Introduction

Euripides (c. 485 BCE – 405 BCE) is one of the great Athenian playwrights. Of the 90 plays he wrote only 19 survive. Euripides often focused on the darker side of humanity, and this is evidenced in Medea. Euripides differs rather significantly from many of his Greek contemporaries insofar as who he gave voice to in his plays. Euripides’s plays often focus on the outsiders of a Greek society: slaves, women, foreigners, etc. Typically, these are the people that do not possess power or the ability to dictate their individual moments/decisions. In the case of the text we are reading, the play focuses on a foreign woman (Medea) who has settled in Corinth with her husband Jason (of Jason and the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece) and their two sons. As you read, take note of how Medea responds to the men that have controlled and continue to try to control her life. Consider what kind of world Medea lives in and how she responds to her situation and place in society. Do you see an intersection or a corollary in today’s society and the world we inhabit?

The difference of Medea’s world might be best thought through the idea of “Justice.” Justice has been a concept that has preoccupied philosophers, writers, and governments for a long time—watch this brief video that discusses the nuances of Justice in the West. There is a power dynamic at play within this text and you must ask, how might justice be best served here? The ruling elite want to proclaim that they are just and right, but this seems to serve their self-interest. Importantly, within Greek democracy, citizenship only extended to the free male population. Medea, as a woman and an outsider, stands outside of perceived power and therefore justice. Justice is usually in the purview of those that rule or govern (how is justice determined and defined within our society?), but how does control of law and order relate to justice and morality?  This leads to further questions that I want you to consider as you read: How are we to understand “Justice” and its relationship to power? How does this text show the ideas of justice and power intersecting? Is Medea capable of achieving justice through traditional means? To what extent are Medea’s actions just and who might be the one “getting justice”? Where is the line between justice and morality?

Medea

Characters of the Play

Medea, daughter of Aiêtês, King of Colchis.

Jason, chief of the Argonauts; nephew of Pelias, King of Iôlcos in Thessaly.

Creon, ruler of Corinth.

Aegeus, King of Athens

Nurse of Medea.

Two Children of Jason and Medea.

Attendant on the children.

A Messenger.

Chorus of Corinthian Women, with their Leader. Soldiers and Attendants.

The scene is laid in Corinth. The play was first acted when Pythodôrus was Archon, Olympiad 87, year 1 (B.C. 431). Euphorion was first, Sophocles second, Euripides third, with Medea, Philoctêtes, Dictys, and the Harvesters, a Satyr-play.

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