Asher Sisneros

Euripides’ play, Medea, is one the most fascinating and bizarre stories I’ve ever read. Much of Greek plays followed the “tragedy” format, where everything ends horribly. To its definition, the play ends in tragedy. There is no happy ending or justice, and all the protagonists suffer misfortune. In this essay, I’ll summarize and analyze the play. Similar to most notorious pieces of literature, it speaks wonders about the society and culture where it was written.

            Medea was a foreigner who traveled across the ocean and endangered herself for Jason, the man she loved. They lived in Corinth and got married. The two had kids and were madly in love for years. Unfortunately, they didn’t live happily ever after. This isn’t that kind of story.

            Creon, the king of Corinth, favored Jason. His daughter favored him even more. After years of marriage and multiple children with Medea, Jason decided to marry the princess. Perhaps, he wasn’t the man she perceived. His loyalty was fickle.

            Medea was distraught by the news and hated Jason. She called on the gods to avenge her. Even her children couldn’t provide her comfort, as they just reminded her of that wretch she was married to. In a fit of rage, she cursed Jason, the princess, and King Creon. Outraged by her curse, the king commanded her to leave Corinth. He said there were few things more terrifying than a woman’s rage, and he feared her wrath. For that reason, and because of her disrespect, he banished her from Corinth. She and her kids needed to leave the land. She said that one day wasn’t enough time for her to find somewhere to go. Creon considered her petition and gave her until morning to leave.  

            After Creon left, Jason approached Medea. They had a brief conversation. She called him a traitor, but Jason believed that she was overreacting because Jason was marrying the princess so their children could be wealthy and powerful. His argument could be summarized with the simple words: “I’m abandoning you for you.” It’s ridiculous, and Medea wasn’t convinced. She didn’t think he was being selfless by marrying the princess, he was just being a bastard.  

            Instead of using her time to prepare for leaving, she connived and made a scheme to murder the princess. She wanted revenge on Jason. Since her sorrow was immense, she could only be relieved by seeing Jason suffer. To achieve that, she was also going to kill her children.

            Medea grabbed a crown and a robe, as gifts for the princess. She explained to Jason that she overreacted, and wanted to appease the princess and him. So, she brought peace gifts for Jason’s new bride. In exchange, she only asked that her children could stay in Corinth. It was too much for them to be banished too. Everyone appreciated her gesture, and the princess accepted the gifts warmly. Unfortunately, Medea smeared poison on the gifts, and it killed the princess. When King Creon saw his daughter on the floor dying, he kissed her, but the poison latched onto his skin as well. Both of them died.

            Infuriated, Jason traveled to confront Medea, but to his dismay, she slaughtered their children with the sword. The children cried out for mercy, but their mother killed them anyway.

            What’s the moral? There is none. In English literature, we often have a good guy and a bad guy. It’s a story about the conflict between right and wrong. Medea and Jason are both awful people in this story. Everyone can sympathize with Medea because of Jason’s betrayal, but her retaliation is beyond unethical. The play doesn’t cover good triumphing over evil, it just portrays a picture of evil consuming evil. But, as the Christian adage goes, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.” Either the Greeks didn’t understand that, which I wouldn’t overrule, or they chose to ignore it given that tragedies are supposed to be tragic. Both explanations seem plausible. Regardless, Medea is not a story with a moral, it’s a revenge story. Such is the quintessential nature of many Greek tragedies. As much as I disagree with the sentiment, the only conclusion is that revenge is sweet.