Euripides plays Flashcards
Alcestis
The wife of Admetus. She agrees to die for her husband, who was supposed to die but can find a replacement. Alcestis agrees to die because she did want her children to be left fatherless and she did not want to live without a husband. She makes Admetus promise that he will not remarry and always remember her.
Admetus
He the king of Thessaly. He upsetted Apollo’s sister and so his punishment was to die. However, Apollo allows him to find a replacement. His parents refuse but his wife is willing to.
Pheres
He is the father of Admetus. He is cruel as to not die for his son. He laments for the death but is unsure to have a burial for the wife.
Heracles
He is a friend of Admetus and is unaware of the death of his friend’s wife. He gets drunk and demanded the heartbroken servant to be happy. Then, one servant break the news of the death. Flabergasted, Heracles goes off to battle Death and brings back Alcestis.
Apollo
He gives Admetus the gift of having someone replace his death.
Medea
She kills her husband’s new wife, King Creon, and her own children because she was angry at her husband for marrying again. She tricks the king, who wanted her to go to exile, to stay for one day. She schemes to kill the new wife by a poisoned dress delivered by her children. She believes Jason marries again because he was tired of her.
Jason
He was the husband of Medea, but then married the daughter of Creon to help his empire. Medea constantly calls him a coward because he did not consult with her before marrying. He is somewhat generous to Medea because he offered to help her and the children in exile and he did agree to take in the children. He marries Glauce because he did not want to lose the opportunity to marry a wealthy princess.
Glauce
She is the daughter of King Creon. Medea is jealous of her because she is marrying Medea’s husband. Therefore, she is poisoned by a dress and thus dies.
Aegeus
He is a friend of Medea. He came to the country to visit the oracle Phoebus to inquire how he can bore children. He offered Medea to stay in his land.
Creon
He is king of Cornith and fears Medea would seek revenge against him and his daughter. Therefore, he wants to exile Medea and her children.
Aphrodite
She is the goddess of love. In the play, she seeks revenge against Hippolytus, who was supposed to make love with her and then disrespected her. She makes his step-mother fall in love with him and then requests Poseidon to fright his horses when he is leaving the city to exile.
Phaedra
The wife of Theseus that is spellbound by Aphrodite to fall madly in love with Hippolytus, her step-child. When her secret is out, she hangs herself and leaves a note. The note frames Hippolytus that he raped her.
Hippolytus
Is the son of Theseus and Amazon woman. He loves Artemis very much that he makes statues and worships her. He hates women. He gets very mad that his step mother loves him. When, his father accuses him of raping his mothers, he does not let him the truth because is swore to the nurse. He then forgives his father.
Theseus
He misunderstands Phaedra’s death note, and thus sentences his son to exile. However, he learns from a messenger that his wife lied and that his son is injured.
Artemis
She is the goddess of hunting. She appear at the end of the play to convince Theseus that his wife lied and his son is innocent. He vows revenge on Aphrodite by killing a man the Aphrodite loves the most.
