Medea Flashcards
What is Jason’s harmatia?
Desire for social prestige and materialism causes him to abandon Medea for Glauce resulting in destruction of both his oikoi
What is Medea’s harmatia?
Homeric sense of honour drives her to kill her own children to get revenge on Jason. This results in her living in misery
How is Jason hubristic?
Transgressive in violating marriage laws that are sworn to the God
Excessive desire for materialism and the power and prestige associated with it
How is Medea hubristic ?
Excessive rage and desire for revenge
Excessive regard for personal honour like a Homeric hero
(Doesn’t want to be laughed at)
Infanticide and the extent of killings
What is the peripeteia in Medea?
Medea arranges for her children to give the gifts to Glauce which ensures her death, Creon’s death and that the Corinthians will try to kill her children so she’ll have to kill them.
What is the anagnorisis in Medea?
Medea recognises that infanticide will destroy her happiness but admits she is powerless to stop herself killing her children as she is so driven by anger
“Parted from you, my life will be all pain and anguish”
“I understand of what I am going to do but anger… masters my resolve”
What is the Agon in Medea?
Medea and Jason engage in an agon in episode 2
Medea claims that she is responsible for Jason’s heroic reputation
She did everything a wife should
What he did was transgressive (break vows to gods) and he is a coward
Jason argues that Medea was motivated by love so is not responsible for his achievements. He says they will benefit from his marriage to Glauce and will be provided for
What does the messenger report in Medea?
The delivery of Medea’s gifts and the grotesque deaths of Glauce and Creon
What is Jason (other than a dickhead)?
Sophist
Teacher of the art of persuasion
What is the background myth (roughly) to Medea?
Jason is sent on a mission to Colchis to fetch the Golden Fleece
Medea betrays her country as she is madly in love with Jason.
She helps him get the fleece by helping him plough a field with fire breathing bulls and subdue a dragon guarding it
She then (to get away) dismembered her brother and threw him off a boat
They go to Iolchos where she arranges the death of Pelias by getting his daughters to kill him to get eternal life
They flee to Corinth
Jason then leaves Medea and two kids to marry Glauke
Who is Medea related to and how does he impact the story
The sun
Gifts are from the sun
Chorus pray that the sun will stop Medea from killing her children
Sun provides Medea dragons to escape on at the end
What happens in the prologue ? How is Medea described ?
Nurse and tutor worry about Medea
They describe her as a “frightening woman” with “eyes like bulls”
They don’t tell Medea CReon want to banish her
What happens in the parados/1st stasimon?
Chorus of 12/15 women shaped by the patriachy try to get Medea to come out the oikos
How are the chorus first portrayed as submissive to patriarchal values ?
They try to get Medea to embrace patriarchal femininity to feel better
They are shaped by patriarchal values
“The thing is common, why let it anger you?”
How does the nurse describe Medea ?
“Eyes like wild bulls”
“Mind of a queen is a thing to fear”
How does Medea come out of the oikos in episode 1?
Medea comes out “cool and self possessed”
This is possessed by the excessive need to punish Jason which leads to her infanticide
How does Medea dominate the chorus in episode 1?
Gets sympathy from the chorus by saying how heartbroken she was
Says “we women are the most wretched”
Relates their situation to hers to manipulate them to helping her
Describes how they can’t divorce or physically repel men, can’t be sexually unfaithful.
“I’d rather stand 3 times on the front line than bear one child”
Gets more sympathy- lies about being taken from her own land
Then makes the request for them to not say anything
They agree - to punish Jason will be just
