Medea

Euripides had a tradition of not just supporting the cause of women, but also of slaves, and it is interesting that in some ways the Nurse in this play is presented as being the most sensible and...

Family life in Medea is presented as a source of conflict and chronic instability. Medea defies her father and, by extension, the established social norms by helping Jason to escape Colchis with...

Both Medea and Jocasta commit morally reprehensible acts in relation to their children, albeit for different reasons. Medea is traditionally presented as the epitome of evil for the murder of her...

Such a small number of Greek tragedies survive that it is difficult to speak with any confidence of their conventions, but it seems to have been the case that the action of the play never took...

It is hard to construct a defense for Medea. Euripides portrays her as a monster—he writes her as selfish, vengeful, and evil. The murder of her children is seen as unforgivable. However, I think...

In Medea, Jason has done some wrong things. He dishonors the commitment he made to his wife, leaves his family, and marries someone else, even though he is already married to Medea. Even if this is...

According to the British Journal of Psychiatry, a common psychosis exists in women which has been given the name "The Medea Complex," after the ancient Greek play Medea by Euripides (480-406 B.C.)....

In Greek myth, Jason was a hero who led the Argonauts on a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece for the king of Iolcus, Pelias. On this journey, Jason met the sorceress Medea, and the two eventually...

Euripides' Medea dramatizes, on some level, a barbarian woman's battle against and within the male power structure of mythical Greece. Euripides labels the chorus in this play as consisting of...

This summary will try to address both the version of the Medea staged by Euripides in 431 BCE and the play written by Seneca in the middle of the first century CE. The play begins with the news...

Aegeus offers Medea protection in his kingdom, a place of refuge after she's been unceremoniously dumped by Jason. This is very important for Medea as she has no place else to go. Now that Jason's...

Euripides' Medea was first staged in 431 BCE in Athens. Although modern audiences regard it as one of Euripides' finest plays, it did not receive critical acclaim from the ancient judges, who...

Euripides "Medea" was produced in Athens in 431 BC. Athenian society was what is often termed homosocial; men and women had very different roles and educations and socialized mainly with their own...

The Chorus pivots in its emotional reaction to the events of the drama. At the exposition, the Chorus shows sympathy to the wrongs done to Medea. They express lament to what has happened to her....

When considering this question, students will first need to think about the ancient source in which they are encountering Medea. Several different sources tell the story of Medea killing her...

I'm not entirely sure that Jason's actions can be justified. Medea went out a limb for him and he repaid her unfailing loyalty by dumping her. Medea took enormous risks to help Jason get ahold of...

I will answer a few of your questions here. Like Circe, Medea is well-known for being a sorceress, but in this play she is less dependent on her magical powers than on her all-consuming desire for...

Medea helps the cause of women by showing that, even in a male-dominated society, where women have no rights whatsoever, a woman can still show the strength of character to take control of her...

Medea killed Pelias (or drove his daughters to kill him) because he refused to relinquish the throne of Iolcus, meaning that he stood in Jason's way and hers. This is one of several events in...

The Chorus is all female and has two roles: it responds to the actions of Media and it directs the response of the audience to Media’s actions. The Chorus’ attitude toward Media begins with...

Psychiatrists have identified a condition which they have termed the Medea Complex. Several articles on the subject are accessible on the internet, including those on the reference links below. An...

I would argue that he does because he forces us to consider whether vengeance is really the same thing as justice. Most people at some point have probably wanted to carry out revenge on those...

To complete this assignment for Euripides's play Medea, you must first determine how the play does and does not reflect current societal trends. Since the play is about the betrayal of a wife by...

When the play begins, the relationship between Jason and Medea has already turned sour - and it goes on to develop into a full-blown mutual antagonism, with tragic, indeed horrifying consequences....

It's the male sex who are cruel and deceitful - they cannot keep oaths, and, the chorus prophecy, it is women whose reputation will turn over time and eventually become well thought of. Remember,...

In Medea, both Medea and Jason take matters way too far. They were once happily married, but then Jason became ambitious for more power. He decides to throw aside Medea and marry a woman of...

Seneca's Medea differs from Euripides' Medea in that Euripides' feels the horror of her act but is overwhelmed with raging emotions against humiliation and against letting someone else have and...

I think as well it's important to consider the contemporary context that these characters were created in. Medea is an excellent way to look at the values of Greek society during Sophocles's time...

Medea is a play totally lacking in heroes. Jason is an unfaithful husband, willing to throw Medea aside for another woman, despite Medea's severing all ties with her former life in order to be with...

In Euripides' play, first staged in 431 BCE, the playwright makes a "witch" his title character. Medea is a sorceress of the highest caliber. Most of the supernatural aspects of the play occur near...

To make it plain and simple, Aristotle's "golden mean" is that we should have moderation in everything. Too much of anything can be bad. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Philosophy defines...

When writing an essay about Jason and Medea, there are many points of comparisons that you can make. I suggest that you pick one comparison and make it into your thesis. From this point, think of...

Through the situation of Medea, the generally inferior status of women in the ancient world is vividly highlighted. Medea at first comes across as a character to be sympathized with in her...

Yes, these lines 1080 to 1115 are sung by the chorus, though these lines do not exhibit the characteristic strophe/antistrophe structure. The chorus (though a corporate body made up of a group of...

There are elements of Euripides's Medea that are absolutely typical of Greek plays of the fifth century BCE, and there are elements of Medea that are absolutely atypical and which defy traditions...

If we look at Euripides' Medea, which was originally staged in 431 B.C.E., from the perspective of Aristotle's Poetics, written at least five decades later, then we can only conclude that...

In answering the question of whether Creon is justified in banishing Medea from Corinth, we need to understand the social context in which his decision is made. At that time, everyone in society...

The Golden Fleece originated when a Greek king named Athamas was about to sacrifice his son, Phrixus. Phrixus was hated by his step-mother, Ino, who plotted to have Phrixus killed and arranged for...

Medea was written by Euripides in 431 BCE. The play was performed at the annual Festival of Dionysus in Athens, where it was not well-received. Although the play is based on the ancient Greek myths...

In ancient times, Euripides was known as the philosopher of the stage and so, yes, I would certainly say that any of his plays are filled with "ideas." Modern readers of Euripides' Medea need to...

The original question had to be edited. I would suggest that Medea's views about women affect her relationships with other women in the narrative significantly. Part of the challenge is that...

To the original audience, Medea's rage in Medea by Euripides, would have seen unjustified. It would have been viewed as an example, though, of the failings of women, in general, to control their...

Eliza Doolittle is a dirty, lower-class, uneducated girl who sells flowers for a living. No one gives her much of a glance, and even Higgins and Pickering wouldn't have taken a second look at her...

Medea is an unusual tragedy, at least among the very small number of such plays that have survived. It does not involve the protagonist falling from a high position by means of a tragic flaw....

Euripides' Medea was first staged in 431 BCE in Athens. This year was an important one because it marked the beginning of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and her allies and Sparta and her...

In many respects, the significance of the Nurse suggesting that she does not prefer to be great speaks to the humility that Euripides suggests is needed in being a human being. In the opening of...

Euripides' Medea tells of the trials and tribulations Medea faces through supporting Jason, taking care of her family, and finding solace in her revenge. One could support Medea's actions in two...

In the opening scene of the classic Greek revenge tragedy, Medea, written by Euripides in about 431 BCE, Medea's nurse says that she's fearful of what Medea might do to avenge Jason's abandoning of...

Break it down before you get started. Making an outline is always helpful. The first thing you have to do is choose your character. Think about the things you have read--is there a character that...

A good part of the emotional power of this play comes from the fact that Medea does NOT let the norms of Greek society or her position in it define her life. The play opens with the news that...