Source Verification: Electra

Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.

What the Sources Attest

Who is Electra?

She is a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra and the sister of Orestes, Chrysothemis and Iphigenia, as she says herself in Euripides's Orestes. After her mother and Aegisthus murder her father, she waits years for Orestes to return and avenge him. She is the heroine of Sophocles's Electra and Euripides's Electra, and a leading figure in Aeschylus's Libation Bearers. Homer never names her.

Source: Euripides, Orestes 20-34

Did Electra have any siblings?

Yes, though the sources name them differently. In Euripides's Orestes, Electra lists Chrysothemis, Iphigenia and herself as the three daughters, with Orestes as the only son. Homer's Iliad names Agamemnon's daughters as Chrysothemis, Laodice and Iphianassa, and Xanthus, quoted by Aelian, made Laodice Electra's original name. Sophocles's Electra names Chrysothemis and Iphianassa as sisters still living in the palace. In Aeschylus's Libation Bearers, Electra also mourns the sister who was sacrificed.

Source: Homer, Iliad 9.144-145

Did Electra love Agamemnon?

Yes, and all three tragedians build her around that love. In Aeschylus's Libation Bearers she prays at his tomb that his killers be killed in return. Her grief is also a grievance: she lives like a slave while Orestes is shut out of his inheritance. In Sophocles she tells Chrysothemis that Aegisthus will never let them marry or bear children, for fear of an avenger. Euripides's Electra gives the same fear as the reason Aegisthus married her to a poor farmer.

Source: Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 124-151

Who does Electra marry?

Euripides gives her two husbands. At the start of his Electra, Aegisthus has married her to a poor farmer, who respects her and never touches her. At the end, Castor and Polydeuces order Orestes to give her to Pylades, his closest friend. In Euripides's Orestes, Apollo gives the same order. Apollodorus's Epitome says Orestes married her to Pylades, and Pausanias records two sons, Medon and Strophius. Aeschylus and Sophocles leave her unmarried.

Source: Euripides, Electra 1245-1252

Where Accounts Differ

Electra's share in the matricide
Electra and Laodice
the recognition tokens
who saved the young Orestes
Electra's marriage

Electra's share in the matricide differs in each tragedy. Aeschylus's Libation Bearers sends her indoors before the killing. Sophocles's Electra has her cry encouragement outside while the murder happens offstage. Euripides's Electra has her plan the trap and put her hand to the sword with Orestes.
Homer never names Electra. Homer's Iliad lists Agamemnon's daughters as Chrysothemis, Laodice and Iphianassa. Aelian's Varia Historia reports the lyric poet Xanthus's claim that Electra was first called Laodice. Sophocles's Electra treats Iphianassa as a living sister, separate from both Electra and the sacrificed daughter.
The recognition tokens differ. Aeschylus uses a lock of hair, footprints and a woven cloth. Euripides's Electra rejects each of those tokens and uses a scar instead. Sophocles uses Agamemnon's signet.
Who saved the young Orestes is disputed. Sophocles's Electra and Apollodorus's Epitome credit Electra. Euripides's Electra credits the old servant. Pindar's eleventh Pythian ode credits the nurse Arsinoe.
Her marriage differs. Only Euripides's Electra marries her to a farmer. Euripides's Electra and Orestes, Apollodorus's Epitome and Pausanias give her to Pylades. Aeschylus and Sophocles do not marry her at all.
The name Laodice rests on Aelian, who is not yet in this site's source registry, so the claim is named in prose without a checked line reference.

Sources

Primary sources

Homer, Iliad 9.144-145
Hesiod, Theogony 265-269
Pindar, Pythian Ode 11.17
Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 124-151
Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 164-211
Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 212-245
Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 479-509
Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 554-584
Sophocles, Electra 1-22
Sophocles, Electra 154-163
Sophocles, Electra 680-700
Sophocles, Electra 740-763
Sophocles, Electra 947-989
Sophocles, Electra 1019-1027
Sophocles, Electra 1126-1145
Sophocles, Electra 1220-1226
Sophocles, Electra 1398-1421
Sophocles, Electra 1483-1490
Euripides, Electra 1-53
Euripides, Electra 508-546
Euripides, Electra 572-582
Euripides, Electra 647-663
Euripides, Electra 1221-1226
Euripides, Electra 1245-1252
Euripides, Electra 1280-1285
Euripides, Orestes 20-34
Euripides, Orestes 1090-1100
Euripides, Orestes 1177-1203
Euripides, Orestes 1653-1665
Apollodorus, Library 3.10.1
Apollodorus, Epitome 6.24
Apollodorus, Epitome 6.28
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.16.7