So its been a rather productive if uneventful week. I've finished Euripides and have a buffer setup out to late December. Which when you consider I restarted this blog with a buffer of two weeks, is a very nice change. But that will slow down now as I work on the History of the Peloponnesian War, which is a fair bit longer than one of the Greek plays. I'm not sure yet whether it will be one, two or four posts, we will see how long and how much content is in it.
The Story
We meet Medea wailing in anger and sorrow that her husband Jason has taken another wife and in effect divorced her in the process. Jason has married the kings daughter. Medea's anger includes cursing Jason, his new wife and the king himself. The counsel of her friends cannot turn away her wrath and when her children come home her attendant warns them not to come into her sight as she fears for even the sons safety.
Creon the king comes to meet with her and is so scared of her anger against him and his daughter that he sends her into exile. She begs him to let her stay but he is mostly resolute. He does concede to allow her the day to prepare for exile. Once he leaves she plots to kill the three before she leaves but is still of two minds about how to accomplish this, poison or by running them through, she knows if she takes the second road she will not survive the experience.
Jason then comes to meet with her to try and smooth things by providing for her as she goes into exile with money and introductions to friends of his where she may find refuge. She in her rage refuses the help and his explanation that he was only trying to secure her and his sons future by marrying again of a better station. Still Medea's anger rages on.
Aegeus King of Athens arrives and tells her of his trip to Delphi to consult the oracle about his lack of children. Medea tells him of her exile and gets him to swear an oath that she will find sanctuary in Athens, he does put on one caveat though, that she must get herself to Athens, he will not take her with him.
Medea hatches a plan to kill her husband and the king, Creon, and his daughter with poison, but her plan requires that she also kill her two sons. She organises for the sons to petition the princess to petition the king to allow them to stay in Corinth with their father. As part of this petition she sends them with a gold circlet and a dress for the princess which she laces with poison.
The boys return from the palace and Medea weeps over them, until a messenger comes running in to tell her to leave now.
The messenger recounts the grisly deaths of both the Princess and the King. Medea is joyful at the news, but the messenger is both aghast at her joyfulness and pleading with her to get away before the mob comes to get her. Medea steels herself to do the awful deed of killing her two sons, their cries are heard from inside but the chorus does nothing about it.
Jason arrives to snatch his children away least the vengeful mob, expected with the death of the king and with the killer being their mother, get them . But is informed by the chorus that they are dead. Medea appears on the roof in a chariot sent by the sun with both bodies of the boys and after she and Jason trade insults she departs leaving Jason to his childless fate.
Reflections
What a depressing story, it starts with one tragedy that of a wife put aside and ends with a mother killing her children. Medea's plan is hatched with little regard for anything but her vengeance, showing the audience both the anger of a woman scorned but also of the tragedy of pursuing a second wife. It does give us some insight also into the process (or lack there of) of divorcing in the ancient Greek world. It seems that for the man it was as simple as to marry another woman, but Medea comments that she could not have chosen to put her husband aside under any situation, it just wasn't open to her as an option.
We see a very crafty woman in this play, she knowingly get the king of Athens to swear that he will give her sanctuary in full knowledge that she commit multiple acts of murder between him taking the oath and him having to fulfill it. From this I wonder how Aegeus reacts when he realises what he has agreed too, because sanctuary would mean not only that she could live in Athens but that Athens would not turn her over to justice at anyone hand outside of the city's, to borrow a modern term, jurisdiction.
The Princess in the play is the real tragedy, all she has done to deserve such an end is to marry the man the King has prescribed for her. I can't see her having been given any say in the matter, as, from what I know, this is still an age of arranged marriages where Kings and Lords are involved. While Medea is still right to be angry with her for taking her husband, the princess seems to have really gotten a rough deal.
Comparisons
While this is a tragedy like we see in Oedipus or in The Libation Bearers what we have not seen before is a play that starts in tragedy that is not a continuation of another play. And as such this is the first play that does not through events descend into tragedy but rather that starts there and descends but further.
Also unlike the Oedipus saga we do not see the consequences of such abominable acts. Oedipus we see live on dealing with his blindness and wretchedness where as Medea just ends with her flying off in a sun chariot to go and live in Athens as far as we know.
Unlike Ion where Apollo has actions that are a huge part of the story. In Medea we see no real interaction with the gods, save Medea's sun chariot at the end. This makes for a much more human story and yet it is just as tragic.
Have you read Medea, if so what did you think?
Want to read Medea but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to pick it up.
Get a copy of Medea.
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