Medea (play)

Medea is a tragedy written by Euripides, based on the myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC. Along with the plays Philoctetes, Dictys and Theristai, which were all entered as a group, it won the third prize at the Dionysia festival. The plot largely centres on the protagonist in a struggle with the world, rendering it the most Sophoclean of Euripides' extant plays.

Themes

Unlike the plays of Aeschylus or Sophocles, Euripides shows the inner emotions of passion, love, and vengeance. Medea, uncharacteristically for a female character, is strong and powerful; the play is often seen as one of the first works of feminism, and Medea is seen as a feminist heroine. However, Euripides, rather than celebrating the strength and independence of Medea, may have been showing Athenian women how not to act. Medea is, after all, a barbarian from Colchis (οὐκ ἔστιν ἥτις του̂τ' ἂν ̔Ελληνὶς γυνὴ ἔτλη ποθ' , "there is no Greek woman who would have dared such deeds"), and the play is more likely an admonition than a celebration.

Related Topics:
Aeschylus - Sophocles - Passion - Love - Vengeance - Feminism - Colchis

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