1 / 7

Euripides’ Medea

Euripides’ Medea. Introductory Lecture 1/20/2011. Euripides. Circa 480-406 BCE Last of 3 great Athenian tragedians (Aeschylus, Sophocles) Noted for: S trong female characters Intelligent slaves Use of heroes from Greek mythology ~95 plays, including Medea (431 BCE). Medea.

nishan
Download Presentation

Euripides’ Medea

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Euripides’ Medea Introductory Lecture 1/20/2011

  2. Euripides • Circa 480-406 BCE • Last of 3 great Athenian tragedians (Aeschylus, Sophocles) • Noted for: • Strong female characters • Intelligent slaves • Use of heroes from Greek mythology • ~95 plays, including Medea (431 BCE)

  3. Medea • Princess of Colchis (East on the Black Sea), niece of Circe (witch), grand-daughter of Helios (sun god) • Betrays her family to help Jason and the Argonauts • Killed her brother (chopped into bits!) • Marries Jason, bears two sons • Medea and Jason end up in Corinth

  4. Euripides’ Medea • Characters • Medea • Jason • Creon • Aegeus • Nurse & Attendant • Chorus of Corinthian Women • Messenger • Non-speaking roles: Creusa, Medea’s 2 children

  5. What’s the story? • Jason is to marry Creusa, Creon’s daughter • Medea grieves the loss of her husband • Many characters fear what this sorceress might do • Creon orders her to be sent into exile • Entrance of Aegeus- agrees to harbor Medea in exchange for helping his wife conceive

  6. Medea’s vengeance • Death to Creon and Creusa! • Poisons golden robes (wedding gifts) • Euripides’ invention: • Kills her own sons- Why? • Medea escapes, with refuge promised in Athens, on a chariot of the sun-god Helios

  7. Questions to Consider • Was Jason wrong to marry Creusa? Any benefits to children/Medea? • Is Medea justified in killing Creon & Creusa? • In killing her two sons? • What does Medea’s murder of her children add? • Other authors had them killed by the angry Corinthians • Does Euripides authorize Medea’s actions by allowing her escape to Athens?

More Related