Medea is a tragedy written by Euripides, based on the myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC. Along with the plays Philoctetes, Dictys and Theristai, which were all entered as a group, it won the third prize (out of three) at the Dionysia festival. The plot largely centers on the protagonist in a struggle with the world, rendering it the most Sophoclean of Euripides' extant plays. The play is notable in that either Medea or Jason can be viewed as the tragic hero.^{[citation needed]} A statue of Euripides. ... Corinth, or Korinth (Greek: Κόρινθος, Kórinthos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek city-state, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ... Medea by Evelyn De Morgan. ... There are two kings in Greek mythology named Creon, or Kreeon (ruler), and one historical person. ... This article is about the hero from Greek mythology. ... In Greek mythology, Aegeus, also Aigeus, Aegeas or Aigeas, was the father of Theseus and an Athenian King. ... A statue of Euripides. ... This article is about the hero from Greek mythology. ... Medea by Evelyn De Morgan. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC - 430s BC - 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC Years: 436 BC 435 BC 434 BC 433 BC 432 BC - 431 BC - 430 BC 429 BC... In Greek mythology, Philoctetes (also Philoktêtês or Philocthetes, Φιλοκτήτης) was the son of King Poeas of Meliboea in Thessaly. ... In Greek mythology, Dictys was a fisherman and brother of King Polydectes of Seriphos. ... The Dionysia was a large religious festival in ancient Athens in honour of the god Dionysus, the central event of which was the performance of tragedies and comedies. ... Look up plot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A protagonist is the main figure of a piece of literature or drama and has the main part or role. ... Sophocles (ancient Greek: ; 495 BC - 406 BC) was the second of three great ancient Greek tragedians. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Plot

The play tells the story of the jealousy and revenge of a woman betrayed by her husband. The concentrated action of the play is at Corinth, where Jason has brought Medea after the adventures of the Golden Fleece but has now left her to marry Glauce, the daughter of King Creon (Glauce is also known in Latin works as Creusa - see Seneca the Younger's Medea and Propertius 2.16.30). The play opens with Medea grieving over her loss and with her elderly nurse fearing what she might do to herself or her children. Temple of Apollo at Corinth Corinth, or Korinth (Κόρινθος) is a Greek city, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the original isthmus, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ... Jason returns with the golden Fleece on an Apulian red-figure calyx krater, ca. ... In Greek mythology, Glauce refers to two different people: Daughter of Creon, Glauce married Jason. ... There are two kings in Greek mythology named Creon, or Kreeon (ruler), and one historical person. ... In Greek mythology, four people had the name Creusa. ... Bust, traditionally thought to be Seneca, now identified by some as Hesiod. ... Sextus Aurelius Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet born between 57 BC and 46 BC in or near Mevania, who died in around 12 BC. Like Virgil and Ovid, Propertius was also a member of the poetic circle of neoteric poets which collected around Mæcenas. ...

Creon, also fearing what Medea might do, arrives determined to send Medea into exile. Medea pleads for one day's delay. She then begins to plan the deaths of Jason, Glauce, and Creon. Meanwhile Jason arrives to confront her and explain himself. He believes he could not pass up the opportunity to marry a royal princess, as Medea is only a barbarian woman, but hopes to someday join the two families and keep Medea as his mistress. Medea, and the chorus of Corinthian women, do not believe him. She reminds him that she left her own barbarian people for him ("I am the mother of your children. Whither can I fly, since all Greece hates the barbarian?"), and that she had caused Pelias, whom he feared, to be killed by his own daughters. Look up Barbarian in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In tragic plays of ancient Greece, the chorus (choros) is believed to have grown out of the Greek dithyrambs and tragikon drama. ... King Pelias was the father of Acastus, Pisidice, Alcestis in Greek mythology. ...

"It is not you," answers Jason, "who once saved me, but love, and you have had from me more than you gave. I have brought you from a barbarous land to Greece, and in Greece you are esteemed for your wisdom. And without fame of what avail is treasure or even the gifts of the Muses? Moreover, it is not for love that I have promised to marry the princess, but to win wealth and power for myself and for my sons. Neither do I wish to send you away in need; take as ample a provision as you like, and I will recommend you to the care of my friends."

She refuses with scorn his base gifts, "Marry the maid if thou wilt; perchance full soon thou mayst rue thy nuptials." For other uses see Muse (disambiguation). ...

Next Medea is visited by Aegeus, King of Athens, who shares the prophecy that will lead to the birth of Theseus; Medea begs him to protect her, in return for her help in his wife conceiving a child. Aegeus does not know what Medea is going to do in Corinth, but promises to give her refuge in any case, provided she can escape to Athens. In Greek mythology, Aegeus, also Aigeus, Aegeas or Aigeas, was the father of Theseus and an Athenian King. ... Before the Athenian democracy, the tyrants, and the archons, Athens was ruled by kings. ... Theseus (Greek ) was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, with whom Aethra lay in one night (By some accounts, this was presented as a rape). ... Athens is the largest and the capital city of Greece, located in the Attica periphery. ...

Medea then returns to her scheming, plotting how she may kill Creon and Glauce. She decides to poison some golden robes (a family heirloom and gift from the sun god), in hopes that the bride will not be able to resist wearing them, and consequently be poisoned. Medea resolves to kill her own children as well, not because the children have done anything wrong, but because she feels it is the best way to hurt Jason. She calls for Jason once more, falsely apologizes to him, and sends the poisoned robes with her children as the gift-bearers.

"Forgive what I said in anger! I will yield to the decree, and only beg one favor, that my children may stay. They shall take to the princess a costly robe and a golden crown, and pray for her protection."

The request is granted and the gifts are accepted. Offstage, while Medea ponders her actions, Glauce is killed by the poisoned dress, and Creon is also killed by the poison while attempting to save her. These events are related by a messenger.

"Alas! The bride had died in horrible agony; for no sooner had she put on Medea's gifts than a devouring poison consumed her limbs as with fire, and in his endeavor to save his daughter the old father died too."

Medea is pleased, and gives a soliloquy pondering her next action: Soliloquy is an audible oratory or conversation with oneself. ...

"In vain, my children, have I brought you up,

Borne all the cares and pangs of motherhood,

And the sharp pains of childbirth undergone.

In you, alas, was treasured many a hope

Of loving sustentation in my age,

Of tender laying out when I was dead,

Such as all men might envy.

Those sweet thoughts are mine no more, for now bereft of you

I must wear out a drear and joyless life,

And you will nevermore your mother see,

Nor live as ye have done beneath her eye.

Alas, my sons, why do you gaze on me,

Why smile upon your mother that last smile?

Ah me! What shall I do? My purpose melts

Beneath the bright looks of my little ones.

I cannot do it. Farewell, my resolve,

I will bear off my children from this land.

Why should I seek to wring their father's heart,

When that same act will doubly wring my own?

I will not do it. Farewell, my resolve.

What has come o'er me? Shall I let my foes

Triumph, that I may let my friends go free?

I'll brace me to the deed. Base that I was

To let a thought of wickedness cross my soul.

Children, go home. Whoso accounts it wrong

To be attendant at my sacrifice,

Let him stand off; my purpose is unchanged.

Forego my resolutions, O my soul,

Force not the parent's hand to slay the child.

Their presence where we will go will gladden thee.

By the avengers that in Hades reign,

It never shall be said that I have left

My children for my foes to trample on.

It is decreed."

She rushes offstage with a knife to kill her children. As the chorus laments her decision, the children are heard screaming. Jason rushes to the scene to punish her for the murder of Glauce and learns that his children too have been killed. Medea then appears above the stage in the chariot of the sun god Helios; this was probably accomplished using the mechane device usually reserved for the appearance of a god or goddess. She confronts Jason, reveling in his pain at being unable to ever hold his children again: Hades, Greek god of the underworld, enthroned, with his bird-headed staff, on a red-figure Apulian vase made in the 4th century BC. For other uses, see Hades (disambiguation). ... In Greek mythology the sun was personified as Helius (Greek Ἥλιος / ἥλιος). Homer often calls him Titan and Hyperion. ... A mechane was a crane used in Greek theatre, especially in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Made of wooden beams and pulley systems, the device was used to lift an actor into the air, usually representing flight. ...

"I do not leave my children's bodies with thee; I take them with me that I may bury them in Hera's precinct. And for thee, who didst me all that evil, I prophesy an evil doom."

She escapes to Athens with the bodies. The chorus is left contemplating the will of Zeus in Medea's actions: For other uses, see Hera (disambiguation). ... The Statue of Zeus at Olympia Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BC. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in Ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th century engraving Zeus (in Greek: nominative: Zeús, genitive: Diós), is...

Manifold are thy shapings, Providence!

Many a hopeless matter gods arrange.

What we expected never came to pass,

What we did not expect the gods brought to bear;

So have things gone, this whole experience through!"

In theology, Divine Providence, or simply Providence, is the sovereignty, superintendence, or agency of God over events in peoples lives and throughout history. ...

Themes

Unlike the plays of Aeschylus or Sophocles, Euripides shows the inner emotions of passion, love, and vengeance. The play is often seen as one of the first works of feminism, and Medea is seen as a feminist heroine. Many scholars of Greek theatre have challenged the theory that Medea reflects any feminist ideologies, believing that Euripides was explicitly mocking and describing how they ought not to behave. This article is about the ancient Greek playwright. ... Sophocles (ancient Greek: ; 495 BC - 406 BC) was the second of three great ancient Greek tragedians. ... Love is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection or profound oneness. ... Revenge is retaliation against a person or group in response to wrongdoing. ... Feminists redirects here. ...

Moderation was also a theme of the play and a popular value in ancient Greece. Medea's actions were seen as erratic because they were not in moderation, and in the time of the play, women did not have much say in what went on. Therefore, Medea's reaction was not one taken in moderation. Moderation of everything was one of the Greek ideas, for example, moderation of love, the result being balance and harmony.

The theme of children and childlessness also runs through the play. Medea kills her two sons in order to cause Jason pain, yet in doing so, she knows she too will hurt from her own actions. People needed their children to look after them in old age, which is why Medea's punishment for Jason is doubly harsh - 'old age is approaching', she taunts him. Aegeus is also childless and goes to an oracle to see if he will ever have children. Medea, in promising to give him children using her magic herbs, has gained for herself a place of sanctuary. Aegeus would shelter a killer for children, which shows how important children are to him.

Quotations about the character Medea

NURSE:

• 'Devoted to Jason'
• 'She is a frightening woman'
• 'Her mood is cruel, her nature dangerous'

CREON:

• 'A clever woman, skilled in many arts'
• '[a woman who is] quiet and clever'

JASON:

• 'You talked like a fool'
• 'I admit you have intelligence'

AEGEUS:

• 'Certainly; a brain like yours [i.e. clever] is what is needed'
• 'Your forethought is remarkable'

MEDEA HERSELF:

• 'A stranger'
• ' I'd rather stand 3 times in the front line than bear one child'
• 'Yes, I can endure guilt, however, horrible; the laughter of my enemies I will not endure'
• 'We women are the most wretched'
• 'We wives are forced to look to one man only'
• 'A woman's weak and timid in most matters... but touch her right in marriage, and there's no bloodier spirit.'
• 'An Asiatic wife was no longer respectable'
• 'Let no one think of me as humble or weak or passive... let them understand I am of a different kind, dangerous to my enemies, loyal to my friends.'
• 'A lying traitor's gifts carry no luck'

Reaction

Although the play is considered one of the great plays of the Western canon, the Athenian audience did not react so favourably, and awarded it only the third place prize at the Dionysia festival in 431. This was possibly because of Euripides' extensive changes to the conventions of Greek theatre. To have included an indecisive chorus, his criticism of Athenian society and his eventual disrespect for the gods — inhibit in Artemis, the acclaimed goddess of light and justice, acting for the now apparently evil Medea in carrying her to King Aegeus, was to repeal the purpose of the Dionysian plays: to appreciate Grecian society and uphold the power of the gods. However, it has also been argued that Medea was awarded third place because the competition at that particular Dionysia was so fierce, not because the Athenians were in any way opposed to the play's content. The Western canon is a canon of books and art (and specifically one with very loose boundaries) that has allegedly been highly influential in shaping Western culture. ... The Dionysia was a large religious festival in ancient Athens in honour of the god Dionysus, the central event of which was the performance of tragedies and comedies. ... The Diana of Versailles, a Roman copy of a sculpture by Leochares (Louvre Museum) In Greek mythology, Artemis (Greek: (nominative) , (genitive) ) was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of Apollo. ...

In the 4th century BC, South-Italian vase painting offers a number of Medea-representations that are connected to Euripides' play — the most famous is a krater in Munich. However, these representations always differ considerably from the plots of the play or too general ones to support any direct link to the play of Euripides - this might reflect the judgement on the play. However, the violent and powerful character of princess Medea, and her double — loving and destructive -became a standard for the later periods of antiquity and seems to have inspired numerous adaptations thus became standard for the literal classes.

With the rediscovery of the text in 1st century Rome, 16th century Europe, and in the light of 20th century modern literary criticism, Medea has provoked differing reactions from differing critics and writers who have sought to interpret the reactions of their societies in the light of past generic assumptions; bringing a fresh interpretation to its universal themes of revenge and justice in an unjust society. The 1st century was that century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. ... Guðrún agitates her sons, Hamðir and Sörli, to avenge their sister. ... J.L. Urban, statue of Lady Justice at court building in Olomouc, Czech Republic Justice concerns the proper ordering of things and persons within a society. ...

Modern Adaptations

• Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1970 film Medea is loosely based on Euripides' play.
• Lars Von Trier also did a version for television in 1988.
• Ben Bagley's Shoestring Revue performed a musical parody Off-Broadway in the 1950s which was later issued on an LP and a CD, and was revived in 1995. The same plot points take place, but the parody of "Medea in Disneyland" is that it's happening in a Walt Disney animated cartoon.
• Theo van Gogh directed a miniseries version in 2005.[1]
• The play is mentioned in the book poisoned

Pier Paolo Pasolini (March 5, 1922 - November 2, 1975) was an Italian poet, intellectual, film director, and writer. ... Maria Callas as Medea A film by Pier Paolo Pasolini based on the plot of Euripides Medea (play). ... Lars von Trier (born Lars Trier, April 30, 1956) is a Danish film director closely associated with the Dogme95 collective, calling for a return to plausible stories in filmmaking and a move away from artifice and towards technical minimalism. ... BEN BAGLEY (1933-1998), was one of the true innovators of the 20th Century American Musical Theatre, and was born in Vermont during the Great Depression. ... Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway, but larger than Off-Off-Broadway, productions. ... Long play has several meanings. ... A compact disc or CD is an optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio. ... For the company founded by Disney, see The Walt Disney Company. ... Theo van Gogh (IPA: ) (July 23, 1957–November 2, 2004) was a Dutch film director, television producer, publicist and actor. ...

Translations

• Edward P. Coleridge, 1891 - prose: full text
• Gilbert Murray, 1912 - verse: full text
• Arthur S. Way, 1912 - verse
• Augustus T. Murray, 1931 - prose
• R. C. Trevelyan, 1939 - verse
• Rex Warner, 1944 - verse
• Philip Vellacott, 1963 [2]
• J. Davie, 1996
• James Morwood, 1997 - prose
• Paul Roche, 1998 - verse
• George Theodoridis, 2004 - prose: full text

Gilbert Murray (or George Gilbert Aime) (January 2, 1866 - 1957) was a British classical scholar and diplomat. ... Arthur S. Way (1847- ? ) was an English classical scholar and poet, born at Dorking. ... Robert Calverl(e)y Trevelyan (1872-1951) was an English poet and translator, of a traditionalist sort, and a follower of the lapidary style of Logan Pearsall Smith. ... Rex Warner (March 9, 1905 - June 24, 1986) was an English classicist, writer and translator. ...

References

• Structure of the tragedy.
• ClassicNotes about "Medea"
• The Medea of the modern times

	Plays by Euripides Cyclops | Alcestis | Medea | Heracleidae | Hippolytus | Andromache | Hecuba | The Suppliants | Electra | Heracles | The Trojan Women | Iphigeneia in Tauris | Ion | Helen | Phoenician Women | Orestes | Bacchae | Iphigeneia at Aulis | Rhesus (spurious)