# How does Electra end?

> Electra by Sophocles

## Answer

The play ends in triumph for the avengers and death for the rulers. Orestes’ party lures Aegisthus to view what he thinks is Orestes’ corpse; instead Orestes reveals himself and kills him. Inside the palace, Orestes — pressed by Electra — kills Clytemnestra. The siblings exult that Agamemnon’s spirit is honored and Apollo’s command fulfilled.

Sophocles does not linger on legal aftermath in this play’s closing lines; the mood is release after years of grief and disguise. Readers should still remember the larger myth: matricide will carry consequences in later tradition, but Electra’s own arc moves from isolated mourner to witness of completed revenge. Pair the ending with the false-death messenger speech to show how despair turns to joy within a single episode.

## Evidence

- [electra](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/electra_se/chapters/electra.md): Aegisthus is slain; Orestes then kills Clytemnestra with Electra urging him.

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