Week 2: Medea by Euripides

Reading:
Medea

A Little About The Author:
Euripides was one of the three great Athenian tragedians, along with Aeschylus and Sophocles. He lived from 480-406 BC. Athens at this time was at it's theatrical height. Every year, at the Festival of Dionysus, three playwrights competed. Each playwright submitted a trilogy of tragedies and a satyr (a short, more comic play performed at the end of the festival for entertainment). Comic plays were introduced into the festival later in it's history, around 486 BC, and held much less importance. Euripides won only 4 festivals in his life, one posthumously, and did not gain his enormous popularity until later in history. We do, however, have a large number of his plays in tact, including the only satyr play existent in it's entirety.


A Little About The Reading:
This play tells of the messy break up between Medea and Jason. Jason was a hero of the ancient world and the rightful king of Iolcus. When he was an infant his tyrant uncle Pelias took the throne. Jason was sent to be raised and trained by the centaur Chiron (Chiron was generally the guy that Greeks went to to raise/teach their children. He also trained Heracles, Ajax, and many others). As an adult Jason returned to his home and challenged Pelias, who gave him a quest; to capture the golden fleece from the barbarian land of Colchis. Jason gathered a band of heroes that included such warriors as himself, Heracles, Orpheus, Castor and Pollux. They sailed in a boat called the Argos, therefore the famous title Jason and the Argonauts.
Long story short, they got the golden fleece, but only with the help of Medea, the princess of Colchis. She used her girlish charm and magical powers to secure Jason's success. Meanwhile they fell in love and sailed off into the sunset. It's not quites as romantic as it seems, though. To help them make a clean getaway Medea cut up her brother and dropped pieces of him into the sea. Her father was slowed down by constantly stopping to gather these pieces.
Lots of other things happened, like trickery, murder, and probably a few arguments. Eventually they were exiled to Corinth, along with their two sons. Here Jason decided to marry the princess of Corinth, Creusa. So here we have the story of the messiest, ugliest, and worst divorce of all time. It's just plain epic.
Some questions for reflection:
- How does Euripides view women?
- What is the function of the Greek chorus?
- How does this play reflect the Greek idea of the gods?