Electra

Description

This is an English translation of Sophocles' tragedy of Electra, and the vengeance that she and her brother Orestes take on their mother and step father for the murder of their father. This edition also includes an "afterlife" essay that discusses adaptations of the play, as well as touches on other ways Electra has had influence (Jung's identification of the Electra Complex, O'Neill's "Mourning Becomes Electra"). Focus Classical Library provides close translations with notes and essays to provide access to understanding Greek culture.

Hanna Roisman is the Francis F. Bartlett and Ruth K. Bartlett Professor of Classics at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Her special interests are Homeric epic, Greek and Roman tragedy and Classical literature and modern film.

Roisman's book can serve as a very useful introduction for a newcomer to Classics and Greek tragedy and is well suited for a non-language student without ancient Greek. Also a beginning ancient Greek language student will find Roisman's translation helpful in many instances for working through Sophocles' original because of the faithfulness of her translation... - Elke Steinmeyer, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2009.04.34