«Cadrò, se occorre, ma vendicando il padre». Logiche ritorsive e dinamiche di giustizia nell’Elettra di Sofocle

This article investigates the issue of revenge in Sophocles’ Electra, exploring the complex nature of this phenomenon in light of the relationship between law, justice and violence in fifth-century Athens. By examining the retaliatory vocabulary attested in the play, derived from Homer or ancient epics, and the legal language of the Attic courts, this article suggests a new interpretation of Sophocles’ dramatic techniques regarding the treatment of matricide. Against the impasse posed by the absence of any ethical and moral evaluation, the paper proposes a historical-legal reading of matricide considered, with the killing of Aegisthus, a political murder coinciding with personal revenge but justifiable according to the Athenian laws on tyrannicide.