The Medea by Euripedes

During 431 B.C., Greek poet and writer Euripedes introduces his short play "The

Medea," focuses mainly on the negative portrayal of women; the questioning of traditional

mortality; and the role of a foreigner indifferent to conventional aspects of a new land.

Within ancient Greek society, women were portrayed in the eyes of a male-predominated

society in a unsubstantial role. Women were displaced in the gender system to a form of

injustice that had developed against them. Greek society had disdain for their women,

which is strongly represented in other ancient Greek poetry, writers and work of

literature. Women struggled with their difficult lifestyle settings that fell upon them and

attempted to justify their position in a male ancient Greek society. Euripedes' Greek play

"The Medea", a woman of harsh and violent behavior, had contradicted the mind of Greek

individuals - particularly men - who have already constructed the mindset of how women

can truly behave. Medea is depicted as a strong, powerful female figure - a heroine - who

does in fact takes her own destiny into her very hands.

Medea is a woman who was passionately in love with her husband Jason and

anything and everything to appease him on his behalf, stated in Line 13: "And she herself

helped Jason in every way" (578). Jason then begins an illicit love affair with Glauce,

King Creon's daughter. "For, deserting his own children and my mistress, Jason has

taken a royal wife to his bed, the daughter of the ruler of his land, Creon" (Lines 17-19,

578). Because of his betrayal, her deep passion immediately transforms into immense

hatred and rage. She then becomes driven to seek out his destruction, by killing his

child...

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...eling and submissive wife, to her husband's

delight. Jason goes for the act, displaying his lack of understanding and his eagerness to be

very much deceived by his own adsurb delusions and selfish dreams.

Works Cited

Bongie, E. B. 1977. "Heroic Elements in the Medea of Euripides." TAPA 107: 27–56.

Burnett, A. 1973. "Medea and the Tragedy of Revenge."CP 68.1: 1–24.

Damrosch, David. Pike, David L. "The Longman Anthology of World Literature." Compact Edition. New York. Pearson Longman. 2008.

Mastronarde, D. J. 2002. "Euripides: Medea." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Palmer, Robert B. "An Apology for Jason: A study of Euripides' "Medea.""The

Classical Journal. 53.2 (1957): 49-55.

Williamson, Margaret. "A Woman's Place in Euripides' Medea." in Powell, Anton, ed. Euripides, Women, and Sexuality. London: Routledge, 1990. 16-31.