Euripides Electra Essay

Greek Mythology  I  INTRODUCTION  Temple of Apollo at Didyma  The Greeks built the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, Turkey (about 300 bc). The temple supposedly housed an oracle  who foretold the future to those seeking knowledge. The predictions of the oracles, delivered in the form of riddles,  often brought unexpected results to the seeker. With Ionic columns reaching 19.5 m (64 ft) high, these ruins  suggest the former grandeur of the ancient temple.  Bernard Cox/Bridgeman Art Library, London/New York 

ANTIGONE KEY LITERARY ELEMENTS SETTING This tragedy is set against the background of the Oedipus legend. It illustrates how the curse on the House of Labdacus (who is the grandson of Cadmus, founder of Thebes, and the father of Laius, whose son is Oedipus) brought about the deaths of Oedipus and his wife-mother, Jocasta, as well as the double fratricide of Eteocles and Polynices. Furthermore, Antigone dies after defying King Creon. The play is set in Thebes, a powerful city-state north of Athens