MEDEA'S ESCAPE Flashcards
When was the Medea’s Escape pot made?
400 BC
Where was the Medea’s Escape pot made? 🇮🇹
Southern Italy
Name the 8 characters and their positions on the Medea’s Escape pot 🗣️
1) Medea - centre of vase framed by halo-sun
2) Two Furies - one on either side at the top of the vase
3) Jason - bottom left
4) Mermerus and Pheres - bottom right
5) The Tutor and the Nurse - far, bottom right
What play is the Medea’s Escape pot based off and when was it first performed? 🖖🏾
‘Medea’ by Euripides, first performed in 431 BC
Explain the background context and current events (5) for the scene in the Medea’s Escape pot
1) Background Context
- Jason, Medea’s hubby, cheated with a younger women, so Medea killed their two sons (Mermerus and Pheres)
2) Current Events
- Medea’s escapes by chariot pulled by dragons
- Jason laments
- Tutor and Nurse tear their hair out in grief
- Furies swarming
- Dead children on alter
How is the presentation of Medea useful?
Presentation
1) Framed in centre by a halo of sun ☀️
2) Sword in hand + Riding a chariot
3) Makes direct eye contact with Jason
Useful
1 + 2)
- Recalls Sun God Grandfather Helios
- Shown as a warrior + depicted like a god
3) Increase intensity of scene
What can we infer on staging through Medea’s Escape Pot and how is this useful?
🏗️
Staging
1) The altar Mermus and Pheres lay on
2) Medea’s suspension
Inference
1) May be evidence of the ekkylema (wheeled platform) used in theatre
2) May mêchanê (theatre crane) used to suspend actors
How is the presentation of Jason useful?
Presentation
1) Bare Chested
2) Making direct eye contact with Medea
Useful
1) Typical of a hero, in contrast to tragic costumes
2) Increase intensity of scene
When was Euripides ‘Medea’ made and why is this significant?
431 BC
- It was made 31 Years BEFORE the pot
- The pot may have inaccuracies when compared to the play
How is the Medea’s escape pot not useful in comparison to the myth and play?
Myth
1) In the myth, Medea takes her sons with her so Jason cannot give them proper burial
2) Only see mythic story not reality of it as a play
Play
1) Characters aren’t wearing tragic masks
2) Too many people on stage for it to be an accurate depiction of a performance
What are the possible role of the Furies in the Medea’s Escape Pot?
Sent from the underworld to punish people who have committed crimes against family
How is the Medea’s escape pot useful in comparison to the play?
It depicts the Furies, who Euripides’ Medea calls on to witness and support her revenge on Jason
