Antigone and Electra: The Tragic Hero(ines) of Greek Drama

It is a widely accepted fact that the modern Western theatre originated largely from the ancient Greek theatre. The plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides are studied for the dramatic conventions followed even today. Aristotle, the father of literary criticism found the epitome of a ‘tragic hero' in Oedipus. Even though there were several powerful women who played significant roles in Greek plays, Aristotle did not particularly mention a ‘hero(ine)' in his Poetics. And the term ‘hero' is commonly used as a gender-neutral term referring to both male and female protagonists even when the dictionary makes a distinction between male and female protagonists through the terms ‘hero' and ‘heroine' respectively.