ly and sympathetically investigated this question:

"Euripides set himself to appeal to human hearts as he found them, to
exalt men's estimate of woman, to redeem women from despair of
themselves, by uplifting before them inspiring ideals of womanhood which
might be types and examples for all time. And, first, he gave them those
transcendent four--who in the union of the sweetness and lovable
gentleness of the pure womanly with the magnificent exaltation of the
highest heroism are unapproached by Homer's Penelope and Andromache, or
by Sophocles's Antigone. He gave them Alcestis, who surrendered her life
freely, not so much for her husband as for wifely duty's sake, and never
flinched nor faltered as the horror of great darkness swallowed her up,
but by strength of a mother's love stayed up the feet that were sinking
into Hades, till her dying breath had made her children's future sure,
and then in death's grasp quietly laid her hand, and so was drawn down,
faintly and ever more faintly murmuring love. He gave them Iphigenia,
who, summoned from the cloistered shelter of her home as to a bridal,
found herself set without warning before the altar of death, and yet
shrank and shuddered only till the full import of the great sacrifice
demanded dawned upon her, and then sprang full-statured to the height of
a godlike resolve; who grasped in her pure hands the scales of national
justice, who bore up with her slender wrists the fate of her fatherland,
and sang the triumph pasan of Hellas as she paced to death. He gave them
Macaria, who attained a height of selfless heroism unimagined till that
hour, in that unasked she gave her life for the salvation of a noble
house and of alien helpers; who refused to hearken to the suggestion
which whispered a hope of escape, but with unreverted eyes turned from
all joys and all hopes of young life, and spent her last breath in
consolation and encouragement to those who clung with adoring love and
passionate tears about her parting feet. He gave them Polyxena, the most
pathetic figure of all, sustained by no proud consciousness of salvation
wrought from suffering, but only welcoming death as an angel of
deliverance from shame and long regrets, who stood on the grave-mound,
arrayed in spotless innocence, with modest lips that calmly made in the
name of honor their last request, and so gave her throat to the sword,
while the fierce men who but now had clamored for her blood acclaimed
her of all