She does not appear in Homer, although according to Xanthus (regarded by some as a fictitious personage), to whom Stesichorus was indebted for much in his Oresteia, she was identical with the Homeric Laodice, and was called Electra because she remained so long unmarried ('A-MKTpa).
She was said to have played an important part in the poem of Stesichorus, and subsequently became a favourite figure in tragedy.
After his father's death he instituted splendid funeral games in his honour, which were celebrated by artists and poets, such as Stesichorus.
Stesichorus of Himera (c. 632-556 B.C.) holds a great place among the lyric poets of Greece, and some place in the political history of Sicily as the opponent of Phalaris.
According to Suidas, his name was originally Tisias, but was changed to Stesichorus ("organizer of choruses").