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Euripides and Sophocles wrote their own versions of the Electra story. The basic plot is as follows: Agamemnon is killed by Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus after he returns from the Trojan war to reclaim his sister-in-law Helen from the Trojans. Electra and her brother Orestes plot to kill their mother and her lover to revenge his death. Both authors wrote about the same plot, but the built the story very differently. Sophocles focused on Orestes, and Euripides focused more on the life of Electra. In Sophocles version, the play opens with Orestes learning his fate from the Pythian Oracle; he must revenge his fathers death unarmed and alone.
He sends his pedagogue Pylades, as a spy, to learn about the situation in Mycenae. Electra mourns for her fathers death. She is unable to avenge her fathers murders without the help of Orestes, her brother. She is also mad about how her mother and her lover waste her fathers riches and desecrate his name. Her half-sister Chrysothemis is no help to Electra and refuses to help in the murder of her mother and mothers lover. Pylades arrives bearing the sad news of Orestes death.
He tells Clytemnestra that Orestes was killed in a chariot race at the Delphian games; his body was cremated and his ashes were sent to Mycenae. Concealing his identity, Orestes arrives and with the help of Electra and Pylades, plots the murder of his mother and his mothers lover. Orestes enter the palace, kills his mother and returns to Electra. When Aegisthus arrives, Orestes kills him as well fulfilling his destiny.
Euripides version is much more dramatic. The play begins with Electra's marriage to a peasant. Aegisthus had tried to kill Electra but Clytemnestra convinced him to allow her to live. He decided to marry her to a peasant so her children will be humbly born and pose no threat to his throne. Orestes and Pylades arrive. Orestes says that he has come to Apollos shrine to pledge himself to avenge his fathers murder.
Orestes, concealing his identity, talks with Electra about the recent happenings in Mycenae. She admits that she is sad that her brother had been taken away at such a young age and the only person that would recognize him would be her fathers old servant. She also discusses her scorn of Aegisthus desecrating the monument over Agamemnon's grave and his ridicule of Orestes. When the old servant arrives, after being summoned by Electra, he recognizes and identifies Orestes to Electra. Only after seeing the scar over his eye, is Electra convinced that it is him. They then begin to plot Aegisthus and Clytemnestra's murder.
Orestes follows Aegisthus into the stables during his sacrifice and kills him with his own knife. They then kill Clytemnestra when she comes to them after hearing that Electra had a baby. After the killing, miraculously, Castor and Polydeuces appear above the house blaming Apollo for instigating the butchery. They then list all the events necessary for Electra and Orestes to be redeemed. Both these versions have the same basic plot but go about telling the story differently. Euripides is much more dramatic.
He makes Electra more involved and discusses the consequences of their act. Sophocles only tells the story of what happened up until the killing. He focuses more on Orestes role. My favorite was Sophocles because to me, he is a much better writer and puts in better details, but both of these plays were terrific.
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Research essay sample on Concealing His Identity Mother And Her Lover Orestes
