The Tragedy Of Euripides ' Medea And Ovid 's ' Metamorphoses, Medea, And Juno

Euripides’ Medea and Seneca’s Medea are the two surviving ancient tragedies of Medea. Both versions are drastically different and contrast in several aspects. Euripides portrays Medea as more human. She is the epitome of the oppressed housewife and only after her suffering is she capable of the crimes she committed. Seneca’s Medea is even more vengeful than Euripides’ and she is angry from the very beginning. Seneca’s version also portrays Medea as a vengeful sorceress whereas in Euripides’ version, though she is known to be a witch and have remarkable skill in poisons and potions, that aspect is not as crucial and significant as in Seneca’s Medea. The two poets offer contrasting depictions and characterizations of Medea, the most

First, we will look at the motive in this case. What could have possible motivated Medea to murder her children? Medea has been scorned by her husband, Jason, who left her for another woman (Puchner 529). You see, Creon has arranged for Jason to marry his daughter (Puchner 529). Jason, believing this would be the best decision he could make for his children, accepted Creon’s offer (Puchner 543). Medea could be heard wailing and crying out in rage from this betrayal (Puchner 532). So, Medea decides to break her husband’s heart, as he had broken hers, by killing their sons (Puchner 548). She could have easily left, after being exiled by Creon, and started a new life for herself and her children (Puchner 535). In a time where Medea could have

Revenge is a kind of wild justice. Throughout many texts, the notion of justice has been debated on whether it is an act that vindicates those who have been wronged or an excuse to pursue revenge. Through Medea, Medea’s actions have been judged and criticised whether her murders are an act of justice that she deserves or simply the idea of inflicting pain on those she loathes.

Making Medea plot against the king represents the female group as rebellious and unsubmissive to authority. She vows to kill her children and this causes the chorus to be afraid of her. That was a big thing. The Chorus in Greek theater “represented with wonderful truth the Greek inquisitive crowd, and was essentially Athenian in conduct and in spirit” (Lauchlan 13-17). So to have the Chorus afraid of this “evil” woman portrays the general public’s feelings towards Medea. Therefore, the fear of the other characters due to Medea’s immense desire and actions for bloodshed and revenge shows how women are portrayed as crazy and murderous with no sense of empathy. Now, the killing of her children is an interesting strategy that Euripides used to show his misogynistic values. By adding this to the plot and making Medea come up with this plan all by herself shows how Euripides “constructed his character in such a way that the audience will be encouraged to perceive female sexuality and language as… a threat to male offspring” (Rabinowitz 126). This is a genius ultimate blow to feminism seeing that women, through Medea, are portrayed as a threat to not only men but to their offspring.

Medea’s version of justice is taking matters into her owns hands. She wants to take revenge on Jason by murdering his fiancee and his children. Medea killed her children to make Jason pay for his wrongdoing. Though she did feel regret, she still carried on and committed sacrilege against her children. Her actions was not justified in the court of law and in the eyes of men and women. She also not only killed her children, she killed Jason’s fiancee. The Corinthian princess, Glauce, died a brutal death by the gifts that Medea had given her. “She changed colour, staggered back and sideways, trembling, then fell into her chair again, almost collapsing on the floor” (Euripides 43). The messenger who went to Medea gave in full detail, a vivid description of the what happened to the princess of Corinth. Medea held no remorse for Glauce or the

According to the Ancient History Encyclopedia, in Ancient Greece women were expected to be dependent on their husbands and “were expected to rear children and manage the daily requirements of the household” (Cartwright). They couldn’t leave their husbands, but were left powerless if their husband chose to leave them. In Medea, Medea explains her scarcity of options as a woman when her husband leaves her for another woman; “But I am deserted, a refugee, thought nothing of by my husband” (Euripides, 9). At this point, Medea seems to fit the stereotype of being dependent on her husband. However later in the play, Medea completely opposes the conventional roles set for her by killing her children in order to gain power over her husband. By doing this, she

In Euripedes’ play Medea, he depicts Medea as a woman who is consumed with vengeance and hatred after being betrayed by her husband Jason. This betrayal sparks a series of “unholy, horrible” murders. Medea’s actions can be justified through justice and revenge. Medea was motivated by Jason’s actions to pursue her own actions against Jason. Medea wanted revenge toward her husband for leaving her after she fully dedicated herself to Jason - and she also wanted to seek justice for the pain that he caused her. However, Medea went too far by killing her two children who were innocent in this matter. Ultimately, Medea’s final deeds are justifiable and outweigh Jason’s betrayal of his family.

Medea accomplished that by giving birth to two children for Jason. As the play slowly unraveled, it plainly displayed that she was faithful towards her husband, but being an ideal Greek wife was not her factual nature. She was independent and her qualities made her different from the Corinth women. In the opening sequence, the nurse introduced Medea as a frightening woman when someone wronged her. “Her temperaments are dangerous and will not tolerate bad treatment. For she is fearsome. No one who joins in conflict with her will celebrate an easy victory”, the nurse presented (page 2, line). From this, the reader can envision how ordinary other Greek women were. How they didn’t have a mind of their own and were defenseless towards those shabby treatments from men. These women were submissive and didn’t have any control over their lives. However, the protagonist Medea did. She took matters in her own hands when her husband betrayed her.

In ‘Medea’, Euripides shows Medea in a new light, as a scorned woman that the audience sympathises with to a certain extent, but also views as a monster due to her act of killing her own children. The protagonist of a tragedy, known as the Tragic Hero is supposed to have certain characteristics which cause the audience to sympathise with them and get emotionally involved with the plot. The two main characters, Medea and Jason, each have certain qualities of the Tragic Hero, but neither has them all. This makes them more like the common man that is neither completely good nor evil, but is caught in the middle and forced to make difficult decisions.

As a mother, Medea on the surface is not the best, as she eventually kills her children, ignoring their pleas for mercy ("Mother, don't kill us"). However, we must not ignore the heartache and pain that Medea endures in killing them. It takes incredible conviction to carry it out ("parted from you, my life will be all pain and

At first she decides to spare her children since she didn’t want to see them die and couldn’t bear the thought of having to kill them. A quote from Medea is “Oh my heart, don’t don’t do it! Oh miserable heart. Let them be. Spare your children!”(Euripides 49 1057-1058). What the previous quote is saying in Medea would like to spare her children from death since they didn’t do anything wrong. What it is also saying is that her heart is miserable most likely meaning that she is sad and depressed. When she says “spare your children” she is telling herself don’t kill your children they don’t deserve to have to die just because of what your husband has done to her. What that all proves is that she really did not want to have to kill her kids. Once King Creon and the princess pass she finally decides that she must kill her two sons. A quote from Medea supporting why she had to kill her children is “For they must die In any case; and since they must, then I who gave birth will kill them” (Euripides 55 1237-1239). What the quote is saying is no matter what her kids will die. What it is also saying is that she is going to kill them. When Medea says “I who gave birth to them will kill them” she is saying that since she gave birth to her sons she should be able to see them die. What all of that proves is even though she might not want to kill them they will die no matter what and she should be able to see them die which is why she kills them herself. What both of those quotes prove is even though she kills them it was necessary since they would kill them to punish them for the crimes against the king and princess that they helped commit even though they didn’t know it would kill the

Medea separates herself from the rules set for Athenian women with her ability to displays a cruel, driven by revenge, and Machiavellian women. Her well planned out revenge would have been impossible for any woman average Athenian women. Medea declines the thought of women being inferior of all parts of the body and mind. Her use of how women were regarded and thought of by all Greek men, enabled her to Medea achieve her plan she had from the start. She killed the queen, her children, a destroyed her husband's future for happiness or recovery. Medea was able to go through with her revenge since she became possessed by her eager for revenge. Her cruel and nasty mindset over took her completely. Medea was a very clever woman that used ignorance

Many of Medea’s actions, which offend the gods, and the subsequent consequences for such actions throughout the story exhibit the “Divine Double Blind” concept. Medea starts off by offending the gods when, according to Jason, Medea’s husband, she “slaughtered [her] brother in [her] home” (81), and then, as is explained by the nurse, Medea’s servant, she causes Pelias’ daughter to kill their father (32). Medea’s first misdeed is thus murder, and although it is through Medea’s actions that these crimes are committed, because the gods control all the mortals, the gods are actually the ones who made her do them. Sticking with the “Divine Double Blind” concept, the gods punish Medea by having her marriage to Jason fall apart. The nurse recites that “their fine love’s grown sick, diseased, for Jason . . . married the daughter of king Creon” (32). Jason has neglected Medea and married another woman, which Medea responds to with rage. She kills again, this time targeting Jason’s new wife and her father, King Creon.

She continues to describe her state, “A typically unfair attitude, I suppose…” (316). Later, in the tragedy, Medea boldly leaves the house after murdering her own children in pursuit of satisfaction. Medea shows audiences the horror that can come when one lets the desire for revenge rule his/her life.

Aristotle cites that, "A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." Consistent to Aristotle’s characteristics of a tragic hero, the tragic hero must fit the requirements of being noble and employed in a high standing position of society. There should be a tragic flaw that ultimately leads to his downfall, and those reading the play must feel pity for this character as he goes through necessary changes as a result of his flaw. Aristotle illustrates a tragic hero as one who falls from grace into a state of acute misery. In Euripides’ Medea, the tragic hero is Jason, a man of noble birth who falls from being honored and respected due to a flaw in his character, that flaw being adultery. His adultery leads to terrible outcomes, the deaths of many people, and his loss of all the things he loved.His character is an excellent example of the heroes who rise high, then ultimately fail due to their own nature. By the end of the play he realizes his errors and becomes negligible. Some may argue that Medea is the tragic hero in the play, but this reasoning is flawed because Medea has no single flaw, she has exuded a sadistic nature from the start, from her actions involving the Golden Fleece to her killing her own offspring. Jason suffers from the fatal flaw of adultery that ultimately destines him for ruin, making it is clear that he serves as the tragic hero in Euripides '