Remembering that this play is being presented as a part of the religious festival, cite examples…

➤ Why does Sophocles use sacrificial and purification imagery during festival dramas?
Sacrificial and purification imagery reinforces divine law and communal order. Sophocles uses altar scenes, ritual language, and purification motifs to show guilt, cleansing, and reconciliation with the gods. In festival context, such imagery deepens ethical stakes, prompts audience empathy, and recalls sacrificial rites performed for Dionysus and other civic cults.