Student Question

Who is Hecate and why is she important in understanding Medea's actions?

Quick answer:

Hecate, in Greek mythology, is the goddess of magic and witchcraft, and plays a crucial role in understanding Medea's actions. Medea identifies as Hecate's high priestess, using this connection to legitimize her vengeful and immoral acts, believing the goddess supports her. This symbolic link transforms Medea from a passive victim to an active agent of revenge, mirroring Hecate's transformation from a virgin to a goddess, and guiding Medea's destructive path against those who wronged her.

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In Ancient Greek mythology, Hecate was the goddess of magic, witchcraft, and the night. In Euripides's Medea, it's no exaggeration to say that she provides the title character with the very foundations of her new identity.

Medea sees herself as a high priestess of Hecate and swears by the goddess that no one will get away with betraying her. Medea invokes Hecate's name to provide her numerous repellant actions throughout the play with a veneer of legitimacy. If you genuinely believe that you have the gods on your side, then virtually any action, no matter how immoral, can be justified.

By establishing a strong symbolic connection between herself and Hecate, Medea is showing that she's not prepared to live the rest of her life as Jason's passive victim. On the contrary, she's going to take control of her life and destroy anyone who gets in her way.

Medea, then, sees Hecate as something of a role model. By giving Glauce a poisoned garment, she is recalling the funeral rites associated with the goddess—when the dead virgin, as she then was, was adorned with the clothing of the goddess Artemis. In her role as vengeful murderer, Medea can be seen as carrying out the duties of a high-priestess of Hecate, the goddess of death. And part of that role involves making the innocent Glauce the kind of passive victim, which she herself steadfastly refuses to be.

Just as Hecate was transformed from a dying virgin into a goddess, so Medea has been turned from a faithful, loyal wife and mother into an avenging angel, hell-bent on meting out death and destruction to all who cross her.

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