Download Medea

How to Analyze Dramatic Quote
Euripides’s Medea
Prologue
Who
• The Nurse of Medea’s children
• The Tutor of Medea’s Children
• Medea
What
• The Nurse tells of past events that led to the
current situation.
• She talks about Jason's ship the Argo and its
heroes. (what is the Argo)
The Argo
• Legend
• The Argo was built by Argus, and its crew were
specially protected by the goddess Hera.
• According to a variety of sources of the legend,
the Argo was said to have been planned or
constructed with the help of Athena. According to
other legends it contained in its prow a magical
piece of timber from the sacred forest of Dodona,
which could speak and render prophecies.
The Argo’s connection to Jason and
Medea
• Jason (Greek: ) was a late ancient Greek
mythological hero from the late 10th Century
BC, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and
their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the
son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus. He
was married to the sorceress Medea.
• the Argo was the ship on which Jason and the
Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to retrieve the
Golden Fleece.
• Jason was the son of the lawful king of Iolcus,
but his uncle Pelias had usurped the throne.
• Pelias lived in constant fear of losing what he had
taken so unjustly.
• When Jason had come of age, Jason set out like a
proper hero to claim his rightful throne.
• When he asked his uncle Pelias to give him back
his throne, he said, "To take my throne, which
you shall, you must go on a quest to find the
Golden Fleece." Jason happily accepted the
quest.
• Jason assembled a great group of heroes,
known as the Argonauts after their ship, the
Argo. The group of heroes included the
Boreads (sons of Boreas, the North Wind) who
could fly, Heracles, Philoctetes, Peleus,
Telamon, Orpheus, Castor and Pollux,
Atalanta, and Euphemus
The Golden Fleece
• Medea statue holding the Golden Fleece in
the center of Batumi (One of the major cities
of Colchis), Georgia.
Modern day Georgia or
Colchis’ Medea’s country
The story of Jason and the Golden
Fleece Myth
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/
jason_01.shtml.
• For the complete story see the above link.
The importance of the Golden Fleece
• Why a fleece?
• Fleeces are connected with magic in many folk
traditions.
• For the ancient Etruscans a gold coloured fleece
was a prophecy of future prosperity for the clan.
• Recent discoveries about the Hittite Empire in
Bronze Age Anatolia show celebrations where
fleeces were hung to renew royal power.
• This can offer insight into Jason's search for the
fleece and Aietes' reluctance to relinquish it. The
fleece represented kinship and prosperity.
Medea, Jason and the Fleece
• Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. She
was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis,
niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god
Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason.
• In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea
when Creon, king of Corinth, offers him his
daughter, Glauce. The play tells of how Medea
gets her revenge on her husband for this
betrayal.
Medea’s role
• Medea's role began after Jason arrived from Iolcus to Colchis (The old
kingdom of Georgia) to claim his inheritance and throne by retrieving the
Golden Fleece.
• In the most complete surviving account, the Argonautica of Apollonius,
Medea fell in love with him and promised to help him, but only on the
condition that if he succeeded, he would take her with him and marry her.
• In a familiar mythic motif, Aeëtes promised to give him the fleece, but only
if he could perform certain tasks.
• First, Jason had to plough a field with fire-breathing oxen that he had to
yoke himself. Medea gave him an unguent with which to anoint himself
and his weapons, to protect him from the bulls' fiery breath.
• Then, Jason had to sow the teeth of a dragon in the ploughed field
(compare the myth of Cadmus). The teeth sprouted into an army of
warriors. Jason was forewarned by Medea, however, and knew to throw a
rock into the crowd.
continuation
• Finally, Aeëtes made Jason fight and kill the
sleepless dragon that guarded the fleece.
• Medea put the beast to sleep with her narcotic
herbs. Jason then took the fleece and sailed away
with Medea, as he had promised.
• Apollonius says that Medea only helped Jason in
the first place because Hera had convinced
Aphrodite or Eros to cause Medea to fall in love
with him.
• Medea distracted her father as they fled by
killing her brother Absyrtus.
Medea in Corinth
• The nurse tells of Medea’s position in Corinth
as well respected wife and mother.
• The tutor tells the nurse that Medea will be
banished form Corinth
• Medea’s anger toward Jason also is directed
toward her sons from him.
• The nurse is afraid of the actions Medea might
take.
Conclusion of the Prologue
• The Nurse talks about the virtues of middle
position in life.
• Powerful and wealthy people can afford to
exceed the limits when angry.
• Medea who is a daughter of a king,half
goddess and a sorceress, can not ignore
Jason’s insults and betrayal after all the
services and sacrifices she did him.
Why?
• Why the prologue introduces all this speech?
• As a whole the prologue sets the mode of the
play. It sets an ominous and sad tone with
love, betrayl anger and eventually revenge.
• It introduces the main characters, Medea and
Jason and their famous love story ( you need
to know the myth to appreciate the sacrifices
Medea made to be with Jason)
Why: Continuation
• The Who Medea’s is, (look at earlier slide) and
the aide she gave to Jason when he was in
desperate situations can explain Medea’s anger
and character.
• We learned about Jason’s character which is not
promising.
• We can see the effect of unreserved passion,
whether love or hatred.
• The emotional and character qualities between
normal and powerful people.