The concept of fate through female avengers in greek drama

Abstract

 Greek tragedy is a significant literary genre of the Hellenistic era, often depicting the misfortunes and downfalls of heroic families, as well as a few individual tragedies, such as Euripides' Medea. The Metamorphoses, written during the Roman period, records stories of gods, heroes, and mortals in Greek mythology, imbued with profound tragic elements. Among its characters, Procne and Althaea, like Medea, are portrayed as avenging mothers who commit filicide. This paper analyzes the three female avenger figures in Greek mythology from the perspectives of fate imagery, female consciousness, and concepts of life and death. It also compares the role of fate in individual tragedies versus family tragedies, concluding that the evolution of the concept of fate influenced the rise and decline of Greek tragedy.