It may be more accurate to say that the title character of Medea is something of an anti-hero than a hero. Let's explore this in more detail.

Medea has been abandoned by her husband, Jason, the man she had helped through multiple quests, abandoning and even betraying her own family in the process. Now Jason wants to marry another woman to raise his status. He has forgotten what Medea has done for him. He neglects the fact that they have children together. He will do as he wishes, and Medea has no say.

Medea is hardly a submissive woman, and King Creon banishes her and her children out of fear of the revenge she might take. Medea laments, but then she does indeed make plans for her revenge. And it is a gruesome one. She poisons Jason's new wife and Creon as well. Then she murders her own children as a final blow to Jason.

We cannot say that Medea is honorable for doing these things. She is, after all, killing the innocent. She is, actually, quite a dark character, brooding and, we might even say, wicked. We certainly have a difficult time sympathizing with what she does. She could have chosen a very different path. Yes, she was a victim of abandonment, and Jason is at fault there. But her revenge goes beyond all reason.