Dear Classical Wisdom Members,
One of the great revelations one stumbles upon when discovering Greek mythology is that there is no one ‘real’ version.
Some iterations are earlier, some more localized and others regional, some have endured better through the ravages of time and occupy prominent space in popular culture, while still others remain hidden in dusty books or Egyptian trash heaps...
... but which one is right is a futile discussion.
Instead, we should see these various adaptations as a shimmering tile of a greater mosaic. Like a Picasso painting that lets you see different sides at once, we have to understand the many forms of the myth to truly appreciate its power and relevance. What is fascinating really, is what the differences reveal, how they expose a critical feature or belief of a time or place.
This point is perhaps best exemplified by one of the most divisive extreme characters from the ancient world: Medea.
Her story has it all... love, betrayal, adventure and the exotic. Sure, there is magic, dragons and an escaping princess (the stuff of a great timeless tale)... but this myth also demonstrates other eternal conflicts: Greed, power struggles, foreigners, lost love and revenge.
And yet, throughout the ages and throughout the Mediterranean, treatment of the runaway Colchian princess has varied widely.
(We had the immense pleasure of exploring Medea’s homeland of Georgia recently, and I can assure you her representation is very different there - as well as in Corinth where the supposed fatal actions took place).
The reason we think of her as the maddened mother who murders her children is the result of Euripides, the darkest and most twisted of all the Greek tragedians.
But did Euripides make her evil? Was this a great injustice or did she deserve this treatment? Was she wrong all along or should we have sympathy for her?
This is one of those texts that you definitely need to read for yourself to judge...
Classical Wisdom Members, please enjoy the Ebook: Euripides’ Medea in today’s issue... and to get you started, we have the introduction to Medea below to whet the appetite and spark the imagination.
Dig in and let me know what you think of Medea...
All the best,
Anya Leonard
Founder and Director
Classical Wisdom
P.S. If you aren’t a member, but would like to enjoy today’s Ebook on Medea, make this the moment to level up your Classical knowledge!
Access to all our resources is just one of the benefits of joining our growing community. Commit to the Classics and enjoy the Wisdom:
Medea
By Nicole Saldarriaga
“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.”
These words (originating in a 1697 play by William Congreve) may have been written long after Euripides had turned to dust, but they seem to be retroactively applicable to Medea. More than applicable--intensely appropriate.
If there is anything memorable about Medea and the titular character herself, it’s the way her intense love, when betrayed, turned--almost at the flick of a switch--into a terrifyingly destructive rage.
Time has preserved many more of Euripides’ plays than that of his contemporaries, and yet not many people are as familiar with his work as they might be with say, that of Sophocles or Aeschylus. Medea, however, is one Euripides’ play that almost everyone has heard of. This treasured piece of the Western canon gained so much popularity with theaters and audiences that up through the 20th century it boasted the title of most frequently performed Greek tragedy.
Something about the play causes an intense fascination in the hearts and minds of anyone familiar with it.
Perhaps it is a fascination with the unstable nature of romantic love. Medea, after all, takes its characters from the incredibly famous myth of Jason and Medea, which was considered a story of love and adventure in its own right.
For those of us who need a recap: In Greek mythological history, Jason was the son and rightful heir of Aeson, the king of Iolcos. When Jason was still an infant, Aeson’s power-hungry half-brother, Pelias, overthrew Aeson and killed most of his descendants. Jason was saved by his mother, who sent him to be raised and tutored by the centaur, Chiron.
Years later, after Jason had grown, he returned to Iolcos to claim the throne. Pelias agreed to hand over his crown if Jason successfully completed a quest to retrieve the legendary Golden Fleece--a symbol of kingship and power.
After a few small adventures, Jason and his loyal crew, called the Argonauts (after the ship, named the Argo) arrived in Colchis, the home of the Golden Fleece. Its owner, king Aeetes of Colchis (in true mythological fashion), agreed to give the fleece to Jason if he could complete three impossible tasks.
Enter Medea.
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