Electra

Electra is a feminine given name of Greek origin. In Greek mythology, Electra is the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the sister of Orestes, Iphigenia, and Chrysothemis. Her story centers on the murder of her father and the subsequent return of vengeance, a central element in the Oresteia and various later Greek tragedies.

In drama and music, Electra appears as the title of ancient Greek plays by Sophocles and Euripides. The name is also associated with Richard Strauss's opera Elektra, first performed in 1909, with a libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which adapts the Electra myth into a tense, psychological tragedy.

In astronomy, Electra designates a star in the Pleiades star cluster. The name has also been given to asteroid 130 Elektra, a large body in the main asteroid belt discovered in 1873 by C. H. F. Peters. The two usages reflect the common practice of drawing mythological names for celestial bodies.

In modern usage, Electra is used as a female given name and has appeared in various works of fiction and media, often carrying connotations associated with its mythic roots—strength, drama, and intensity—while remaining a neutral, culturally resonant term.