MEDEA
MEDEA
Synopsis: The play Medea tells the story
of Medea and Jason, two figures well
known by ancient Greek audiences.
Euripides, knowing the notoriety of these
characters, began the play toward the end
of their story. At the play’s opening, Medea
is an outcast, a foreign exile in Corinth.
Medea was the Princess of Colchis. She fell
in love with Jason when he went to Colchis
in search of the Golden Fleece. Medea
used her powers as a sorceress to help
Jason gain the Fleece, betraying her father
and killing her brother in the bargain. Jason
returns to Corinth with Medea and their
children; now there, he decides to marry
the daughter of King Kreon.
TIMELINE
EURIPIDES
Important: Euripides was unique
in his time for creating characters
with complex inner lives,
realistically nuanced moral
dilemmas and for creating fully
developed, intelligent female
characters. Instead of centering
his dramas on man vs. destiny (as
Aeschylus and Sophocles had),
Euripides created drama from an
internal psychological conflict.
- He was one of three major Greek
Tragedians, including Sophocles and
Aeschylus
TYPES OF PERSUASION
Ethos- or the ethical appeal, means to
convince an audience of the author’s
credibility or character.
Pathos- or the emotional appeal, means
to persuade an audience by appealing to
their emotions.
Ethos can be developed by choosing
language that is appropriate for the
audience and topic (also means
choosing proper level of vocabulary),
making yourself sound fair or unbiased,
introducing your expertise or pedigree,
and by using correct grammar and
syntax.
Authors use pathos to invoke sympathy
from an audience; to get them to feel
what the writer feels. A common use of
pathos would be to draw pity from an
audience. Another use of pathos would
be to inspire anger from an audience;
perhaps in order to prompt action.
Pathos is the Greek word for both
“suffering” and “experience.”
Logos- or the appeal to logic, means to convince an audience by use of logic or
reason.
To use logos would be to cite facts and statistics, historical and literal analogies, and
citing certain authorities on a subject.
WHAT IS A CHORUS?
Chorus
STRUCTURE OF A PLAY
Episodes
Stasimons
THEMES OF THE PLAY
Gender Roles & Medea
Background:
In Euripides’
thefirst
protagonist
In the following
assignmentMedea,
you will
list gender[Medea]
roles within our
abandoned
the
gender
roles
of
ancient
Greek
society.
Medea
defied
society today. Then after reading the first 618 lines of the play,
you
perceptions
of
gender
by
exhibiting
both
"male"
and
"female"
will compare them with the way Euripides characterizes Medea. In
tendencies.
Shejob
waswill
ablebetotodetach
herselfand
from
her "womanly"
essence, your
investigate
answer
the following
emotions
at
times
and
perform
acts
that
society
did
not
see women
questions: How does Medea abandon traditional character
roles?
capable
of
doing.
However,
Medea
did
not
fully
abandon
her
as a
How does Medea display both Male and female gender roles?role
How
woman
and did
expressup
many
throughout
the play.
does Medea
measure
withfemale
femaleemotions
protagonists
of today?
Female Roles:
Male Roles:
Gender Roles & Medea
Think for a moment: Are the roles that both men and women
share today equally?
A Double Standard is a rule or principle that is unfairly applied
in different ways to different people or groups.
• Ex. Woman who cries: victim. Man: weak.
Can you think of any double standards in our society today
between gender roles?
Gender Neutral:
Double Standards:
Argo
A SCENE NEAR
CORINTH (GREECE)
Why do you think Medea
would take part in a
murder?
Pelias
Nurse
I wish the Argo had never spread its wings
And flown to Colchis through the Clashing Rocks.
I wish the pine tree on the slopes of Pelion
Had not been felled; not split to feathery oars
To fledge the arms of the Argonauts. Oh why
Did Pelias send them for the Golden Fleece?
If they had never come, my mistress Medea
Would not have sailed back to Iolcos with them,
Dazed with passion for their leader, Jason.
Then she would not have made King Pelias’ daughters
Kill their own father. And she’d not have come
to settle here in Corinth, but she has.
Summarize the Nurse’s lines into 4 events.
What words does the Nurse use that show us her perspective? (Tone)
Nurse
But now the house is full of hate; and my dear girl
Is ill with it. For Jason has become
A traitor to his children and my mistress.
He abandons her, to lie in a royal bed:
He’s marrying the kind’s daughter, Creon’s child.
My poor Medea loses all her rights
And honors, everything. “He swore and oath,”
She cries, “He gave his word! I trusted him!”
She begs the gods to witness this reward
From Jason, after all she did for him.
She lies not eating, slumping into grief,
Melting the hours of life away in tears.
What words in the following passage capture the mood of this scene?
Tutor
Nurse
I heard, when I was seeming not to listen
But standing where the old men sit and play
At board games, by the sacred spring Pirene
Somebody say the children are to be banished
From Corinth, with their mother. It appears
That is the king’s intention. I don’t know
If this is true—I pray it turns out false. Jason won’t let them treat his sons like that
He’s quarreling with their mother, not with them
When new alliances are made, the old ones
Are dropped behind. His love has left this house.
We’re sinking from the first of fortune’s waves;
We cannot take another; we shall drown.
How might the details above effect the plot?
Notice the rhythm in “first of fortune’s waves,” what does it mean?
Nurse
(P. 70 – 71 )
Find a
Simile, Metaphor &
Adjectives the Nurse
uses to describe Medea.
Next answer how do
these literary devices
help us imagine what
Medea is like as a
person?
(Indirect Characterization)
Simile
Metaphor
“I’ve seen her eyeing them, like a beast about
to charge.”
“The cloud of pain will soon burst/Into
greater Fury. What will her proud/
Untamable spirit do/ Under the bite of
suffering?”
Distraught, savage mood, willful, wild with hate
Adjectives Proud, untamable spirit, poor, unhappy, etc.
Your
Thoughts
What is Medea
thinking?
About Jason…
Textual Reference
“The house is full of hate…A Traitor to
his children and mistress…”
“He swore an oath,” she cries
About her
children…
Textual Reference:
“She hates to have her children
near”
What is Medea
thinking?
About herself…
Mourning the father she betrayed,
the home and family she
abandoned to come here with a
man who treats her now with such
dishonor.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
A TRAGEDY
Aristotle’s treatise on Tragedy,
“The poetics”, identifies the
main elements of a tragedy.
- Plot (mythos)
- Character (ethos)
- Thought (dianoia)
- Diction (lexis)
- Melody (Melos)
- Spectacle (opsis)
Key elements continued:
The best form of tragedy has a plot that is
what he calls “complex.”
A play has “complex” when it arouses
horror, fear and pity as the hero’s fate
changes from happiness to misery because of
a tragic mistake they make.
The key elements of the plot
are:
- Reversals (peripeteia)
- Recognitions (anagnorisis)
- Suffering (pathos)
Assignment: You will be responsible for keeping a daily Critique Log. As a part of your daily
exit slip, you will write a paragraph critiquing Medea and the elements in the play.
Chorus Stasimon 1 (p. 74)
I hear the cry of discontent,
The still-continuing wail.
I hear the liquid voice lament
The evil husband, the betrayal.
Jason
Jason
Unjustly injured and abused,
She calls on Themis, that goddess
Who stands at the right hand of Zeus
And guards our promises:
Jason
It was a promise and an oath
That brought her with the Golden Fleece
Away from Colchis that night
Across the sea to Greece,
Through where the lock
And clashing key
Of salty Hellespont still block
The impenetrable Euxine Sea.
Medea
Episode 2 (Pg 74-80, lines 233-435)
Ethos
Definition
Examples
Quote
Line
Medea’s speech to
the women of
Corinth attempts
to get them to be
on her side.
Fill in the chart
below after
reading her
speech on pg 7475 (lines 233290):
Episode 2 (Pg. 74-80, lines 233-435)
Pathos
Medea’s speech to
the women of
Corinth attempts
to get them to be
on her side.
Definition
Examples
Quote
Line
Fill in the chart
below after
reading her
speech on pg 7475 (lines 233290):
Episode 2 (Pg 74-80, lines 233-435)
Logos
Medea’s speech to
the women of
Corinth attempts
to get them to be
on her side.
Definition
Examples
Quote
Line
Fill in the chart
below after
reading her
speech on pg 7475 (lines 233290):
Medea’s conversation with Creon on pages 76-79
shows differing viewpoints of what’s happening.
Outline the two viewpoints below in words and
symbols.
Medea
Creon
Stasimon 2
The Woes of Being a Woman
(according to the Chorus of
Corinthian women)
Which woes do you think still
exist for women?
What woes exist for men?
Medea (p. 80)
I swear by all the gods, whom I adore
and whom I call to help me once again,
They shall not laugh at this tormented heart.
I’ll make their marriage sour– and painful – to them,
Sour the alliance of their families,
And sour the day they chose to banish me.
Come then, Medea; use every means you know;
Move toward horror: This is a test of spirit.
Remember what they’re doing. Don’t accept
Their mockery, this marriage of a Jason
To a girl whose ancestor was Sisyphus!
A man who pushes stones uphill in Hades!
They laugh at men, granddaughter of the Sun!...
Medea as Athenian:
defining herself publicly
and using the language and
rhetoric of the law.
Themes
Medea as Woman: loyal wife
and nurturing mother.
Medea as Other: barbarian
sorceress and intruder from
an uncivilized land.
Medea as Hero: honor
obsessed, intent upon action
and reputation, and fearing
laughter by peers.
Episode 3 - Dramatic Irony(Note the difference between what characters say and what they think). What words from the
list below does each character embody? Are they stereotypical gender roles?
Jason
Medea
Passive
Emotional
Willful
Violent
Boastful
Nurturing
Proud
Jealous
Submissive
Rational
Medea (p. 79)
Everything’s set in every way against me. But don’t
imagine this is all – not yet.
There are still dangers for this bride and groom:
And more than a little trouble for her father.
Do you think that I’d have crawled and fawned on him
Without some hope of gain, some scheme in mind?
I’d not have spoken to him, not have touched him.
But he has reached the depths of folly now:
He could have banished me at once, and stopped
My plans—instead, he’s given me this day:
I’ve time to turn three enemies to corpses—
The father and the daughter, and my husband.
How would you
describe the way
Medea was
speaking with
Creon?
What does she
say, do we believe
her?
In what ways
does Medea defy
the traditional
gender roles set
for women?
Medea’s Argument
(p. 82)
Rank the letters from least to
most important.
A) They have children and
Jason is sleeping in another
bed
B) She saved Jason’s life
C) He made a promise with
marriage
D) She and the children are
being forced into exile
E) She deserted her family
F) She helped Jason capture
the golden fleece (king)
G) Helped catch fire
breathing oxen
CHARACTERISTICS OF
A TRAGEDY
Aristotle’s treatise on Tragedy,
“The poetics”, identifies the
main elements of a tragedy.
- Plot (mythos)
- Character (ethos)
- Thought (dianoia)
- Diction (lexis)
- Melody (Melos)
- Spectacle (opsis)
Key elements continued:
The best form of tragedy has a plot that is
what he calls “complex.”
A play has “complex” when it arouses
horror, fear and pity as the hero’s fate
changes from happiness to misery because of
a tragic mistake they make.
The key elements of the plot
are:
- Reversals (peripeteia)
- Recognitions (anagnorisis)
- Suffering (pathos)
Assignment: You will be responsible for keeping a daily Critique Log. As a part of your daily
exit slip, you will write a paragraph critiquing Medea and the elements in the play.
Jason (p. 84)
I have to say I credit Aphrodite…Indeed it would be
indelicate and ungrateful to list many ways in which Desire
[Aphrodite] Drove you, helpless on to save my life…
On the other hand, you got more than you gave. The first
thing is, you live in Greece, instead of somewhere
barbarous…then all the Greeks have heard of you, the wise
one…
Behind me, what better treasure-trove could I have found
than marriage with the daughter of a king—I, an exile…
I acted solely to ensure that we live well and never go without,
because I know people will shun a man who’s lost his wealth.
Also, I hoped to bring my children up in a manner worthy of
my own descent. I thought I’d breed some brothers for our
sons….
What are some
stereotypical
traits of males
that Jason
expresses in the
following lines?
Who has a
more
convincing
argument?
Passive
Emotional
Willful
Violent
Boastful
Nurturing
Proud
Jealous
Submissive
Rational
“Breakout” Game Bell Ringer
Each of you will have a 3 x 5
post it note.
Using only the front of the
post it note, summarize the
chapter from beginning to
middle and end without going
into too much detail.
Once completed put your name on the back of the post it
note. And place the note in the center of the circle.
“Breakout” Game
Ranking
Breaks out = Great summary
If it is not a break out summary
you must discuss what is
missing, or wrong.
Mostly out = pretty good,
missing some criteria.
Mostly in = mediocre (below
expectation) missing a lot of
criteria.
Stagnant = this will remain
inside the circle. It is incorrect
or not attempted.
Stasimon 3 (Greek Values)
Moderation in all things (p. 87-88)
The dangers of living without moderation
According to the Chorus…
Line #
The ancient Greeks believed that the spirit Sophrosyne (so-FROS-a-knee) escaped from Pandora’s box and
represented self-control, moderation, restraint, and discretion. They lived by a saying, “moderation in all things,”
and believed this was the only way to live a healthy, balanced life.
Stasimon 3 (Greek Values)
Moderation in all things
In today’s society…
Do you think we exhibit moderation and/or a lack of moderation in our daily lives?
How/why? Put the best example you can think of at the top of the list
Aegeus
Jason
Yes
Yes
or
or
No
No
How or Why?
How or Why?
Is Medea Dependent?
Episode 4
Aegeus
Jason
Yes
Yes
or
or
No
No
How or Why?
How or Why?
Is Medea Deceptive?
Episode 4
Aegeus
Jason
Yes
Yes
or
or
No
No
How or Why?
How or Why?
Is Medea Emotional?
Episode 4
Praise For The City of Athens
(Stasimon 4 pg. 93-94)
How does the Chorus praise the city of Athens? Do the
characteristics of Athens fit Medea?
Quote from Choral
ode:
Line # _____
In
your own words…
Episodes 5 (pg. 94-97)
Thinking
Medea is consciously
deceptive of Jason in
this scene. Write quotes
and draw images of what
Medea is saying versus
what she is thinking.
Saying
Stasimon 5
(pg. 97-98)
Summarize what the Chorus says in this ode:
Describe the mood.
What emotion(s) are
created by the mood?
How has Euripides created mood in this section?
Quote
Mood
Page/Line
How could mood be enhanced onstage?
Onstage Idea(s)
Mood
Stasimon 5
(pg. 97-98)
Summarize what the Chorus says in this ode:
I've
longer
any man,
hope [990]
And no
you,
unlucky
that
thesetochildren
stay alive,
married
the daughter
of a king—
as
they
stroll to
their
how
ignorant
you
areown
rightslaughter.
now,
The
bridedeath
will take
her your
diadem,
1150
bringing
to both
sons,
What words
she'll
heran
golden
ruin. end.
to yourtake
bride
agonizing
contribute to
With
her
own
hand
she'll
fix
You most unfortunate man,
the mood of
across
her
lovely
yellow
hair
[980]
how wrong you were about your destiny.
this section?
the jewelry of death.
Next, I mourn your sorrows,
The
unearthly
gleam,
the charm
unhappy
mother
of these
children, 1170
will
tempt
her to put onyour
the sons,
robe
intent
on slaughtering
and
ornament
of twisted
gold.
because
your lawless
husband
Her
marriage
bedmarriage
will lie among
the dead.
left you
and your
bed [1000]
That's
thelives
trapwith
she'll
fall in.wife.
and now
another
That's how she'll die. 1160
She can't escape destruction.
What adjectives
describe the
mood? What
emotions are
brought up by
the mood?
Episode 6
(pg. 98-101)
Stasimon 6
(pg. 101)
Episode 7
(pg. 102- 104)
Stasimon 7
(pg. 105 -106)
Illustrate one of the following quotes from the
Choral ode. (Top 2 winners gets extra credit!)
 “O Helios shining everywhere / Look down your rays and see / This
deadly woman now before she kills / And reddens her white hands with
children’s gore. / It’s her own blood she spills / But also yours: they are
your golden seed.” (lines 1266-1271)
 “A fearful thing, to pour / A god’s blood on the ground, / A god’s blood
dripping from a human hand.” (lines 1272-1274)
 “O light of heaven, prevent her, intercede / Against Medea, the Fury of this
house, / Unhappy, murderous, driven to revenge.” (lines 1275-1278)
 “Poor wretch, why did this weight of anger fall / So heavily on you?” (lines
1283-1284)
Episode 8 (p. 106-end)
Defining Medea as a “Tragic Hero” & “Tragic Victim”
Be prepared to debate after you define Medea in each of these roles.
Medea as Tragic Hero
1)A flawed character with some
goodness but suffers due to the flaw
(usually pride).
2) Usually the protagonist.
3) Is of noble birth, and exhibits
wisdom.
4) Suffers because of tragic flaw or
error in judgment.
5) Character suffers perhaps more than
we think they might deserve.
Explanation of Medea as
a Tragic Hero:
Evidence (quotes (x2):
Medea as Tragic Victim
1) The character suffers because of
circumstances out of their control.
2) This character bears little, or no guilt
considering the events surrounding
them..
Explanation of Medea as a
Tragic Hero:
Evidence (quotes (x2):
Jason
Medea
Then I call down the Fury of vengeance for
the little children: Swoop and destroy her.
What kind of god do you think will listen
To a breaker of oaths, a deceiver of strangers?
I am going, bereft of my two sons.
These tears are nothing. Wait till you’re old.
Oh my children, dear sons
To their mother, not you.
Who do you have more pity for by the end?
Do either of the parents sound sincere when speaking of
the children?
Medea gets away with quite a good deal here at the end!
Can you think of any reasons as to why the gods would allow this?
What godly connections does Medea have?
1) Apollo is her
grandfather.
2) Hecate is her patron
goddess.
3) Hera (Jason’s patron) is
the goddess to who she
takes her horrific
‘offerings’.