Euripides, Medea 431 B.C.E.

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Euripides, Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• First production of play coincides with
  Peleponnesian War (431-404 B.C.E.)
• First well-known example of an author alienated
  from audience
• Common certainties between artist, audience, and
  story disappear

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Euripides (480-406 B.C.E.)

• Not appreciated until after his death
• Did not live public or military life
• Private intellectual/artist
• Receptive to Sophistic rhetoric and concepts
• Chooses new myths and revises old myths

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Medea

• Foreign woman
• Woman of great intellect
• Finds no redress for wrongs done to her
• Shockingly brutal acts
• Challenges Greek societys allegiance to male
  power
• Solidified in Eumenides

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• Begin with contempt for Jason
• Later feel pity for Jason and horror over Medeas
  actions
• Divine will of play enigmatic
• Play exposes disorder of worldeven with gods

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• Play offers nightmare vision of the end of the
  5th-century dream of peace
• Impending non-stop violence of Peleponnesian War
  (431-404 B.C.E.)
• Horrible images of maternal and domestic violence
• Breakdown of social fabric

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Background Myth

• Jason and the Argonauts
• Great legend of voyage and exploration
• Jason becomes great Greek hero
• Medea helps Jason successfully capture the Golden
  Fleece

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Jason

• Greek national hero and explorer
• Sent on voyage by Pelias because of oracles
  report to fear man with one sandal
• Assembles noble men to serve as Argonauts
• Central hero of great adventure tales

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Jason and the Argonauts
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Jason and the Argonauts

• Contsruction of Argosaided by Athena

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Jason and the Argonauts

• Medea helps Jason subdue (put to sleep) dragon
• guarding the Golden Fleece and survive other
  trials
• to escape with Golden Fleece

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Background Myth
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Background Myth
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Background Myth

• Jason sent to find Golden Fleece by King Pelias
  of Iolcus (man with one sandal)
• Jason and Argonauts sail to Colchis
• Medea assists Jason in trials and helps him
  escape with Golden Fleece

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Background Myth

• Medea renounces family and leaves with Jason
• Helps Jason and Argonauts escape Colchis with
  fleece
• Medea kills numerous members of her family

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Background Myth

• Medea and Jason return to Greece
• Different versions of the myth provide different
  locations (Iolcus/Corinth)
• Jason and Medea marry

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Background Myth

• Medea impresses daughters of Pelias with her
  magic
• Convinces the daughters to kill dad
• Different variations of who exactly does the
  killing

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Background Myth

• Medea may have had to finish the job of killing
  Pelias when daughters hesitate

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 642 Open at Medeas house in Corinth
• Story depends on knowledge of background myth of
  Jason and Argonauts
• Nurse opens story with regret for Jasons voyages
  and conquests
• Medea would never have come home with Jason
• Medea helped Jason get Golden Fleece

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 642 Medea persuaded daughters of Pelias to cook
  their dad
• Jason and Medea took refuge in Corinth
• Medea initially helped Jason in all ways at
  Corinth
• All has now gone wrongJason has taken princess
  as mistress

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 643 Jason has taken daughter of Kreon as
  mistress
• Medea feels slightedlets us know about it
• Medea has been fasting and crying
• Medea betrayed her father and land when she went
  with Jason
• Medea no longer likes to see her children
• Nurse feels something dreadful coming

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 643 Medeas children ignorant of her trouble
• Tutor and children enter
• Nurse has come out in public to speak truth about
  Medea
• Tutor claims more trouble is to come
• 644 Tutor has heard rumor that Kreon plans to
  exile Medea and kids

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 644 Jason no longer cares for wife and kids
• Tutor tells nurse to be quiet about rumors
• Nurse wishes Jason were dead
• Nurse wants Tutor to keep kids away from Medea
• Nurse is certain Medea will soon do something
  violent

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 644 Medea claims she has sufferedhates her
  kids
• 645 Nurse wants controlled safetywants to grow
  old in comfort
• Chorus of Corinthian women come to console Medea
• Nurse openly indicts Jason
• Medea claims she would find release in death

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 645 Chorus tells Medea she must not grieve too
  much over Jason
• 646 Medea prays she may see destruction come
  upon Jason and new bride
• Chorus of Corinthian women would like to help
  Medea
• Chorus reports much of the story weve just heard

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 647 Medea shows some respect to women of
  Corinth
• Medea doesnt want to offend her neighbors
• Now Medea just wants to die
• Medea explains why women in Greek culture are
  unfortunate creatures
• Suggests life is good for woman in the marriage
  works out

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 647 Men look at other women (younger) as they
  age, but women to remain loyal to one
• Medea would rather fight in war than bear child
• Medea explains her situation is different because
  she has no country anymore
• 648 Medea claims she is a refuge from foreign
  land

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 648 Medea asks chorus for help to get back at
  Jason, princess, and King
• Medea explains volatility of scorned woman
• Chorus supports Medeas decision to pay back
  Jason
• King Kreon entersimmediately tells Medea to
  leave Corinth with kids
• Kreon explains his dread of Medea

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 648 Medea tells Kreon a smart woman best not
  have Jasons kidssmacking insult at Kreons
  daughter
• Medea has been envied because she is clever
• 649 Medea wishes Kreons daughter a lucky
  marriage
• Medea asks to stay in land and promises to submit
  to betters

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 649 Kreon still fears Medea as clever
  womanclaims she must go
• Medea asks for 1 day before going into exile
• Kreon knows he is making mistake to allow Medeas
  request for 1 day
• 650 Kreon grants Medea 1 day more
• Chorus feels great sympathy for Medea

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 649 Medea now plans to kill three of her
  enemies in the day provided
• Plans to use poison secretly
• Medea honors Hecate
• 651 Medea calls on herself to be plotting and
  scheming
• Medea claims women are cleverest contrivers of
  evil

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 651 Chorus wants to allow world order to be
  reversed
• Chorus repeats Medeas story
• Jason entersconfronts Medea
• 652 Jason tells Medea she is lucky to only be
  exiled
• Jason suggests Medea is to be banished because
  she talked too much

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 652 Jason has come to make provisions for Medea
  and children
• Medea charges Jason with shamelessness
• Medea claims every Greek knows she saved Jasons
  life
• Medea reminds Jason how she helped him get the
  Fleece
• Medea killed Pelias for Jason

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 653 Medea has made enemies of her friends and
  family to be with Jason
• Now Jason doesnt want her around
• Medea ponders why there is no outward mark to
  denote good and bad men
• Jason claims love (Medeas) and not Medea herself
  kept him safe
• Jason claims he has actually helped Medea by
  civilizing her in Greece

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 653 Jason claims he brought her recognition as
  clever woman
• Prevented her from being savage
• 654 Jason insists he never grew tired of
  Medeas bed
• Jason suggests he has to marry again for money
  and social securityfor his kids too
• Jason claims life would be better if men could
  have kids without women

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 654 Medea explains if Jason were not a coward,
  he would not have married behind Medeas back
• Jason reports he had to re-marry to produce royal
  progeny
• 655 Jason offers to help Medea in exile
• Medea doesnt want Jasons help
• Chorus prays that it is never without a country

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 656 Chorus insists there is no sorrow about
  loss of native land
• Aigeus, kind of Athens, enters
• Aigeus and Medea are old friends
• Aigeus still looking to have children
• Aigeus turns to Medea because she is clever
• Medea tells Aigeus how Jason has wronged her

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 657 Aigeus tells Medea to let Jason go if he is
  no good
• Medea asks Aigeus to receive her in Athens
• Medea will then pray for his progenypromises to
  give drugs to allow him to reproduce
• Aigeus will not take Medea out of Corinth, but he
  will welcome her in Athens

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 657 Medea wants Aigeus to take oath on their
  pact
• 658 Medea wants Aigeus to swear by Earth and
  Sky
• Swear that he will never force Medea out of
  Athens
• Medea wants to see Jason once morepart of her
  plan

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 658 Medeas plan
• Will endorse Jasons adultery
• Will ask that children can stay in Corinth
• Will send children with gifts for Jasons new
  bride
• Gifts will be poisoned so that all who touch them
  will die
• Medea weeps as her plan will cause her children
  to die

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 659 Medea realizes she will kill her children
• She will then flee
• Medea doesnt want to be remembered as weak,
  stay-at-home woman
• Chorus tells Medea not to do such an act
• Medea claims she must kill her children
• 0nly way to wound Jason

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 659 Medea tells chorus to obey her and be
  quietif they are born of women
• Chorus speaks of Athens as peaceful, content
  society
• 660 Chorus again begs Medea not to murder kids
• Jason enters
• Medea begs Jason for forgiveness

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 660 Medea now claims Jason is doing the best
  thing for his kids by giving them royal brothers
• Medea now tells Jason he is wise to marry again
• 661 Medea now claims she was wrong
• Suggests women are foolish and men wise

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 661 Medea invites children out to say goodbye
  to Jason
• Medea claims she is ending quarrel with Jason
• Jason agrees with Medeas newfound wisdom
• Claims her newfound wisdom is appropriate as she
  is clever

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 661 Jason tells kids that he has taken care of
  them
• Predicts they will be great leaders in Corinth
• Wants to see kids again when they are young men
• Medea starts to cry
• 662 Medea asks Jason to beg Kreon not to banish
  the children

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 662 Jason will try
• Medea will send gifts to Jasons new bride to
  persuade her
• Dress and golden diadem
• Medea sends poisoned gifts to Jasons new wife
• Jason tries to dissuade Medeaclaims such gifts
  to a princess are unnecessary
• Medea insists

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 663 Chorus bemoans impending death and grief of
  Jason
• Medea claims she is lost upon hearing her gifts
  have been receivedchildren are allowed to stay
• Medea says goodbye to kidsshe must go into exile
  while they can stay in Corinth
• 664 Medea tells kids once she leaves, they will
  never see her again

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 664 Children smile sweetly at Medea
• Medea now renounces plan and decides to take kids
  with her into exile
• Medea knows princess is now dyinig
• Medea now kisses children
• Medea has to send kids awaybecomes overcome by
  sorrow
• 665 Chorus claims women not without learning

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 665 Chours speaks of trials and difficulties of
  child-rearing
• Prompts us to question why we would ever have
  kids
• Medea awaits news of what she knows must come
• Medea now in the position to know what must come
• Messenger tells Medea to get out of the land
• Princess and King are dead

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 666 Medea tells messenger he speaks fine words
• Medea wants to know how they died
• Messenger offers accounts of Kings and
  Princesss death
• Jason had to persuade princess to accept gifts
• 667 Shriek rung out throughout palace

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 667 Rather gruesome account of Princesss death
• Princesss father comes to daughterasks to die
  with daughter
• King dies rather gruesomely
• 668 Chorus pities Kreons daughternot Jason
• Medea claims she must now kill kids and leave town

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 668 Medea tells herself to be forgetful of kids
  for a moment
• Chorus asks Earth and Sun (mother of Medea) to
  stop her from killing kids
• 669 Children now heardcryingasking for help
  to stop Medeatrapped by sword
• Jason arrivesclaims he has come to save lives of
  his boys

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 669 Chorus tells Jason Medea killed kids
• 670 Medea appears in chariot pulled by dragons
  with bodies of 2 kids
• Medea tells Jason he cannot harm her in chariot
  given her by Helios
• Jason indicts Medeacharges her with leaving him
  childless
• Jason now claims he was cusred all along for
  bringing Medea to Greece

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 670 Jason suggests Medea has always been
  murderous
• Jason bemoans he will never speak to his sons
  alive
• Medea tells Jason he can call her a monster if he
  wants to
• 671 Medea claims she shares in Jasons pain and
  grief
• Medea claims children died of disease caught from
  their father

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 671 Jason now calls Medea wholly evil
• Medea claims gods know who brought on kids
  sorrow
• Medea will not give Jason bodies of children to
  bury
• Medea to bury kids in Heras temple
• Medea predicts Jason will die without distinction

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• 671 Medea surprised Jason doesnt feel it
  yettells him to wait for future
• Medea claims Jason never wanted to speak to kids
  before they died
• Jason wants to touch boys flesh once more
• 672 Jason will now lament

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Medea (431 B.C.E.)

• Chorus expresses surprise that what the thought
  would happen has not happened at the end of the
  play
• Sense that this world and the gods are
  unpredictable