ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL AND ENDURING OF GREEK TRAGEDIES
Along with Sophocles and Aeschylus, Euripides is regarded as one of
the three great Greek tragedians from classical antiquity. One of his
most important surviving dramas is "Medea", which tells the story of the
wife of Jason of the Argonauts, who seeks revenge upon her unfaithful
husband when he abandons her for another bride.
Medea centers on the myth of Jason, leader of the Argonauts, who has won
the dragon-guarded treasure of the Golden Fleece with the help of the
sorceress Medea. Of divine descent, a niece of Circe and the
granddaughter of the sun god Helios, she had the gift of prophecy. Now,
having married Medea and fathered her two children, Jason abandons her
for a more favorable match, never suspecting the terrible revenge she
will take.
This story is set in Corinth, sometime after Jason's quest for the
Golden Fleece. Medea is raging against her husband's plans to marry
Glauce, the daughter of Creon, King of Corinth. Jason tries to explain
his plan to marry Glauce only to improve his status and afterwards
intends to unify the two families with Medea as his mistress, but Medea
is unconvinced and pursues her plan of murderous revenge. Euripides'
masterly portrayal of Medea's motives which fiercely drive her pursuit
of vengeance for her husband's insult and betrayal has held theater
audiences spellbound for more than twenty centuries.
