Medea

Also known as Eur. Med.

ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides

Key facts

Written by: Euripides
Chorus: Corinthian Women
Characters: Medea , Nurse, Tutor, Aegeus , Creon , Jason , Messenger, Medea's two children
Date premiered: 431 BC
Place premiered: Athens
Original language: Ancient Greek
Genre: Tragedy
Setting: Before Medea's house in Corinth

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image: Alfons Mucha - Medea.jpg

Show 4 more facts

title: Μήδεια
Commons category: Medea (Euripides)
date of first performance: 0431-00-00
entry in abbreviations table: Eur. Med.

Sources (6)

via Wikidata · CC0

~30 min read

Article

Medea (Ancient Greek: Μήδεια, Mēdeia) is a tragedy based on a myth, written by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides. It was first performed in 431 BC as part of a trilogy, the other plays of which have not survived. Its plot centers on the actions of Medea, a former princess of the kingdom of Colchis and the wife of Jason. She finds her position in the world threatened as Jason leaves her for a princess of Corinth and takes vengeance on him by murdering his new wife, her father-in-law, and her own two sons. She then escapes to Athens to start a new life.

Euripides's play has been retold and reinterpreted for centuries. Playwrights across the world have explored it in a variety of ways, offering political, psychoanalytical, feminist, and many other original readings of Medea, Jason, and the core themes of the play.