The Heroine: Women's Mysteries in a Man's World

• explain why heroine "is a term that must be used with caution in describing women in Greek mythology."
• compare female rites of passage to the archetypal male rite of passage.
• discuss Artemis's role in the initiation of young women.
• discuss Callisto's fate as a "young woman who refuses the conventional path."
• explain the text's assertion that "whereas standing up to Achilles confirms the Trojan Hector as a true hero, being a worthy opponent to Achilles made Penthesilia—an Amazon!"
• explain why "the rewards of wifely virtue and the consequences of rebellion end up the same."
• identify the several patterns available to the heroine in Greek myth.

The Heroine as Mother or Wife

• discuss how the role of the Greek heroine reflects the role of women in ancient Greek society.
• explain how Semele's plight is typical for the human mother of semi-divine heroes.
• supply examples to illustrate the text's assertion that "heroes are brave if they fight their enemies; heroines are brave if they sacrifice themselves."
• use the many virtues and misfortunes of Andromache to describe the plight of a hero's wife.
• use the myth of Alcestis to explain why: "in marriage, even to a virtuous and worthy man, every woman reenacts the experience of Persephone."
• recount the story of Alcestis's trip to the Underworld, and discuss her subsequent status as "a bride of death."
• recount Heracles's rescue of Alcestis from the Underworld and discuss this myth's implicit assertion regarding gender roles in ancient Greek culture.

The Heroine as Helper-Maiden

After studying this section of the chapter you should be able to discuss the fate of the helper-maiden in the myths of Electra, Medea, and Ariadne.

The Heroine as Hero-Impersonator

After studying this section of the chapter you should be able to use the myths of Atalanta, Agave, and Clytemnestra to confirm the text's assertion that "heroines who choose to rebel against traditional gender restrictions are bound, sooner or later, either to yield to the inevitable and conform to social expectations, or to self-destruct."

The Heroine as Bride of Death

• explain why Cassandra "is in the same position as every Greek woman."
• comment on the futility of Cassndra's refusal to marry Apollo.
• locate the "heroism" in Cassandra's death.
• discuss Agamemnon's deception and Iphigenia's subsequent bravery.
• describe Iphigenia's role as priestess of Artemis in Euripides' Iphigenia Among the Taurians.
• discuss the gender reversal responsible for Iphigenia's return to Greece.

The Victorious Heroines

• discuss the qualities and actions which distinguish Nausicaa from other helper-maidens.
• discuss both the masculine and feminine attributes and actions of Persephone as exhibited in her long struggle to remain loyal to Odysseus.
• explain how, at least in the beginning, Psyche's marriage to a god mirrors the experience of every Greek bride.
• explain how Psyche "becomes a man" by uncovering her husband's identity.
• discuss Psyche's performance of the tasks assigned her by Aphrodite, and relate this heroine's quest to the quests of her male counterparts (i.e., heroes).