Philip Vellacott Translation
MEDEA-STUDY GUIDE
Order of Events
❖ Medea laments over how Jason has left her for Glauce as the nurse listens on
❖ She makes threats towards the bride and looks at her children with disdain which scares the
nurse
❖ Medea makes her speech about her lot in life as well as the sufferings of women/foreigners in
general
❖ Creon soon appears telling her that she and her sons are banished, she manages to get a lighter
sentence and have one more day to get her things in order (which gives her time to carry out
her murder plot)
❖ Medea contemplates the way she will kill her victims and eventually decides on poisoning them
❖ Medea and Jason argue as he tries to justify his actions, only making Medea more angry at him
❖ King Aegeus of Athens visits Medea after an unsuccessful attempt at understanding the Oracle
of Apollo about his infertility, asking for her help. She agrees so long as she can have
unconditional sanctuary in Athens. He swears by the earth and sun that he will uphold his word
❖ She tells the Chorus of her plans to murder her own sons, they try to talk her out of it but to no
avail
❖ Medea acts as though she seeks forgiveness from Jason because of her anger and acts like she
has had a change of heart. She even brings her children out to shows them that their parents
have made up.
❖ She tells her sons to carry the poisoned ‘gifts’ to Glauce, asking Jason to get her children’s exile
sentence revoked.
❖ The messenger comes giving the whole story of Glauce and her father’s death- she accepted the
gifts, wore the dress and coronet and died a painful death that left her disfigured. Creon tried to
embrace her and dies alongside her
❖ Medea goes inside the house and murders her children as the Chorus listen to their screams
❖ Jason appears and The Chorus inform him that his sons are dead so he orders for the door to be
opened but Medea is on the roof in a chariot sent by her grandfather Helios
❖ Jason is disgusted by Medea calling her many names and regretting even being with her in the
first place. He says that their deaths must hurt her too but Medea responds by saying that it was
worth it just to see him suffer
❖ Jason asks for his sons bodies so he can bury them but Medea refuses to even let him touch
them let alone bury them
❖ As Jason is left to lament, Medea’s chariot moves out of sight
Summary
Medea by Euripides is a play about a mother’s desire and plot for revenge after her husband leaves her
after 10 years to marry the princess of Corinth, Glauce, in order to advance his status. The ex-couple are
Medea and Jason who have two children together. The play starts with the nurse lamenting over
Medea’s fate as she hears her wailing over the engagement of Jason and Glauce. She also recounts their
backstory as Jason left Iolcus in a ship called the Argo, in order to find the treasure called the Golden
Fleece in Colchis.Aphrodite made Medea fall madly in love with him so that she would help him retrieve
MEDEA-STUDY GUIDE
Order of Events
❖ Medea laments over how Jason has left her for Glauce as the nurse listens on
❖ She makes threats towards the bride and looks at her children with disdain which scares the
nurse
❖ Medea makes her speech about her lot in life as well as the sufferings of women/foreigners in
general
❖ Creon soon appears telling her that she and her sons are banished, she manages to get a lighter
sentence and have one more day to get her things in order (which gives her time to carry out
her murder plot)
❖ Medea contemplates the way she will kill her victims and eventually decides on poisoning them
❖ Medea and Jason argue as he tries to justify his actions, only making Medea more angry at him
❖ King Aegeus of Athens visits Medea after an unsuccessful attempt at understanding the Oracle
of Apollo about his infertility, asking for her help. She agrees so long as she can have
unconditional sanctuary in Athens. He swears by the earth and sun that he will uphold his word
❖ She tells the Chorus of her plans to murder her own sons, they try to talk her out of it but to no
avail
❖ Medea acts as though she seeks forgiveness from Jason because of her anger and acts like she
has had a change of heart. She even brings her children out to shows them that their parents
have made up.
❖ She tells her sons to carry the poisoned ‘gifts’ to Glauce, asking Jason to get her children’s exile
sentence revoked.
❖ The messenger comes giving the whole story of Glauce and her father’s death- she accepted the
gifts, wore the dress and coronet and died a painful death that left her disfigured. Creon tried to
embrace her and dies alongside her
❖ Medea goes inside the house and murders her children as the Chorus listen to their screams
❖ Jason appears and The Chorus inform him that his sons are dead so he orders for the door to be
opened but Medea is on the roof in a chariot sent by her grandfather Helios
❖ Jason is disgusted by Medea calling her many names and regretting even being with her in the
first place. He says that their deaths must hurt her too but Medea responds by saying that it was
worth it just to see him suffer
❖ Jason asks for his sons bodies so he can bury them but Medea refuses to even let him touch
them let alone bury them
❖ As Jason is left to lament, Medea’s chariot moves out of sight
Summary
Medea by Euripides is a play about a mother’s desire and plot for revenge after her husband leaves her
after 10 years to marry the princess of Corinth, Glauce, in order to advance his status. The ex-couple are
Medea and Jason who have two children together. The play starts with the nurse lamenting over
Medea’s fate as she hears her wailing over the engagement of Jason and Glauce. She also recounts their
backstory as Jason left Iolcus in a ship called the Argo, in order to find the treasure called the Golden
Fleece in Colchis.Aphrodite made Medea fall madly in love with him so that she would help him retrieve
