Medea (play)
In 431 BC, the City Dionysia festival in Athens hosted a fierce competition among three tragedians. Euphorion, son of Aeschylus, won first prize that year. Sophocles took second place. Euripides placed third with his play Medea. This ranking suggests the audience did not immediately embrace the work as a masterpiece. The competition was exceptionally difficult, and even winning second or third was an achievement. Yet the play survived while its rivals vanished into silence. Only Medea remained to be read by future generations. Some ancient scholars claimed the Corinthians bribed Euripides five talents to write the story. Others argued the play offended traditional values because it showed a mother killing her children without madness. The text resurfaced in Rome during the Augustan era. It reappeared again in 16th-century Europe. By the 20th century, it became the most frequently performed Greek tragedy.
Medea stands alone on stage, her eyes burning with rage against Jason for betraying their marriage. She has already used magic to help him win the Golden Fleece, but now he seeks Glauce, daughter of King Creon of Corinth. The nurse hears Medea's grief and fears she might harm herself or their two sons. Creon arrives to order her exile from Corinth. Crouching at his feet, Medea begs for one day's delay in the name of her children. He grants her request, moved by her sudden shift from fury to pleading. Later, Aegeus, king of Athens, visits her. He offers refuge if she can cure his infertility. She agrees and secures a safe haven for when she flees. Then comes the poison plan. She wraps golden robes and a coronet in deadly venom. Her own children deliver these gifts to Glauce. The princess puts them on and dies in agony. Creon tries to save her and also perishes. Medea then kills her sons to hurt Jason most deeply. A chariot sent by Helios lifts her above the stage as Jason screams below. She escapes to Athens while the chorus contemplates the will of Zeus.
Fiona Macintosh notes that modern readers see Medea either as an exemplary mother or as a proto-feminist figure abandoned by a treacherous husband. Some critics argue the play exposes the disadvantages women face in patriarchal societies. Others claim it reinforces misogynistic attitudes through its portrayal of female rage. The barbarian identity of Medea may have alienated 5th-century BC Greek audiences who viewed outsiders with suspicion. Scholars debate whether she acts out of pure vengeance or maternal protection. One interpretation suggests she kills her children because they would suffer more at the hands of enemies than from her own hand. Another view sees her as the personification of vengeance, where humanity is shed entirely. Her heritage places her in positions typically reserved for males. She wields power symbolized by the sun's radiance and boundless passion. Jason argues that her suffering is self-inflicted, yet events seen through her eyes show a wife seeking revenge and a mother protecting her children's future safety. Her heroic temper drives her to avoid laughter from enemies even when decisions contradict personal interest or moral beliefs.
Catulle Mendès adapted Medea into verse form in 1898, featuring Sarah Bernhardt on stage. Alfons Mucha designed posters for this production. Jean Anouilh wrote a French drama version in 1946. Robinson Jeffers created a hit Broadway play in 1947 starring Judith Anderson. It ran for 214 performances before closing in May 1948. Zoe Caldwell won a Tony Award for playing Medea in 1982. Diana Rigg took home another win in 1994. The American Theatre Wing record stands at four wins for the same role. Ben Bagley produced a musical parody called Medea in Disneyland during the 1950s. Canada's Stratford Festival presented Larry Fineberg's adaptation in 1978 with Patricia Idlette as Medea. Yukio Ninagawa staged Ohjo Media in 1978 and again in 2005. George Eugeniou directed Angelique Rockas as a barefooted refugee in London in 1982. Kabuki Master Shozo Sato united Euripides' text with classical Kabuki storytelling in Chicago in 1983. Wesley Enoch premiered Black Medea in Sydney on the 19th of August 2000, re-characterizing Medea as an indigenous woman abandoned by her husband.
Pier Paolo Pasolini released his film version of Medea in 1969 starring Maria Callas. Isabelle Huppert played Medea in Marco Ferreri's 1983 movie Storia di Piera. Michael Justin Lee created a noir short film set in modern America in 2018 featuring Amy Gordon. Zoe Caldwell's 1948 performance was recorded for PBS broadcast. Lars von Trier produced a television version in 1988 based on Carl Theodor Dreyer's script. Theo van Gogh directed a miniseries that aired in 2005. Mike Bartlett wrote Doctor Foster after adapting the play in 2012. The Korean remake The World of the Married reached a nationwide rating of 28.371% in its final episode. Various translations continue to emerge, including works by Robert Potter in 1781 and Richard Swanson in 2020. These adaptations keep Euripides' story alive across different media formats and cultural contexts.
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Common questions
When did Euripides write the play Medea?
Euripides wrote the play Medea in 431 BC. The work competed at the City Dionysia festival in Athens that same year.
Why did Euripides place third with Medea at the City Dionysia?
Euripides placed third because the audience did not immediately embrace the work as a masterpiece during the fierce competition of 431 BC. Euphorion won first prize and Sophocles took second place, yet the play survived while its rivals vanished into silence.
Who is the main character in Euripides' tragedy Medea?
Medea stands alone on stage as the main character who uses magic to help Jason win the Golden Fleece before he betrays her for Glauce. She kills their two sons to hurt Jason most deeply after Creon orders her exile from Corinth.
What happened to King Creon and Princess Glauce in the play Medea?
Princess Glauce dies in agony when she puts on golden robes and a coronet wrapped in deadly venom delivered by Medea's children. King Creon tries to save his daughter and also perishes from the poison.
When was Wesley Enoch's Black Medea premiered in Sydney?
Wesley Enoch premiered Black Medea in Sydney on the 19th of August 2000. This production re-characterized Medea as an indigenous woman abandoned by her husband.