Electra
Daughter of Agamemnon who plotted with her brother Orestes to avenge their father's murder by killing their mother Clytemnestra.
The Legend of Electra
Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, Electra was a princess of Mycenae who never forgave her mother for murdering Agamemnon upon his return from Troy. While her brother Orestes grew up in exile, Electra endured years of humiliation, sustained only by rage and hope. When Orestes returned — guided by Apollo's command to avenge their father — Electra urged him to kill both Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. Athena's court in Athens later acquitted Orestes. The tale interweaves the houses of Atreus and Sparta, reaching from Helen's abduction to the final judgment of the Furies.
Parents
Agamemnon and Clytemnestra
Symbols
Fun Fact
Carl Jung named the "Electra complex" after this myth, as a female counterpart to Freud's Oedipus complex.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Medea
🗡 heroSorceress princess of Colchis
Medea was a granddaughter of Helios and priestess of Hecate whose sorcery saved Jason — and whose revenge destroyed him.
Clytemnestra
🗡 heroQueen who murdered Agamemnon
Clytemnestra murdered Agamemnon on his return from Troy, driven by rage over Iphigenia's sacrifice.
Anaxibia
🗡 heroMarriage, royalty
Mycenaean princess who married Strophius of Phocis and raised the young Orestes in secret
Orestes
🗡 heroAvenger of Agamemnon
Orestes killed his mother to avenge his father — then was acquitted by Athena's court.
Haemon
🗡 heroNone recorded
Son of Creon and fiancé of Antigone who died beside her in defiance of his father
Medea
🗡 heroSorceress who helped Jason, then destroyed him
A powerful sorceress and princess of Colchis who betrayed her family to help Jason win the Golden Fleece, only to be abandoned by him and take catastrophic revenge.
Agamemnon
🗡 heroKing of Mycenae
Agamemnon led the Greek coalition against Troy but was murdered upon return by his wife Clytemnestra.
Alcmaeon
🗡 herovengeance
Son of Amphiaraus who killed his own mother Eriphyle on his father's orders and was driven mad by the Erinyes.
Chrysothemis
🗡 heroNone recorded
Obedient daughter of Agamemnon who accepted her mother's rule where Electra rebelled
Aerope
🗡 heroAdultery, royalty
Queen of Mycenae whose adultery with Thyestes caused the devastating curse upon the House of Atreus
Arsinoe
🗡 heroNursing, protection
Nurse or foster-mother of Orestes who saved the prince from Clytemnestra's murderous designs
Ismene
🗡 heroNone recorded
Daughter of Oedipus and sister of Antigone, cautious where Antigone was defiant