1. Medea The Norton Anthology of Western Literature Ninth Edition
Volume One
Martin Puchner, General Editor Suzanne Akbari
Wiebke Denecke
Barbara Fuchs
Caroline Levine
Pericles Lewis
Emily Wilson

2. Euripides lively and funny provocative use of colloquial language
depiction of “unheroic” heroes
crude/cruel humor
sexually promiscuous female characters
Euripides strikes many readers as the liveliest, funniest, and most provocative of the three great Athenian tragedians whose work survives. A younger contemporary of Aeschylus and Sophocles, Euripides lived through most of the cultural and political turmoil of the fifth century and was seen as one of the most influential voices for the revolutionary new ideas that were developing in this period. 2
Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company

3. A reconstruction of the Dionysus theater by the theater and architectural scholar Richard Leacroft. An actor stands in the orchēstra, while another stands on the roof of the skēnē. © Theater and Playhouse by Richard and Helen Leacroft, Methuen Publishing, Ltd.
The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, 9th Edition, Volume One Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company

4. Consider the challenge of performing in the open air with no special effects or amplification (aside from the natural design of the performance space itself).
A contemporary photograph of the remains of the theater of Dionysus in Athens. © Marie Mauzy/Art Resource, NY
The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, 9th Edition, Volume One Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company

5. Greek Theater use of masks open-air performance chorus
Greek theater performance tended to combine in the event of a “play” what modern readers generally see as separate public spheres: the political, the religious, the celebratory, and the spectacular. Imagine, for example, a major public political event, like the inauguration of a new American president, combined with a major religious gathering, then add something like the Cannes Film festival, a Veterans Day march, a Thanksgiving Day parade (with all the floats), and a grand open-air musical event like Woodstock.
This detail from the so-called Pronomos Vase, painted in the late fifth century B.C.E., depicts actors preparing for a satyr play. © Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Italy/Scala/Art Resource, NY 5
Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company

6. The Background Myth
Medea, like almost all Greek tragedies, is based on a traditional story.
Its most well-known elements include Jason and his Argonauts and the quest for the Golden Fleece.
According to myth, the hero Jason was told by his uncle, Pelias, that he could not claim his rightful inheritance, the throne of Iolcus, unless he could perform a seemingly impossible quest: cross the Black Sea to the distant barbarian land of Colchis, ruled by the savage king Aeetes, and bring back to Greece the Golden Fleece, which was guarded by a dragon. Jason assembled a group of the finest Greek heroes and built the world’s first ship—the Argo—to take them to Colchis. Once they arrived, King Aeetes set Jason the task of ploughing a field with a team of fire-breathing bulls. Luckily, the king’s daughter, Medea, fell in love with Jason and helped him. 6
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7. Following the Greek victory over the Persians in the fifth century B.C.E., the two Greek states of Sparta and Attica (of which Athens was the leading city) fell into war with one another. The Peloponnesian War, as it was called, pitted the Spartans and Athenians against each other along with their diverging worldviews. The Spartans were militaristic and oligarchic, whereas Athens represented one of the ancient world’s first proto-democracies. Despite having recently fought as allies against the Persians, these two Greek camps were at war with one another for nearly three decades. As this map depicts, territory was mixed, with Sparta maintaining control of mainland areas in the north and south, while the Athenians controlled most of the Greek islands (though Athens itself can be found on the Greek mainland). The Athenians were powerful at sea while the Spartan army ruled on land. The Peloponnesian War, with its decades of violent conflict, marked the end of Greece’s Golden Age. The war finally ended in 404 B.C.E. with the destruction of the Athenian army by Sparta.
The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, 9th Edition, Volume One Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company

8. The Background Myth (cont’d.)
Medea, the play, begins after the events of the Golden Fleece myth.
Euripides relies on his audience’s knowledge of the Golden Fleece myth, but he invents new details.
In previous versions, the children were either murdered by Creon’s family or, according to another story, accidentally killed by Medea when she tried to use magic to make them immortal.
The shocking events at the end of this play would not have been anticipated by Euripides’s audience. 8
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9. Elements of the Play sophia the unheroic hero focus on the domestic
Although Jason tries to talk like a Sophist, it is Medea who is the real possessor of sophia in the play. The term sophia has negative and positive connotations: it can suggest deep understanding, but it can also imply mere cleverness. The play invites us to consider which character is the smartest: Jason, with his dodges and evasions, or Medea, with her unpredictable, cruel stratagems. 9
Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company

10. Medea as Outsider Medea is an outsider in three crucial ways:
as a woman in a male-dominated world
as a foreigner or “barbarian” in a Greek city
as a smart person surrounded by fools 10
Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company

11. Multiple-Choice Questions
Why is Medea so distraught as the play opens?
Her husband has married another woman.
Her children have been killed.
Her city is under siege.
Her father has died.
Answer: a
Feedback: The reason for Medea’s distress is that Jason, her husband, has married another woman: Glauce, the royal daughter of King Creon. 11
Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company

12. Multiple-Choice Questions
How does Medea escape toward the end of the play?
She sneaks away from home.
b) She flies off in a chariot.
c) She does not escape.
d) She sails away on the Argo.
Answer: b
Feedback: Medea flies away in a chariot, carrying the bodies of her slain children so that Jason cannot bury them and grieve properly. Note that Medea is granddaughter of the Sun god, Helios – thus the flying chariot that appears out of nowhere to enable Medea’s departure. 12
Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company

13. Discussion Questions
Do you see Medea as a sympathetic character? Why or why not?
Some have argued that the play is a proto-feminist text, inasmuch as it features a leading female character who struggles within a male-dominated world. However, it is equally possible that the play treats Medea as simply, or at least stereotypically, driven to murderous revenge by her passion. To focus this discussion, you could concentrate on an excerpt like the following, in which Medea describes her situation as a woman in Greek society:
“Of all the living creatures with a soul
and mind, we women are the most pathetic.
First of all, we have to buy a husband:
spend vast amounts of money, just to get
a master for our body– to add insult
to injury. And the stakes could not be higher:
will you get a decent husband, or a bad one?” – (lines 231–37) 13
Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company

14. This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint
presentation for Volume One: Medea
Visit the StudySpace for the Norton Anthology of Western Literature, 9e wwnorton.com/nawest