Synopsis
As the play begins, Medea the protagonist is distraught as her husband, Jason, was married another woman, Glauke, the daughter of Creon - the King of Corinth. Additionally, Medea's been banished from Corinth - her home - by Creon. She refuses to merely accept mistreatment, swearing revenge and starting to plot.
She begins her plot with convincing the king to let her remain in Corinth, a request granted out of pity. After that, Medea persuades the King of Athens, Aegeus, to provide her safe harbor in exchange for her curing his sterility. Neglecting to mentioned her murderous intents, her safety is granted and she puts her plan into motion.
Getting Jason to believe that she’s new okay with his new marriage, Medea begs him to ask his new wife if Medea’s children could stay in Corinth. A sympathetic Jason agrees and Medea gifts Glauke gossamer gown and a golden crown. With misplaced hope, Jason and his children journey to Glauke. When Jason’s new wife - the Princess of Corinth - puts on the gown and crown, she catches fire, leading a distraught Creon to intervene and also die in the process. A messenger relays all this to satisfied Medea.
In her final act, Medea kills her sons, an uneasy task for a mother, in an attempt to leave Jason completely devastated. She succeeds, plunging a sword into her sons and leaves Corinth for Athens, taking her sons bodies with her to deny Jason the act of burying them.
As the play begins, Medea the protagonist is distraught as her husband, Jason, was married another woman, Glauke, the daughter of Creon - the King of Corinth. Additionally, Medea's been banished from Corinth - her home - by Creon. She refuses to merely accept mistreatment, swearing revenge and starting to plot.
She begins her plot with convincing the king to let her remain in Corinth, a request granted out of pity. After that, Medea persuades the King of Athens, Aegeus, to provide her safe harbor in exchange for her curing his sterility. Neglecting to mentioned her murderous intents, her safety is granted and she puts her plan into motion.
Getting Jason to believe that she’s new okay with his new marriage, Medea begs him to ask his new wife if Medea’s children could stay in Corinth. A sympathetic Jason agrees and Medea gifts Glauke gossamer gown and a golden crown. With misplaced hope, Jason and his children journey to Glauke. When Jason’s new wife - the Princess of Corinth - puts on the gown and crown, she catches fire, leading a distraught Creon to intervene and also die in the process. A messenger relays all this to satisfied Medea.
In her final act, Medea kills her sons, an uneasy task for a mother, in an attempt to leave Jason completely devastated. She succeeds, plunging a sword into her sons and leaves Corinth for Athens, taking her sons bodies with her to deny Jason the act of burying them.
Characters
- Jason
- Creon
- Aegeus
- Nurse
- Tutor
- Messenger
Key Scenes
The climax of the play comes at the end, when Medea executes her own children. The fact that Medea then flees Corinth alive at the end of the play seems monstrous to modern audiences. At the very end of the play she rises above the skene in a dragon-drawn chariot, draped in the bodies of her dead children, taunting and reviling Jason.
Key Questions
Do you feel any sympathy for Medea?
Is there ever a just reason for murder?
Should the chorus have prevented Medea from murdering her children?
What's the difference between revenge and justice?
How does Medea's intelligence make her dangerous?
Do you think Jason ever loved Medea?
Playwrights Biography
Euripides (c. 484 - 406 BC) was the last of the classical Athens’s three great tragic playwrights, whose plays remain today. He first competed in the City Dionysia in 455 BC and won his first victory in 441 BC. He only won four victories in his lifetime and left Athens around 408 BC for the court of King Archelaus of Macedon, where he died. It is not known why Euripides won so infrequently, but his tragedies are more bitter, ironic and showed the selfishness and unpredictability of the Gods and Heroes, compared to the plays written by Aeschylus and Sophocles. Of about the ninety plays Euripides is thought to have written, eighteen survive today.
Why did the playwright write the play?
Medea was first performed in 431 BC at the City Dionysia festival. Every year at the City Dionysia festival, three playwrights competed against each other. Euripides got last place in 431 BC with his play, Medea. A possible reason for Medea coming last is that traditionally Medea’s children are killed by the Corinthians after her escape. The fact that Euripides's created this alternative ending may have offended Athenian's at the time. Medea is now considered one of the great western plays.
The climax of the play comes at the end, when Medea executes her own children. The fact that Medea then flees Corinth alive at the end of the play seems monstrous to modern audiences. At the very end of the play she rises above the skene in a dragon-drawn chariot, draped in the bodies of her dead children, taunting and reviling Jason.
Key Questions
Do you feel any sympathy for Medea?
Is there ever a just reason for murder?
Should the chorus have prevented Medea from murdering her children?
- The chorus of Corinthian women sympathise with Medea throughout the play, in large part because they know that Medea is right when she says that Greek males treat Greek females unjustly. The women express horror at Medea's plan to kill her children, for they realise that Medea is going too far. But they remain silent (in compliance with Medea's expressed wish) when she announces her plan to kill the children and later carries it out. It is hard to believe that this chorus of women would look the other way under these circumstances.
What's the difference between revenge and justice?
How does Medea's intelligence make her dangerous?
Do you think Jason ever loved Medea?
Playwrights Biography
Euripides (c. 484 - 406 BC) was the last of the classical Athens’s three great tragic playwrights, whose plays remain today. He first competed in the City Dionysia in 455 BC and won his first victory in 441 BC. He only won four victories in his lifetime and left Athens around 408 BC for the court of King Archelaus of Macedon, where he died. It is not known why Euripides won so infrequently, but his tragedies are more bitter, ironic and showed the selfishness and unpredictability of the Gods and Heroes, compared to the plays written by Aeschylus and Sophocles. Of about the ninety plays Euripides is thought to have written, eighteen survive today.
Why did the playwright write the play?
Medea was first performed in 431 BC at the City Dionysia festival. Every year at the City Dionysia festival, three playwrights competed against each other. Euripides got last place in 431 BC with his play, Medea. A possible reason for Medea coming last is that traditionally Medea’s children are killed by the Corinthians after her escape. The fact that Euripides's created this alternative ending may have offended Athenian's at the time. Medea is now considered one of the great western plays.