''Medea'' is a '' fabula crepidata'' (Roman tragedy with Greek subject) of about 1027 lines of verse written by

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger ( ; AD 65), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, a dramatist, and in one work, a satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca ...

. It is generally considered to be the strongest of his earlier plays. It was written around 50 CE. The play is about the vengeance of

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of Aeëtes, King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "wiktionary:φαρμακεία, pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high- ...

against her betraying husband

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

and King Creon. The leading role, Medea, delivers over half of the play's lines. ''Medea'' addresses many themes, one being that the title character represents "payment" for humans' transgression of natural laws. She was sent by the gods to punish Jason for his sins. Another theme is her powerful voice that cannot be silenced, not even by King Creon.

Characters

: daughter of King

Aeëtes Aeëtes ( ; , ), or Aeeta, was the ruler of the eponymous realm of Aea in Greek mythology, a wondrous realm which from the fifth century B.C.E. onward became identified with the kingdom of Colchis east in the Black Sea. The name comes from the an ...

(King of Colchis), wife of Jason *Chorus: Corinthians, hostile to Medea and not Jason *''Nutrix'' (nurse): nurse of Medea * Creon: King of

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

, father of Princess Creusa *

: son of

Aeson In Greek mythology, Aeson (; Ancient Greek: Αἴσων ''Aísōn'') was a king of Iolcus in Thessaly. He was the father of the hero Jason. According to one version of the story, he was imprisoned by his half-brother Pelias, and when Pelias int ...

and husband of Medea who leaves her for the princess *''Nuntius'' (messenger) *Two sons of Medea and Jason: mute characters

Background

Medea falls in love with Jason when he arrives at her homeland of Colchis on his quest for the Golden Fleece and uses her supernatural powers to aid him in completing the tasks that King Aeëtes, her father, had set. The three tasks were: yoke the fiery bulls, compete with the giants, and slay the dragon that was guarding the fleece. After Jason is successful, Medea kills her own brother to distract her father and enable their escape. After their return to Iolcus, they were again forced to flee when Medea uses her powers to have Jason's uncle

Pelias Pelias ( ; Ancient Greek: Πελίας) was king of Iolcus in Greek mythology. He was the one who sent Jason on the quest for the Golden Fleece. Family Pelias was the son of Tyro and Poseidon. His wife is recorded as either Anaxibia, ...

killed by his own daughters. Jason and Medea next settle in Corinth where they had two sons.

Plot

In order to climb the political ladder, Jason (the leader of the

Argonauts The Argonauts ( ; ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo'', named after it ...

) leaves Medea for Creusa, the daughter of King Creon. Medea opens up the play by cursing Creusa and King Creon (1-44). King Creon gives Medea one day before she is exiled and she does not take Jason's advice to leave peacefully (192-557). Instead, she sends a poisoned robe as a gift for Creusa on her wedding day. The chorus describe the rage, scorn, and anger that Medea felt as she plotted her revenge. The chorus prays to the gods that Jason will be spared from Medea's vengeance (579-652). Medea's curse contains poisons, snake blood, herbs, and the invocations to all the underworld gods. The cursed robe catches fire when Creusa puts it on. Creon tries to extinguish the fire but is unsuccessful, and he catches on fire as well (817-843). Their death does not satisfy Medea but only awakens her vengeful spirit more. Jason's betrayal blinds Medea so much that she wishes to harm him even at the expense of her own children. Medea sacrifices her children from the roof of her house in order to hurt Jason (982-1025). Medea escapes in a dragon chariot while she throws the bodies of the boys down. Jason ends the play by shouting after her that she should testify that there are no gods in heaven, where she is flying. (1026-1027).

Euripides vs. Seneca

While Euripides' ''Medea'' shares similarities with Seneca’s version, they are also different in significant ways. Seneca's Medea was written after Euripides', and arguably his heroine shows a dramatic awareness of having to grow into her (traditional) role. Where the chorus in Euripides' ''Medea'' shows sympathy towards her, the chorus in Seneca's ''Medea'' takes an objective position throughout the play, reflecting a

Stoic Stoic may refer to: * An adherent of Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in ancient Greece and Rome. The Stoics believed that the universe operated according to reason, ''i.e.'' by a God which is immersed i ...

morality. The final scenes are particularly different because Medea does not blame Jason for the death of her children in Seneca's version, even killing one of her sons in front of Jason and blaming herself for the death. In Euripides' version, Medea does the opposite, because she blames Jason and does not feel any guilt or blame for her actions. Jason is made a more appealing figure by Seneca - thus strengthening the justification for, and power of, Medea’s passion. Nevertheless, the increased degree of stage violence in the Seneca version, and its extra gruesomeness, has led it to be seen as a coarser and more sensational version of Euripides’ play.

Influence

The play contains lines which were seen during the European

Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery (), also known as the Age of Exploration, was part of the early modern period and overlapped with the Age of Sail. It was a period from approximately the 15th to the 17th century, during which Seamanship, seafarers fro ...

as foretelling the discovery of the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

, and which were included in

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

' '' Book of Prophecies'': :venient annis saecula seris, :quibus

Oceanus In Greek mythology, Oceanus ( ; , also , , or ) was a Titans, Titan son of Uranus (mythology), Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys (mythology), Tethys, and the father of the River gods (Greek mythology), river gods ...

vincula rerum :laxet et ingens pateat tellus : Tethysque novos detegat orbes :nec sit terris ultima

Thule Thule ( ; also spelled as ''Thylē'') is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. First written of by the Greek explorer Pytheas of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, France) in about 320 BC, i ...

. Translation by Frank Justus Miller from the

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...

1917 edition:Seneca's Tragedies Volume 1, Loeb Classical Library, tr. Frank Justus Miller, 191

/ref> :There will come an age in the far-off years :when Ocean shall unloose the bounds of things, :when the broad whole Earth shall be revealed, :when Tethys shall disclose new worlds :and Thule not be the limit of the lands.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cultural depictions of Jason Plays based on classical mythology Plays by Seneca the Younger Tragedy plays Works about Medea Thule