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Medea | Reading Pointers for Sharper Insights

Reading Pointers for Sharper Insights

As you read Medea, be aware of the following themes and elements:

  • Greeks vs. Barbarians: In the 5th century, the area of modern Greece was occupied by dozens of small city-states and islands, each with its own peculiar legal and cultural institutions. Although these peoples were tied together by similar religious practices and often made alliances with one another, there was no unified Greek organization—no country of Greece. Hence, the Greeks viewed the world through a linguistic distinction: Greek-speakers, despite all their differences, were viewed as civilized, rational people, while anyone who did not speak Greek was termed a barbarian. The word barbaros had fewer negative connotations for the Greeks than it does for us, but they still viewed Greeks of any sort as culturally superior and more enlightened than even the best of barbarians. They applied this designation without exception; all non-Greek speakers—the nomadic Scythians of modern Ukraine, the inhabitants of the powerful, cosmopolitan Persian Empire, even the Romans—were ultimately, in Greek eyes, just barbarians.

    This distinction is very important in the play, because Medea is a barbarian and all the other characters are Greek. This makes Medea instantly an outsider, and for the Greeks, ties to homeland and community were very, very strong.

  • Gender: A second important distinction is obvious: Medea is a woman. In ancient Athens, women of well-born families were expected to stay at home in specially designated women's quarters all the time, except for certain religious festivals. Marriages were arranged by a girl's father or guardian. Women were not true citizens of the democracy and could not speak or vote in the assembly. They were not even allowed to speak in court, a basic right for Athenian men. As a woman and barbarian, Medea is very alienated. She, however, thinks of herself as Jason's equal; she refuses to be a submissive wife, which has disastrous results for her entire family and herself. Her manipulation of rhetoric is an especially masculine characteristic for the Greeks; by the play's end, she has essentially manipulated herself—her revenge destroys her as well as her enemies. Note throughout the play the emphasis Medea puts on her marriage with Jason, in which her father was completely uninvolved. She herself contracted the marriage and views her relationship with Jason as a friendship, one which he consistently violates by refusing to see her as his equal. Euripides was sometimes considered a misogynist by the Athenians because he wrote female characters like Medea, who defy everything the (male) Athenians thought a woman should be. Do you agree? Is Medea a good role model for women?

  • Witchcraft: Finally, Medea is a witch. While Euripides downplays this aspect of her life, the Athenian audience would know it already, and the poisoned clothing Medea uses to kill Creon and the princess have strong overtones of witchcraft. Witches, according to Greek thought, operated mainly via poison and drugs—just think of our concept of the witch's brew. They could also turn to specific deities for help. Certain gods in the Greek pantheon, like Hecate, goddess of the crossroads, were considered dark and evil and more suited to witchcraft and sorcery than proper religion; such gods were usually invoked by people plotting wicked deeds.

    Keep in mind that normal Greek religion included many aspects that seem similar to witchcraft to us—curses, prophecy and fortune-telling, animal sacrifice and rites involving the blood and entrails of the sacrificed victim. Greek witchcraft differed from this religion in the types and uses of ceremonies it employed.