Medea by Euripides
Medea by Euripides
Copyright Notice ©1998-2002; ©2002 by Gale Cengage. Gale is a division of Cengage Learning. Gale and Gale Cengage are trademarks used herein under license. For complete copyright information on these eNotes please visit: http://www.enotes.com/medea/copyright
eNotes: Table of Contents
1. Medea: Introduction 2. Medea: Euripides Biography 3. Medea: Summary 4. Medea: Themes 5. Medea: Style 6. Medea: Historical Context 7. Medea: Critical Overview 8. Medea: Character Analysis ♦ Medea ♦ Other Characters 9. Medea: Essays and Criticism ♦ Modern Audience Versus Fifth-Century Greek Audience ♦ Eunpidean Drama, Myth, Theme, and Structure ♦ On Stage: Selected Theater Reviews from The New York Times 10. Medea: Compare and Contrast 11. Medea: Topics for Further Study 12. Medea: Media Adaptations 13. Medea: What Do I Read Next? 14. Medea: Bibliography and Further Reading 15. Medea: Pictures 16. Copyright
Medea: Introduction
Euripides 's Medea (431 B.C.) adds a note of horror to the myth of Jason and Medea. In the myth, after retrieving the golden fleece Jason brings his foreign wife to settle in Corinth. There Jason falls in love with the local princess, whose status in the city will bring Jason financial security. He marries her without telling Medea. Medea takes revenge by killing the new bride and her father, the King of Corinth. One variation of the myth says that Medea then accidentally kills her two sons by Jason while trying to make them immortal. Euripides takes the myth into a new direction by having Medea purposely stab her children to death in order to deprive Jason of all he loved (as well as heirs that would carry on his name). In one of literature 's most intensely emotional scenes, Medea debates with herself whether to spare her children for her own love 's sake Medea 1
or to kill them in order to punish her husband completely. A chorus of Corinthian women sympathize with Medea but attempt to dissuade her from acting on her anger.
Copyright Notice ©1998-2002; ©2002 by Gale Cengage. Gale is a division of Cengage Learning. Gale and Gale Cengage are trademarks used herein under license. For complete copyright information on these eNotes please visit: http://www.enotes.com/medea/copyright
eNotes: Table of Contents
1. Medea: Introduction 2. Medea: Euripides Biography 3. Medea: Summary 4. Medea: Themes 5. Medea: Style 6. Medea: Historical Context 7. Medea: Critical Overview 8. Medea: Character Analysis ♦ Medea ♦ Other Characters 9. Medea: Essays and Criticism ♦ Modern Audience Versus Fifth-Century Greek Audience ♦ Eunpidean Drama, Myth, Theme, and Structure ♦ On Stage: Selected Theater Reviews from The New York Times 10. Medea: Compare and Contrast 11. Medea: Topics for Further Study 12. Medea: Media Adaptations 13. Medea: What Do I Read Next? 14. Medea: Bibliography and Further Reading 15. Medea: Pictures 16. Copyright
Medea: Introduction
Euripides 's Medea (431 B.C.) adds a note of horror to the myth of Jason and Medea. In the myth, after retrieving the golden fleece Jason brings his foreign wife to settle in Corinth. There Jason falls in love with the local princess, whose status in the city will bring Jason financial security. He marries her without telling Medea. Medea takes revenge by killing the new bride and her father, the King of Corinth. One variation of the myth says that Medea then accidentally kills her two sons by Jason while trying to make them immortal. Euripides takes the myth into a new direction by having Medea purposely stab her children to death in order to deprive Jason of all he loved (as well as heirs that would carry on his name). In one of literature 's most intensely emotional scenes, Medea debates with herself whether to spare her children for her own love 's sake Medea 1
or to kill them in order to punish her husband completely. A chorus of Corinthian women sympathize with Medea but attempt to dissuade her from acting on her anger.
Bibliography: and Further Reading 24