In the play Medea, the author Euripides emphasizes that the harsh treatment the main character, Medea, receives throughout the play reflects how women are treated in Greek society. The hardships of women in Greek society can be mainly seen by Medea passionate soliloquies. Medea speaks about how looked down upon, due to the fact that she a woman from a foreign country that holds more intellect than most men in the city where she currently resides. Even Jason, her husband,...
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For 2,448 years, “Medea” has been a notable playwright and story, thanks to Euripides’ craftsmanship and eloquent characterization of the infamous main character, Medea. Even though Euripides writes Medea as a complex character having many characteristics, there is one characteristic that dominates all the others, and for a good reason. Throughout the entirety of “Medea,” Euripides depicts Medea as hopeless to enable the audience to empathize with her. Euripides portrays this feeling in Medea’s first line, where she is shown...
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Antigone, penned by Sophocles, is the final play in the trilogy of tragedies, beginning with King Oedipus. The battle between the two sons of the extinct King Oedipus ends with both dying in battle. With the deaths of two brothers, Uncle Creon, the only remaining man, sits on the throne. Kreon orders that Eteokles, who died to defend his homeland, be buried in a beautiful ceremony, while his other brother Polyneikes is convicted of treason and his body is left...
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Greek Perspective of evil According to Greek’s perception of good and evil, man is answerable to himself and his biggest mistake is doing contrary to the fate awaiting him. There is no reward or punishment after this life hence man must do his responsibility without any future expectations. Punishments or rewards are part of man’s fate here on earth with the aid of gods. The gods only intervene when requested by humans depending on one’s circumstances surrounding him. This is...
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Abstract Euripides' Medea challenges the dominant views of feminity in the patriarchal society of Greeks. While pursuing her ambition Medea disregards many of the feminine characteristics of the patriarchal Greek society. By focusing on the character portrayal of Medea, this paper argues to prove Medea a feminist text. And such tragedies represent Euripides feminist and liberal views as well relative to the society he lived in. Introduction Many literary evidences, primarily from comedy, tragedy and oratory, show that ancient Greece...
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Every person holds the same general image of what a hero is. That image may change slightly, however, the value of a heroic person in one’s life remains the same whether or not the hero is worthy of their title. For instance, Jason is known by many as an inspirational, and courageous man who saved many lives through his actions whereas in reality he is a pig headed, cowardly, pretentious narcissist who accomplished next to nothing over his long life....
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Introduction Medea is a play written by Euripides; it has many powerful literary elements which is why it has brought the attention of different types of audiences. Medea to some might appear as a feminist text because of how Medea deals with her situation, and how she behaves or acts around people in the play, but to other people Medea is seen as an anti-feminist text because of how Medea turns evil after her husband did her wrong, and how...
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The tale of Medea begins in a dire state of suffering and betrayal. The play revolves arounds a devastated and enraged Medea that seeks out vengeance on her newly betrothed ex-husband, Jason. Despite Medea's murderous tendencies, she feels utterly betrayed as well as abandoned and wants nothing more than for Jason to feel as she does, if not worse. Jason is presented as non other than the story’s antagonist. He has abandoned his wife and two children for the daughter...
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Writing is influenced by many factors, such as class, time, and beliefs, just to name a few. These factors vary as literature moves through different time periods and places. It is interesting to find similarities between pieces of literature written in opposite sides of the world and hundreds of years apart. But no matter the distance or time major themes remain constant throughout world literature. The earliest version The Epic of Gilgamesh, written in 2100 B.C.E., shares many of these...
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Medea written by Euripides is based through Greek society where only men were allowed to take part in politics, law and war. Men were regarded as superior to women, but were not seen as equal to each other and saw themselves as very strong, powerful humans. Male power is the capability or ability for men to direct or influence the behavior of women. This idea of male power is explored through Medea and is very significant to the play as...
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For us as individuals to have free will it suggests that as human beings, we have the ability to express and elect our own personal choices. Whereas the notion of fate entices the idea that our lives are simply determined by physical or divine forces. When focussing on the treatment of free will and fate in relation to Greek tragedies, one can recognise that this theme was often established as the driving forces of conflict. In ancient Greece, the lives...
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In this Greek tragedy, Euripides crafts a tale that centres around the complexities of Medea’s character: her cleverness, sorcery, murderous tendencies, and her status as a foreigner. Euripides takes these traits and elevates them to new heights in his play. The playwright puts Medea’s otherness on full display in his text, granting complexity to this characteristic of Medea; she is not only a foreigner because of her birthplace, but also because she destroyed said home, leaving her untethered to the...
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“I saved your life, and every Greek knows it”(Page 16) Medea is a historic character in literature who has been idolised as a strong female character and is sympathised with to a large extent for aeons, and is hence one of the reasons for which the text has endured to see the light of the modern era. Medea also surprisingly highlights many themes that are relevant to the present. The play revolves around the female character Medea, who is considered...
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Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, depicts the prominent conflict between the Achaeans and the Trojans. The Iliad and The Odyssey have become staples in universal literature and the foundation of Greek culture to many. In both works, Homer implicitly celebrates the role he plays as a performer and conduit from the Gods “who have their homes on Olympos” (75,18), giving rise to a question I repeatedly asked myself: “Why does Homer invoke the assistance of Gods and Muses in The...
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Introduction: An Inquiry on Representation in Theatre Accurate representation in theatrical productions is one of the most popular controversies in Theatre presently; ranging from representations of gender, sexuality, race, age, and religion. As a 21st century theatre practitioner and newly found theatre historian, I am made curious about how various groups of persons are represented and whether the accuracy- or lack thereof -is attributed to more than just a playwright or director’s individual perception. Through the course of reading about...
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In modern-day societies, love is usually viewed as an amazing feeling with only positive traits attributed to this feeling. Many people fail to realize – or choose to ignore – the negative parts of this feeling of love, which can be a powerful and dangerous source of motivation for all living creatures. In Antigone by Sophocles and Medea by Euripides, love is seen through the characters’ love of power, self-love, and the more traditional use of love, love for others....
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Medea is a play written by Euripides that explores ideas of revenge and gender inequality that are prominent even today. In the play, the main character, Medea, has her heart broken by her husband, Jason, who cheats on her and plans to marry a princess while he is still married to her. As a result, she is exiled from her home. For this, Medea embarks on a voyage of revenge costs her the lives of her children. Throughout the play,...
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As time evolves, society is forcing itself to create certain gender roles in civilization. While many people argue to disagree with this, certain individuals believe they subside today because, usually, in an ancient Greek household, the woman will cook, clean, and watch over the children while the man of the household was working. Even if these roles are on a lower scale today, they usually have matching meanings with gender roles long-ago. Nowadays, females are becoming doctors, can vote, and...
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The play is actually reinforcing patriarchal ideology comparatively more than it's undermining it. She's healthy and decisive which are virtually believed to be male characteristics in a patriarchal society and she’s also mental like a female was believed to be. Patriarchy is a society that favors the men over the women. Guys would not be in an area to perform something that's thought to be girly also. He would not have the ability to cry, show act or emotion too...
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With the excessive use of social media today and the growth of sport in social media, sport is constantly on the public agenda. Social media platforms such as Instagram have become a huge part of the health and fitness industry, with Instagram as the second most used social media platform and the fastest growing with over 800 million monthly users. This allows sport and exercise to be exposed to millions of social media users, even if they have no participation...
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Many actions in Euripides’ Medea occur without just explanation. The psychology behind these actions appear unpredictable, but still control key parts of the play. The play begins with a heartbroken Medea, angry and depressed because her husband, Jason, has left her for a new bride. However, the rage Medea exhibits is a byproduct of the backstory of the play. While Jason pursued his quest for the Golden Fleece, Medea had done everything in her power to let this happen, including...
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Salvage the Bones is narrated by a teenager named Esch. She is the only girl in an all-male family, since her mother is dead, and her father is an alcoholic. Isolated and alone in this savage town (the town’s name “Bois Sauvage” and the fact that their homestead is called “The Pit” says a lot about how rural this place is), she seeks of a way to escape. She shifts between the present happenings of her life and often alludes...
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The Story of the Quest for the Golden Fleece focuses on the dangers of selfishness and jealousy one may have. In the Quest for the Golden Fleece, Medea played a huge role and left a huge impact in this popular myth. This tale focuses on Jason who sets out on a quest for the fleece by order of King Pelias. All set in order to place Jason on the throne of Iolcus in Thessaly. From the help of Medea, they...
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The story of Antigone is one of the oldest, yet most well-known, theatrical pieces. Sophocles, was the first playwright to interpret the myth to create a theatrical performance. The appeal of Antigone to many playwrights, as well as the reason for its longevity, is its ability to adapt to any social or political theme. In 441 b.c. Sophocles adapted the myth of Antigone to a play that emphasises Athenian ideals and cultural values. Centuries later in 1944, Jean Anouilh reinterpreted...
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Think about the last time you were angry and someone told you to calm down. Did it work? Did you go from angry to complete calmness? Of course not. Human brains have developed over time. We have one brain that can be essentially divided into two sections. The modern brain and the primal brain. The modern brain, the front cortex, is in charge of tasks such as memory, judgment, reasoning, problem solving, and impulse. Your primal brain, the hindbrain and...
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Sophocles’ Antigone, written in 441 B.C.E., is over 2000 years old and is still a common element in an average English class reading list. It is a story about a woman who wants to cause no trouble, but will also stop at nothing to honor her brother in his death. Even though King Creon has decreed that anybody who tries to bury Antigone’s brother will be punished with death, she does so anyway. Antigone disregards the threat and buries her...
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Medea by Euripides is centered around a woman that ends up with a broken heart simply because she loved too hard. Medea, who is the protagonist in the play, gives up everything for Jason, who is her former husband and the man she was deeply in love with. However, her acts of love are only repaid with betrayal by Jason. This turns Medea into a woman scorned and she makes it her mission to seek vengeance against Jason. Consequently, this...
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In her eponymous play, Medea, in the name of revenge for Jason’s betrayal, kills her own children. I will argue that Medea’s actions are, in fact, logically justified because they are rational when viewed on a cosmic scale. First, Jason’s severest and highest offense is his violation of his oath to the gods, and therefore the best form of justice for this is on a divine level in return. Medea carried this out after deliberating in a “divine” manner, which...
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Throughout history, there have been various cases in which the people of a nation have to take the matter into their own hands in order to bring justice to everyone. Civil disobedience is a right that an individual has to oppose an unjust law in a manner that is passive. Not only is it a right but it also ties into being a responsibility of the people to fight against laws that may be unjustified to ensure the safety and...
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Greek Literature carries some of the most influential messages and lessons of any grouping of writing in history: The Iliad, an epic poem, and Medea, a Greek tragedy, supply examples of literature that do so. The Iliad, written by the infamous Homer, tells a story centered around the gods, mortals, and war, set in the Trojan war. Through its ongoing depiction of the disputes between Agamemnon and Achilles, the poem carries messages of fate, love, mortality, forgiveness, and more. Additionally,...
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