Medea relates a story about the power of love, which induces sacrifice as well as jealousy and feelings of revenge aroused by betrayal. Medea, the principal character, is a woman, who is so smitten by her love for Jason that she forsakes her family, country and people to live in "...the land of Corinth with her husband and children, where her exile found favour with the citizens to whose land she had come...."
Medea never even realizes the value of maintaining a strong bond with family and country till she is betrayed by Jason's marrying the daughter of Creon, the king of Corinth: "...and softly to herself bemoans her father dear, her country and her home, which she gave up to come hither with the man who now holds her in dishonour. She, poor lady, hath by sad experience learnt how good a thing it is never to quit one's native…...

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Works Cited

Euripides. "Medea." Translated by Coleridge, E.P. The Internet Classics Archive. URL:  http://classics.mit.edu/Euripides/medea.html

Medea
Villianness, Victim, or Both?

Medea has emerged from ancient myth to become an archetype of the scorned woman who kills her own children to spite her husband, who must then suffer the fate of outliving them. The story itself is horrific, and yet it remains strangely fascinating, and into the mouth of its maniacal heroine many writers have given philosophies which were too subversive to be voiced in open discourse. Many Medea have been crafted, and though the story remains consistent in every version, there is a degree to which the spirit of the age -- or at least the artist -- regarding women, violence, deity, and self-will is solidified and embodied in the central character. This difference is clearly seen in the difference between the way that Seneca presented Medea in Rome and the way it had originally been presented on the Grecian stage by Euripides: to the former she…...

This double standard is prominent in Medea, for example when Jason admits that it is normal for women to get very angry when their husband is being unfaithful, yet he expects Medea to forget about it. (Euripides, ln 908-910) This is yet another way in which Medea parallels the position of women in our society today who are also expected to keep their feelings hidden.
Medea has an inclination towards killing people as a way to solve problems. Long before killing her husband's wife or her own children, she had killed her own brother in order to escape a difficult situation. As a representation of all women in Greek culture, this is not an out of character action, for women throughout Greek mythology have been murderous. (Not that men in Greek stories are any less ready to slay another living creature!) Some may consider Medea to be evil because she…...

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Bibliography

Burnyeat, M.F. "Excuses for Madness" London Review of Books.  http://www.lrb.co.uk/v24/n20/burn02_.html 

Euripides. Medea. Trans. Ian Johnson. http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/euripides/medea.htm

Strijdom, Johan. "Restraining Rage: The Ideology of Anger Control in Classical Antiquity. (Review)" Scholia Reviews. http://www.classics.und.ac.za/reviews/0317har.htm

Medea also uses her children by having them deliver poison in the disguise of gifts, as no one would expect the children to have ill intentions. The children present the gifts as a request to let them avoid banishment, but in reality the gifts have been sent not to aid the children's situation at all. Throughout the play Medea acts like a puppet-master using the children to get her goals accomplished without being detected. They are the perfect cover.
In addition to the children being used as a symbol, Euripides also harnesses the use of the sun as a symbol in Medea. The sun is a symbol of the "light" of reason and civilization, in a contrast to Medea's darkness and barbaric nature. Two sun gods, Apollo and Helios, are both used in Medea. "Apollo is the god of order, of art, of moderation and civilization. Helios, on the other…...

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Bibliography

Euripides. Medea. Trans. Ian Johnson. http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/euripides/medea.htm

Hlabadie. "Medea." Reference, Education and News > Teaching and Research. Google Answers. March 2004.  http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=312929 

Tagle, Steven. "The Dramatic Appeal of Human Props in Greek Drama." Stanford University. 9 March 2004.  http://www.stanford.edu/~stagle/ESSAYS/WIN%20IHUM33A%20E02%20HumanProp.htm

Freudian theory believes that extreme suffering removes own from the tamed state which each individual resides within civilization, "Just as satisfaction of instinct spells happiness for us, so severe suffering caused us if the external world lets us starve, if it refuses to state our needs," (Freud 28). Medea is so affected by her suffering that she removes herself from everyday life, "She lies without food and gives herself up to suffering," (Euripides 2). In order to deal with her extreme pain, Medea chose to take back the authority which Jason and the King had originally stolen from her. Rather than fade away into exile, she took action in her own life to regain control, an act which is also seen in Freud's theories, "One may therefore hope to be freed from a part of one's sufferings by influencing the instinctual impulses," (Freud 28). She let loose her aggression…...

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Works Cited

Euripides. Medea. Dover Publications. New York. 1993.

Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. Norton & Company. New York.

Sirola, Riitta. "The Myth of Medea from the Point-of-View of Psychoanalysis."

Scandinavian Psychoanalytic Review. 2004. 27: 94-104.

"As a female foreigner whose relationship with Jason was only formalized with the birth of the children, Medea would have been viewed as an irregular companion, and after Jason's betrothal to Glauce, she would be reduced to the status of concubine." (Guastella in Claus) This makes them a helpful tool in securing her bond to Jason.
Another means by which they can be useful props for Medea is when she sends them carrying poison to their new step-mother. Medea spends time with them to make and carry out plans to kill her enemies, but she does not spend time with them out of love. "Jason and Medea's two children function as her primary props, her greatest source of power." (Taggle)

Although the relationship is a focal point of Euripides' play, it is not a play about the relationship between mothers and children. The children are not complete characters in the play,…...

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Works Cited

Euripides. Medea. Trans. Ian Johnson. http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/euripides/medea.htm

Guastella, Gianni. "Il destino dei figli di Giasone (Euripide, Ovidio, Seneca)." In Clauss, James. University of Washington. 2000. http://omega.cohums.ohio-state.edu/mailing_lists/BMCR-L/2002/0162.php

Tagle, Steven. "The Dramatic Appeal of Human Props in Greek Drama." Stanford University. 9 March 2004.  http://www.stanford.edu/~stagle/ESSAYS/WIN%20IHUM33A%20E02%20HumanProp.htm

Medea is even further in exile, however, because she is in a foreign land without any of her ancestors to guide her. Her husband has abandoned her for a new bride, and she is being exiled from this city. Medea has been left completely isolated, except for the companionship she is finding in the chorus she confides in. The spirit of womanhood remains with her, despite being left alone by all others.
FInally, Medea addresses the chorus with her plans for revenge. "If I find some way to punish Jason for these injustices, along with his bride and father, too, say nothing." (Euripides) In this moment, she gives warning that her wrath will fall upon those that have wronged her, but the women of the city do not wish to betray her. Similar to modern stories such as Andrea Yates (Ramsland) who told several people she intended to kill her…...

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Works Cited

Euripides. Medea. Trans. Ian Johnson. http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/euripides/medea.htm

Geetanjali. "Feminist Reading of Euripides' Medea." Literary Mosaic II. 1 April 2004. http://literarymosaicii.blogspot.com/2004/04/feminist-reading-of-euripides-medea.html

Ramsland, Katherine. "Andrea Yates." Crime Library. http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/women/andrea_yates/index.html

The children are their mother's power in a very real sense. hen Medea must appeal to the best intentions of Creon, she presents the case of her poor unfortunate children that are no deserving of any punishment. It is through his pity for the children that Medea is able to remain for a time long enough to fulfill her plans to get revenge. Again, her children assist her when no one else could by taking the poisoned gifts to their step mother. Because the children are innocent, no one would suspect any foul play, unlike if Medea herself delivered these items. Many times all of Medea's plans are built on the assistance that her children will provide for her, and they offer their services to her without any hesitation. She has complete power over them because she is their mother, and at the same time they are able to…...

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Works Cited

Euripides. Medea. Trans. Ian Johnson. http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/euripides/medea.htm

Geetanjali. "Feminist Reading of Euripides' Medea." Literary Mosaic II. 1 April 2004. http://literarymosaicii.blogspot.com/2004/04/feminist-reading-of-euripides-medea.html

Tagle, Steven. "The Dramatic Appeal of Human Props in Greek Drama." Stanford University. 9 March 2004.  http://www.stanford.edu/~stagle/ESSAYS/WIN%20IHUM33A%20E02%20HumanProp.htm

Medea's Children: Revenge And Euthanasia
Over the course of Euripides' play Medea, the protagonist makes five truly significant speeches which seem to provide the outline for the plot. In these speeches Medea addresses the audience or the chorus of women, among whom she seeks a measure of justification and self-understanding. From the beginning her motivation and determination in destroying Jason's new family is obvious. However, her thoughts regarding the death of her own children seem to vacillate throughout the work. Over the course of these speeches, one sees the development of her revenge, the careful strategic outlay of her plans, and steady struggle between her maternal instincts, her womanly desire for revenge, and he desire to shelter her children from a harsh reality.

When we first see Medea enter the play, she is hysterical in grief. At that moment, she speaks of hating her children, saying "Children of a hateful mother, I…...

Medea and Othello:
The protagonists Medea and Othello both suffer a crisis of identity. At once, they are privileged, respected members of their communities. As a result of decisions they make, and decisions made about them, they lose their power. Notably, these characters show some similarities and differences despite being written in different periods. hile Medea was written by Euripedes during the classical period and Othello written by Shakespeare during the romantic era, the two stories present tragedies that are similar and different in various aspects including story plots and settings. Medea and Othello are considered as stories of tragedy because of the fatal flaws in the characters of these individuals that contributed to their ruin.

Medea had lived together with Jason as husband and wife in Corinth after fleeing from Colchis, Medea's first homeland. The couple was forced to flee from Colchis after Medea betrayed King Aaetes and Iolcos following the…...

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Works Cited:

Euripides. Medea. New York: Start LLC, 2013. Print.

Shakespeare, William, and Gayle Holste. Othello. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series, 2002. Print.

Medea does not so much get help from outside as she makes her own aid, supernaturally. She uses magic to prepare the poisonous dress. She also uses magic to foretell a cure for Aegeus, so as to procure his promise of shelter when all is done. The crossing of the threshold is accomplished as she manages to convince Jason to take her two children and their poisonous gift into the inner sanctum of his new home. That her own husband should serve as the threshold guardian begins to portray the subtle way in which what (up until now) might look like a monomyth is about to take a gruesome turn away from anything which might be conceived as heroic. So the children, and with them symbolically Medea herself, enter into the very belly of the whale where they will confront Jason and his new wife. The first phase of…...

Though Medea has been repeatedly referred to as a 'witch' with magical powers, she being the niece of Circe, she is, first and foremost, a woman. She is as much a human being as anybody else, and at the same time, she is in the possession of Divine powers, and this is what helps her get out of Greece and out of her husband's life. (Theater eviews)
Medea has been compared and likened to Achilles, in that she helps her friends, like Aegeus, and harms her enemies, like Pelias. She is in fact likened to a Homeric Hero, and even a step further than that, because she in fact was responsible for the death of her closest friends, her children, when she murdered them in order to spite and wreak revenge upon her husband. Though Medea assumes monstrous proportions towards the end of the play, nowhere is it stated that…...

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References

Classic Note on Medea. Retrieved at   Accessed on 12 June, 2005http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/medea/fullsumm.html .

Euripides and his Tragedies. Retrieved at   Accessed on 12 June, 2005http://www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/euripides001.html .

McDonald, Marianne. Theater Reviews. Retrieved at Accessed on 12 June, 2005http://didaskalia.open.ac.uk/issues/vol1no3/mac3.html.

Medea', a Summary and analysis of the Play by Euripides. Retrieved at   Accessed on 12 June, 2005http://www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/bates018.html .

Although appearing to act in cold blood, Medea is obviously driven by the irrational forces of her subconscious when he murders her children. On the one hand her act is a reaction towards the threat that a hostile society poses against her identity. On the other hand, he murder is a revenge against her husband's infidelity. The fact that Jason tries to lessen his own deed and make it seem but a reasonable thing that any woman 'with sense' should merely accept, points at the fact that he shamelessly pursues his own goals without considering the damage he does to the others: "Jason: Did you really think it right to kill them because of a marriage? Medea: Do you imagine that loss of love is a trivial grief for a woman? Jason: For a woman of sense, yes. But you find everything a disaster."(Euripides 1994, p. 396) Thus, it…...

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References

Euripides. Cylcops. Alcestis. Medea (trans. By David Kovacs). New York: Loeb Classical Library, 1994.

Medea- a tragic heroine to Aristotle'
This paper is an illustration of the characteristics inherent to the protagonist in Plays of Euripides: Medea that was conceived in 431 C, as they collaborate to Aristotle's concept of tragedy and tragic protagonists

In order to effectively understand the topic of this paper, it is imperative that we first take a look at the character who is supposed to analyzed in the light of her fulfilling the criterion of that of a tragic heroine; Medea: the Wife of Jason, who has deserted her at the beginning of the play for the daughter of King Creon, subsequently creating a scenario that is prevalently tense and regretful, particularly in aspect of the effect that his departure to another wife has had on Medea. The occurrence of Medea's link to Jason as his wife comes about as the Argonauts, a group of Greek set under to command of…...

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Bibliography

Plays of Euripides: Medea [431 B.C.] Relevancy: 76; (Monarch Notes) Euripides; 01-01-1963 Size: 20K Reading Level: 9.

Philosophy of Aristotle: The Poetics Relevancy: 91; (Monarch Notes) Aristotle; 01-01-1963 Size: 35K Reading Level: 9.

Medea: A Woman Scorned
Only an extraordinary woman is capable of killing her own children, whether to save them from something worse or not. Euripides confronts ancient Greece with a woman who is exceptionally intelligent. And also angry because her husband has unfairly left her for a younger, more beautiful woman who can help him get ahead and "gain wealth and power" for himself and his sons. She helped him get the Golden Fleece, left her own country and family for his, killed her own brother in order to save him when they were on the ship, and bore him two sons. After all Medea has done for him, Jason reveals himself as weak and rather stupid, really, when he fails to appreciate Medea's sacrifices and the depth of her loyalty and passion for him. Her feelings about his abandonment begin with grief and suicidal thoughts: "That lightening from heaven would…...

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Bibliography

Euripides. "Media." The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Bernard M.W. Knox.

New York W.W. Norton & Company, 1985, 743-777.