Kaan Seyrek 21601317 HART – 206 – 1 27.03.

2021

Cacoyannis’s “Electra” Questions

1- Like how a group of lions within a given territory could only be led by a male alpha lion and male
lions engage into a fight with each other for domination, there could be only one king or the male
ruler on the basis of patriarchal political dominance over a family or in more general terms, on a
group of people; this is why the line of Pelops has generational repeating patterns of conflict and
plotting over a throne between male members like occurred between Atreus and Thyestes, and later
between their sons’ Agamemnon and Aegisthus. While even though Clytemnestra sets up a plot to kill
Agamemnon after his triumphant return from battle of Troy with his cousin Aegisthus, I believe it is
clear that females have not been perceived not a direct kind of danger for the leadership of
community. This is the reason why Orestes was taken away by his tutor because Orestes, as a healthy
young male, will be going to possess the capability of killing and overthrowing Aegisthus for
establishing his legitimate patriarchal rule and avenge his father while on the contrary, Electra,
although still suspicious, was not perceived such kind of threat and so Electra was just locked down in
palace and then is practically sent exile to the rural area by her plotter mother Clytemnestra and
partner Aegisthus, whom is also key patriarchal element for Clytemnestra to initiate her plot on her
husband in order to revenge her daughter as she claims. Clytemnestra probably would not do that if a
legitimate male candidate like Aegisthus exists and the tutors’ action of taking Orestes away due to
the fact that Aegisthus is most likely going to kill him as well for eliminating the threat for his newly
established patriarchal dominion. While Electra is not such a threat for them, she simply could not be
a king or master lord of community within the ancient Greek society, she simply is considered does
not possessing the power of killing and overthrowing Aegisthus for feud. As Electra herself seemed
pretty aware of this fact, waited for her brother Orestes in misery to come for vengeance as she does
find sufficient power for doing this alone as woman, just like her mother Clytemnestra could not
dispose her father Agamemnon alone without Aegisthus. While the in-family conflict patterns of these
kind seem to be interpreted or conceptualized under inescapable fate by people especially the conflict
and tragedy levels were so intense like cold-blooded murders, the following up loops of murderous
avenges and cannibalism plots; People seem to claim there is a curse on that family (Pelops or Atreus
line) that brought inescapable fate [of tragedy].

2- For them, the spirits are real and even material in the sense that spirits are composed of some sort
of air (Greek word pneuma = breath = spirit) according to ancient Greek understanding. In the
spiritual belief, the ancestral spirits might bring bad luck on the enemies of their children and
grandchildren while they may aid their descendants. Electra and Orestes believed they preserved a
connection with their deceased dad with offerings and incense while Aegisthus damaged Electra’s
grave setting I think in order to interrupt or dissolve such spiritual presence, maybe in order to gain
safety from an angry spirit or just simply crush morale of Electra, showing the power of his.

3- According to the legend, Thessaly is famous for its butchers and I think what Orestes implies to
Aegisthus with that he is going to make a noble and just sacrifice to the gods by killing his father’s
murderer, in order to avenge his father. It is like gaining the honour and dignity of the family again as
the father Agamemnon is murdered and the mother Clytemnestra is basically driven into adultery by
Aegisthus, so this immoral, impious, housebreaking man deserved to be get killed for the sake of
[divine considered] justice according understanding of Orestes, and of course Electra’s. According to
Euripides, Orestes says that he and his company are Thessalians who are going to Alpheus to perform
sacrifice to Olympian Zeus, while the movie does not give which god is this, and if we continue to
interpret, Thessaly is also the resident where Zeus and his gods live as the Mount Olympus located
there which implies Aegisthus is about to be killed by Orestes as a sacrifice, which considered just
and godly, not as a murder. Basically, Orestes departures from a divine location (Thessaly, the
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hometown of gods) for a divine mission (killing a killer). While the essential god that approves
Orestes’s revenge is not Olympian Zeus but seems Apollo as Apollo visioned the revenge destiny of
Orestes and actually tasked Orestes through female oracle (Pythia) of his in Delphi.

4- In Cacoyannis’ movie, Aegisthus participates Bacchanalia festival for the god of vine, vineyard and
the cycles of life, Dionysos (Bacchus). As this life cycle god himself represents the death and life as
well as associated the uncontrolled productive or destructive irrational wild force of nature, these
festivals included extreme amounts of vine and alcohol consumption, dancing, sacrificing bull or
other kind wild animals to the god; if the festivals are involving women, there are Bacchae with
verges, animal skins and diadems who are dancing and tearing apart animals they encounter. While
Euripides chooses a slightly different sacrifice setting, the festival of the Nymphs which including
sacrifice of a bull, nymphs are divine female creatures of the nature in the Greek religion and
could have strong bonds with death as well just like Dionysos. Maybe Euripides thought that
it would be disrespectful to commit a killing, a murder in a festival associated with almighty
gods even it has right reasons while Cacoyannis seems to altered it with a more familiar and
relatively similar presence of Dionysos, the god of vine, for non-ancient Greek modern
audience. No matter what the case is this, Dionysos and most probably other gods expected a
sacrifice according to these conflicting men reference and again they believe Dionysos would
help defeat the enemies of who Dionysos took side and Orestes killed Aegisthus in a very
swift background duel (seems according to movie) or a background surprise attack (according
to Euripides play). In took place in background and be told by a herald as the setting of Greek
tragedy is founded so, they of course cannot demonstrate such kind violent actions on the
stage probably even in fake sense because actually the justice actions possess could not make
them free from their bitterness.

5- To see her grandchild and gave a proper divine ceremony for the child. Electra lied her
mother Clytemnestra about having a child to drag her into a trap which she and Orestes set up for her.
Well, she seems caring for a grandchild, while it is also clear that she did not kill neither Electra nor
Orestes when she simply got rid of their father Agammemnon which further strengthens the argument
she made for justifying the murder of Agammemnon, the argument is simply her husbands’ murder of
their own daughter Iphigeneia for the sake of sacrificing her to gods in order to gain wind for Greek
armada sailing Troy, Iphigeneia was the very unfortunate little sister of Electra and Orestes. If
Clytemnestra had one of them (like Orestes) get killed then she would not be sincere or convincing as
it would show that she does not care her children even in the slightest degree. However, even this is
not satisfying for Electra’s fire and hatred which following her for almost entire life span, the desire
of taking revenge is still burning within her while even peasant women did find Clytemnestra sincere.
Electra argued that if she is actually sincere then she would stand for Iphigeneia for at all cost rather
letting sacrifice happen and so that letting Agammemnon to leave Argos for the War of Troy probably
not to come Argos back again, despite Clytemnestra emphasized her pain for Iphigeneia make her kill
Agammemnon. Electra perceived it as just a plain justification or excuse as she ignored and damned
by her mother for many years. Even though she screamed her mother with reflex to save her, Orestes
and Electra killed her. For me, her death was an extreme and has shown me there could be
contradiction between religious expectation and actual feelings and public expectations. Orestes
questioned how Apollo wanted such kind of revenge for the sake of divine justice while he felt like he
cannot do that and Electra acted in contradicting ways; her moral and religious side fuelled by pure
anger of years wanted to simply kill her but her scream of “mother!” at the gate and behaviours in the
house indicated that she did not want to kill her mother in the same time, within the framework of
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some sort of bipolarity and internal mental clash, at the end divine-based avenge prevailed; left
Electra and Orestes simply demolished. The community which came to the murder house and
surrounded it due to screams felt something wrong about this action but simply they cannot judge
legitimate, “just and divine” reason behind Orestes and Electra’s action so they did not condemn them
but rather shared their pain and anxiety in a profound silence. This is what the destiny and the god of
Apollo wanted after all, according to authority of Oracle of Delphi, even though a common sense
within such kind of vendetta culture which emphasizes “a life for a life” may implies that their mother
Clytemnestra did not deserve to die as Agammemnon killed her daughter Iphigeneia and her plot
partner Aegisthus without having any legitimate reason to murder Agammemnon was also killed.
However, Clytemnestra’s relatively legit reason or justification could not help her to survive from the
task given by divine authorities (the oracle god of Delphi Apollo) and divine moral code of avenge
fuelled by some feelings.

Bonus Question: Agammemnon’s triumphal return from the Troyan War within bronze armour,
yielding shield and sword, refers to The Iliad of Homer.
Sources Used
Elektra 1962

https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/EuripidesElectra.php
https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Olympus-mountain-Greece
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https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bacchanalia
Euripides, Bakkhalar (The Bacchae), Hasan Ali Yücel Yayınları, Turkish Translation of
Sabahattin Eyüboğlu 2016.