Results for CLASSICS12G

In this course, we will read one of Sophocles' greatest tragedies, Electra, a gripping play that challenges the audience to consider profound questions of revenge and (in)justice: is Electra's and her brother Orestes' matricide of Clytaemnestra justified because Clytaemnestra murdered her husband Agamemnon, father to Electra and Orestes? Is nature (phusis) stronger than law (nomos)? Of the three tragedians' respective treatments of this famous tale from Greek mythology (i.e., Aeschylus' Choephoroi, Euripides' Electra) Sophocles' play is arguably the most enigmatic, offering many different interpretations. Reading a tragedy in the original Greek is one of the greatest experiences a student of the language will ever have, and Sophocles' Elektra is a superb introduction to the extraordinary genre of Greek tragedy. Classics majors and minors must take the course for a letter grade. It may be repeated for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.