Electra of Mycenae
INTRODUCTION
GREAT WOMEN OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY is a series of short books for young and old introducing readers to the ancient world through its heroines. Whether simplified adaptations of classic tragedies by Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles or original works based on the surviving sources, these books aim to bring readers on a journey filled with excitement, drama, death and love, all while focussing on the women that have played such an important role in our history yet are still remembered as mere bystanders.
The series starts with six books: the tales of Helen, Electra, Ariadne, Antigone, Medea and Circe. While each book can be read separately, and in any order, there is an underlying thread that ultimately connects all these characters and provides a wider view of what it was to be a woman in the ancient Greek world.
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The story of Helen begins with her birth from a swan’s egg, the result of Zeus’ liaison with her mother, Leda. Helen’s supernatural beauty is immediately obvious and affects her childhood in the palace of Sparta. The book then focusses on how men, such as Theseus and Paris steal her away for her beauty and on seeing how much can be put down to her own choices.
In Mycenae, Helen’s niece, Electra, is married to a destitute farmer and lives a life of misery. While her husband is honourable, she has only one pair of clothes, and she still cuts her hair short in a sign of mourning for the killing of her father, Agamemnon, after his triumphant return from Troy. The only reason Electra has not killed herself is because she is waiting for her brother Orestes to come and help her take revenge against Aegisthus, the usurper, and Clytemnestra, his lover and their mother, who betrayed Agamemnon and killed him.
In her book, it is Ariadne herself who shares her memories from childhood and into adulthood. Helen’s abductor, Theseus, appears here too, and we are taken from Minoan palaces on
Crete, with the great labyrinth built by Daedalus for Ariadne’s brother, the monstrous Minotaur, to the deserted island of Naxos, where Ariadne is abandoned by the traitorous Theseus on his way back to Athens. We see how on the brink of death, she is saved by the god Dionysus, who takes a keen interest in her, and how they end up as a couple. We are told of her sister Phaedra and her fate at the court of Athens.
We move on to a relation of Dionysus, Antigone, the daughter and granddaughter of Oedipus. After the discovery of Oedipus’ crimes, her family falls apart. With both her parents dead, her two brothers fight for rule of the Greek city of Thebes. The story takes place in the aftermath of that civil war. Antigone’s brother Polynices has been killed outside the walls of Thebes. When she shows his body the proper rites, thus defying a decree issued by the city’s ruler, Creon, she is arrested and condemned to death. The central tension of the book lies between her respect for the unwritten laws of the gods and Creon’s for those of the city.
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Medea is a princess in faraway Colchis. She is married to Jason of the Argonauts, but now that he has no more need for her, Jason wishes to be rid of her in favour of a wife from a more civilised land. Most of Medea’s story takes place in a single day in the palace at Corinth where she, Jason and their children are staying. This is the 24 hours during which Jason is meant to marry the Corinthian princess Glauce. Despite all the help Medea has provided Jason, he has decided to discard her, something Medea will not take lying down.
Medea and Ariadne’s aunt, Circe, is the daughter of the Sun god, Helios. She lives alone on the island of Aeaea. Odysseus’ ship lands there on his journey home. When 23 of his men seek her out, she promptly turns them into pigs and locks them up in a sty. An immortal goddess herself, Circe is not to be trifled with: her concoctions and witchcraft are second to none. Made famous by her appearance in the Odyssey, Circe’s story looks at the time spent by Odysseus and his men on Aeaea but from her own perspective.
The main part of each book is the novel itself. In writing these books, we researched the surviving ancient sources. Where a full-length play by one of the ancient Greek masters – such as Aeschylus, Sophocles or Euripides – survived, we have adapted that into a more modern novel, following its plot. This is the case with Electra, Medea and Antigone. Circe, Ariadne and Helen, on the other hand, are more original pieces in which we used information gained from surviving sources to create an engaging narrative and coherent whole. At the end of each book there is a small, more academic – but simply written –section that analyses the characters, the sources and the historical background.
Vittorio Mattioli, Mike French
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Prologue
The house of Atreus, most cursed family in the world. Few had suffered as much as the Atreides had. Few had caused as much grief to those around them. The line had started from Zeus himself, who had seduced the nymph Plouto, who then begat him infamous Tantalus. Tantalus, as all Greeks knew, was the man who scorned the gods.
Tantalus had three children, Pelops, Niobe and Broteas. He took young Pelops and cut his body up himself, then cooked a fancy banquet with his son’s remains. He invited the gods to the banquet, without telling them what was on the menu. Nobody knows for sure why he did it, but some say it was as a way to test whether the gods knew everything.
Of course, all the gods immediately realised what the ingredients of their meal were, but for Demeter. Poor Demeter was so distraught over what had happened to her daughter – the beautiful Persephone, taken by Hades to the underworld as his consort – that she paid no attention to the food in front of her and ended up eating part of Pelops’ shoulder.
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This is how the curse of that line began, lasting for several generations, until the last of them died. The gods were so upset by what Tantalus had done that Zeus ordered the Fates to give life back to poor Pelops. They took all the pieces that Tantalus had cut up, put them in a cauldron and remade him. The part of the shoulder eaten by Demeter was replaced by an ivory one, made by the smithgod Hephaestus himself.
Meanwhile, Tantalus’ punishment was swift and never-ending. He was sent down to Tartarus, the worst place in the underworld, where the Titans were imprisoned and the most wicked creatures were tormented for eternity. Tantalus was cursed to stand in a pool of water, under a beautiful blooming tree that grew the juiciest fruit. Whenever he tried to get a fruit from the tree’s low-hanging branches, the branches would move upwards, making it impossible to reach. Whenever he bent down to drink some water and sate his thirst, the water would recede. Thus, he was cursed with eternal hunger and thirst, with the added punishment of seeing his food and drink so close, within arm’s reach, but never able to actually grab hold of it. It is because of Tantalus
that we say it is tantalising when something unobtainable is used to torment or tease someone.
Meanwhile, young Pelops was taken up by Poseidon to be taught to race chariots, but Zeus could simply not bear to look at his grandson, who reminded him of what Tantalus had done. So, Pelops was cast out of Olympus.
With the help of his former lover, Poseidon, Pelops attempted to court King Oenomaus’ daughter, Hippodamia. Pelops was meant to race against Oenomaus himself, but was too scared that he would lose, despite the fact that Poseidon had helped him procure winged horses and the best chariot. Myrtilus, the son of Hermes, was Oenomaus’ charioteer. Pelops convinced him to help him win the race by promising half of the kingdom he would gain were he to wed Hippodamia, as well as the first night in bed with her. Myrtilus sabotaged poor Oenomaus’ chariot and as the race proceeded, Oenomaus’ chariot broke apart. Myrtilus escaped unhurt, but Oenomaus was dragged by the horses and met his death.
Then, Pelops broke his promise to Myrtilus. Instead of giving him the first night with Hippodamia, Pelops pushed Myrtilus off a cliff, where he
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met his death. But before he died, Myrtilus cursed him and his line.
Pelops had several children. Among them were Chrysippus, Thyestes and Atreus. Chrysippus was by far his favourite and was meant to inherit the kingdom. Pelops had fathered him with a nymph, and his beauty was godlike. But Atreus and Thyestes had other plans, and – conspiring with their mother – threw Chrysippus down a well, where he met his death.
Grieved beyond belief, Pelops banished his two sons and his bride from the kingdom, and they went to Mycenae. Hippodamia could not bear the pain of what had happened, nor the shame of exile, and thus hanged herself.
In Mycenae, Atreus married Aerope. He was a pious man, and he sacrificed to the gods often. He decided that he would sacrifice his best lamb to Artemis, but when he went to look for it, he saw that one of his lambs was golden. Greed took over Atreus, and instead of sacrificing the golden lamb to the goddess, he hid it with Aerope.
But Aerope had a lover, Atreus’ brother, Thyestes. She told Thyestes of the lamb and showed it to
him, and Thyestes coveted it and took it for himself. Thyestes thought up the most cunning plan. He told Atreus that only the owner of the golden lamb should be allowed to rule over Mycenae. Atreus, thinking he was in possession of the lamb, agreed. But then Thyestes produced it and dethroned his brother, taking his place.
Atreus was deeply upset and worked at once to reclaim the throne for himself and his sons, Agamemnon and Menelaus. Zeus sent Hermes to Atreus, and they advised him wisely on these matters, suggesting he challenge Thyestes in a similar way. Atreus thus went back to court and in front of all announced that he challenged Thyestes to agree that if the Sun ever set from the east, the kingdom should go back to Atreus.
Thyestes laughed at Atreus’ madness. The Sun had never risen in the west. Everyone knew that. But Thyestes had not accounted for Helios, the god of the Sun, who had been enraged at Thyestes’ usurpation. And the Sun thus rose in the west and set in the east, and Atreus became king again.
It was at that time that Atreus heard word of Aerope’s betrayal and adultery. He decided to have
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his revenge against her as well as against Thyestes. Keeping up with the family tradition, Atreus gathered all the sons of Thyestes and cooked them, apart from their hands and feet. Thyestes ate heartily, oblivious to the fact that he was eating his own sons; but then Atreus threw their hands and feet onto the table, and he realised at once. As if the horror of what he had just done were not enough, Thyestes was forced out of Mycenae, as the penalty for cannibalism was exile.
Thyestes, distraught beyond all reason, went to ask the gods how to proceed. An oracle advised him to lie with his daughter, Pelopia, and have a son by her. That son would kill Atreus. Thyestes, mad with rage, forced his daughter to carry out this unspeakable act, and so Aegisthus was born. But Pelopia was so ashamed that she abandoned the baby out in the wild. A shepherd found the boy and took him to Atreus, who raised him as if he were his own son.
When Aegisthus reached adulthood, Thyestes appeared and announced that he was both the father and grandfather of the boy. Hearing that, Aegisthus went into a wild rage and killed Atreus. Thy-
estes was given the throne again. Agamemnon and Menelaus were sent away, and they sought refuge in nearby Sparta.
There, Agamemnon married King Tyndareus’ daughter Clytemnestra, while Menelaus married her sister, the world-famous Helen, the most beautiful woman to set foot on Earth. Tyndareus offered the two brothers his army. He had no sons of his own, and the decision was taken that Agamemnon would be aided in taking back Mycenae from Thyestes, while Menelaus would rule as King of Sparta after Tyndareus.
So, the Atreides marched back to Mycenae and killed Thyestes, taking back what they perceived as rightfully theirs. But Agamemnon was merciful, and he allowed young Aegisthus to live. This would prove to be a mistake.
There was peace for many a year, and Agamemnon made Mycenae the jewel of the Greeks, effectively becoming the most renowned, famous and respected ruler throughout the land.
Agamemnon and Clytemnestra had several children, the most famous of which were Iphigenia, Electra and, just before the Trojan War took Agam-
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emnon away, young Orestes. Their story is even more famous. After Helen went to Troy with Paris, Menelaus asked his brother for support, and Agamemnon mustered all the armies of the Greeks, led by him, to go and take Helen back and repay the Trojans for their actions.
The Greek leaders were willing to sail to war because of an oath they had taken. Given Helen’s beauty, everyone had wanted to marry her. Kings from all over the land had come to Tyndareus, asking him for her hand in marriage and offering untold riches in return. But Tyndareus was a rare man for those times. He loved his daughters more than anything in the world and had decided that Helen should choose whom she would marry.
Sensing the tumult her choice could cause to all the unchosen suitors, wise Odysseus had struck a deal with Tyndareus. In return for helping Odysseus marry Penelope, the cousin of Helen and Clytemnestra, Odysseus had told Tyndareus how to ensure the safety of his daughter and her husband-to-be. Before the choice was made, all the suitors would pledge allegiance to protect her honour until her death. Everyone had done so.
Thus, when the wicked Paris Alexander had taken Helen as his spouse to Troy, all the Greek leaders had been bound by their vows to join Agamemnon and Menelaus in retaking her.
But when the armies had gathered in Aulis, with hundreds of ships ready to sail to Troy, there was no wind to take them. They stayed there for what felt like an eternity, until the priests of the gods told the kings that Artemis was deeply upset with Agamemnon, who had mistakenly killed one of her favourite deer while out hunting. In return, she demanded Agamemnon sacrifice his firstborn daughter, Iphigenia, to the goddess.
Under the pretence of having her marry the famous hero Achilles, greatest warrior of the Greeks, Agamemnon had Iphigenia and Clytemnestra brought to Aulis, where she was instead to be sacrificed to Artemis. Agamemnon was deeply distraught, but as leader of the Greeks he had no choice but to appease the goddess. In tears, he snatched Iphigenia away from her mother and led her to the altar. Just as he was about to slit her throat, Iphigenia disappeared and a stag took her place. Artemis had felt for the poor girl and took her to become one of her priestesses instead.
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With a good wind, the Greeks were able to set sail and go to war. What was expected to last a few months ended up taking ten years, and in those ten years of absence, Clytemnestra grew accustomed to not having Agamemnon around. At some point she and Aegisthus began an affair, and then they started secretly plotting Agamemnon’s murder if he were to return from Troy alive.
When Agamemnon, the shepherd of the people, did return alive, Clytemnestra wasted no time. She stabbed him as soon as he was back, and then killed his new slave mistress, the princess daughter of King Priam and priestess of Apollo, Cassandra.
With that, Aegisthus was back in power, with Clytemnestra by his side. Menelaus was in no position to oppose them, since the gods had sent his ship to Egypt and he was stuck there. In the ensuing years, Clytemnestra turned against her children as well, and she and Aegisthus plotted Electra’s ruin. Orestes was to be murdered, so that he would not grow up to take revenge for his father’s death, but with the help of Electra and some slaves still loyal to the house of Agamemnon, he escaped and went into hiding in the land of Phocis, where, years later,
the oracle of Phoebus Apollo would prophesise that he was to kill his mother.
History is alive in the halls of Mycenae, and its imposing cyclopean walls are suffused with the memories of unspeakable deeds. Today, many slaves and simple folk are too scared to go out at night within the citadel, afraid that the hungry ghosts of the Atreides will curse them. They are wise to do so, for in the span of a few days, more blood will be spilled from that cursed line.
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Chapter I
A warm summer’s night on the beautiful rocky slopes of the hills of the Peloponnese. On one such slope, there is a small cottage, built with jagged, uneven stones, with a single room inside and an uncovered opening to serve as a window, the only hole other than the hearth in the middle of its ceiling and the door. It is closed now, this wooden thing. Its hinges are barely holding it up straight. It is made of two long planks of wood. A corner is damaged, an old accident that happened to a child who was playing too wildly for his own good. The price had been a broken ankle that made his days painful for the rest of his life. From the corner, a faint light from the dying embers of the hearth inside gave the place an eerie feeling, as if some god were inside, though no god would ever enter such a lowly place.
The hut was near the top of a hill that overlooked the palace of Mycenae, where the cursed line of Atreus had ruled for generations. One would have thought that the poor hut overlooking Mycenae from the nearby hill would have had little to do with all
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this history, were it not for the fact that Agamemnon’s own daughter, Electra, lived there as the wife of a farmer.
How such a noble woman had ended up in such a humble hut had been the question in the mouths of all the locals, peasants, slaves and freemen alike.
The silence of the hill was interrupted by a rushing from inside; feet scuffled near the door. A creak and the door slowly opened. Behind it, the faint silhouette of a man was outlined by the dying embers from the hearth inside. The figure slowly made his way outside. Careful attention would reveal an awkward gait, with the figure’s weight tending slightly to its right foot.
The figure gradually revealed himself to be a farmer, blinking slowly to get accustomed to the faint light of the pre-dawn night. There was a smile on his face. His hands were rough from years of working the fields, but his face was kind, pious.
The farmer looked at the landscape around him, like he did every morning. He thought of ancient Argos and the River Inachus, whence Agamemnon had once led his army to Troy. This brought him back to the events that had unfolded after
that. He thought of the honourable deeds his king had achieved while there – the killing of wicked Priam, the sacking of that noble city. Upon his return from the war, he had flaunted all the exotic riches and spoils he had brought back, and the farmer, a loyal subject, had been first in line to marvel at them.
But however lucky he may have been in the war abroad, Agamemnon had been anything but in his own home. The farmer often thought about how it must be, to be killed by one’s own wife and her murderous lover, the son of one’s enemy, Thyestes.
With that, Agamemnon had been parted from the throne and from his life, and Clytemnestra, Agamemnon’s wife, was now Aegisthus’ wife. The glorious king’s children had also been affected. Aegisthus was set on killing Orestes, but an old slave, who had also helped raise Agamemnon himself, took the boy to Phocis – where the great god Phoebus Apollo had his oracle at Delphi – escaping in the nick of time. There, Strophius helped bring the boy up.
As for Electra, as soon as she was of age, countless suitors had come to ask for her hand. The greatest princes appeared, offering vast riches. But Aeg-
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