Clytemnestra may have been an adulterous murderer, but the Martha Graham Dance Company's spin on the mythological figure's tale reveals a softer side to the queen.

The dance company will perform a version of Clytemnestra's story from Aeschylus's "The Oresteia" based on her perspective. Directors hope this will help the audience to sympathize with her.

"She is usually portrayed as this evil, heartless woman," said Janet Eilber, artistic director for the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance. "But Martha Graham justifies her motives as a mother protecting her child."

"Clytemnestra," written by Martha Graham, will be performed tonight at Eisenhower Auditorium.

According to the classic telling of the myth, Clytemnestra took a lover while her husband, King Agamemnon was away at the Trojan War and murders her husband upon his return.

Graham's retelling of the story, written in 1958, is a product of the "subversive counterculture" in stark contrast to the largely conservative society of the '50s, Eilber said.

Some may also see an underlying feminist theme in the play. But despite its strong female perspective, the play was never intended as a feminist work, experts said

"Martha Graham never liked to think of herself as a feminist," said LaRue Allen, the Martha Graham Center's executive director. "She was just a strong individual who believed people should grab their own destiny."

Allen said she expects other themes of the play, including strength of the individual and good versus evil, to resonate with a university audience.

The aesthetic appeal of the play is enhanced by the use of Graham's unique style of dance, Allen said. The technique is based on the idea of two basic human movements -- contraction and release.

The goal of the "physical vocabulary" in the performance is to find a way of moving that reveals human emotion, Eilber said.

"It's very gutsy, emotional, sexy and athletic," she said.

The style of dance adds to the dark tone of the story, said Amy Vashaw, director of audience and program development at the Center for the Performing Arts.

" 'Clytemnestra' is a story

that's full of a lot of darkness

and tragedy," she said. "It's a sort

of archetypal story -- there's

something everyone can relate to in it."