The article examines Yannis Ritsos’ dramatic monologue “Chrysothemis”, included in the emblematic Fourth Dimension and constituting the longest myth-based monologue of the collection. The study focuses on the poet’s attempt to endow a marginalised and almost unknown figure of mythology —Chrysothemis— with an autonomous voice and existential depth. Engaging in dialogue with two scenes from Sophocles’ Electra, in which Chrysothemis converses and clashes with her older and more dynamic sister Electra, Ritsos sensitively shapes and reshapes the myth of the “unmythical” Chrysothemis, bringing to light —with remarkable delicacy— her silence not as weakness or fear, but as a conscious act of inner freedom. Through an existentialist lens, the article explores the complex and troubled relationship of this “shadow-touched” heroine with her mother and her sister, and above all her anguished efforts to “mend” the ruptured bonds of blood with Electra: to offer her silent support, to understand her, to forgive her, and to preserve some form of tangible contact with her.
