The temerity and fear of Euripides' heroines – from archetype to real life
The temerity and fear of Euripides' heroines – from archetype to real life

Summary/Abstract: After a brief account of the different contexts in which the characters we aregoing to analyze appear, the paper focuses on two opposite forms of temerity:one that means courage, usually specific to young age, and temerity that has adeeply negative connotation, synonymous with defying the gods. We shall thendebunk the prejudice that fear is a feminine trait, while courage means virility.True only on a physical level, but taken for granted by most commentators, thisidea is refuted by the tragic authors on the moral level. The tragic heroine provesto be, par excellence, capable of heroism. The paper closes with a review of theexplanations – from archetype to prototype and reality - that could be given forthis pre-eminence of the female character in Greek tragedy

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