Dimandis, who released an album in 2012 called 'Electra Heart', which represented the character's life.
Secondly, the name has been used by a heavy metal band, Dio, as the title of their twelfth and final single, released in 2010. The song was later included in a posthumous compilation in 2012 and on the deluxe edition of 'Magica' in 2013.
Thirdly, 'Elektra' is the name of a prominent US record label, formed in 1950 as the Elektra-Stratford Record Corporation, by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. The label played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1950s and 1970s, and has since been home to a wide range of artists, including Metallica, Mötley Crüe, The Cure, and Tracy Chapman. In 2018, the label was reorganised into the Elektra Music Group, operating as an independently managed frontline label of Warner Music.
Finally, the name 'Electra' has also been used in musical theatre, as the name of a character in T.S. Eliot's 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats' and in the musical 'Cats'.
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Frequently asked questions
Electra is a character in Greek mythology, the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and sister of Orestes. She helped Orestes kill Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus to avenge the murder of her father, Agamemnon.
Electra is the title of various plays and literary works focused on the mythological character, most famously by Sophocles and Euripides.
The "Electra complex" in psychology, as defined by Sigmund Freud, involves a girl's or woman's unconscious sexual feelings for her father.
