of this volume focus on heroines, whose exemplary actions and / or artistic representations emphasise the possibility to overcome the ubiquitous modern scepticism towards heroism and heroes / heroines - which was definitely more complex in pre-modern "heroic" times - and highlight that conceptualisations of the virtus heroica are by no means only male(-coded). The contributions analyse the influence, prevalence and potency of male norms and references on the historical, literary, artistic and cultural representation of the discourse-inaugurating heroine en détail. At the same time, the respective contributions also serve as exemplary analyses of different forms of media representations from a variety of perspectives and research fields and traditions which illustrate the efficacy of the Classical Tradition, a tradition which plays an almost paradigmatic role in the interdisciplinary conceptualisation of female heroism / heroines of former, "heroic" epochs.