Women to be feared

• A: Who was Medea?

  - barbarian princess- granddaughter of god of the sun,Helios- daughter ofAietes
• A: Why was Medea a fearful character to the Greeks?

  - she did notconform to the expectationsof female behaviour- she refused to put the needs of her male relatives and husband above her own- she was highlyemotionalandpowerful- she was a woman who could not be controlled
• A: When did Medea meet Jason?

  on his quest to find the golden fleece
• A: Where was the golden fleece kept?

  Colchis
• A: Why did Jason go on the quest for the golden fleece?

  as Pelias promised to give up the throne to Jason if he brought it back
• A: Who was Pelias?

  - Jason´s half-uncle- king ofThessaly
• A: What was the built Jason built called?

  What was the name given to his crew?

  the Argo

  the Argonauts
• A: Who was Aietes?

  - father of Medea

  - king of Colchis
• A: Why is Medea initially seen as barbaric by a greek audience

  - from Colchis

  - near the black sea and far away >> so unconventional and barbaric
• A: What were the challenges that Jason faced in trying to secure the fleece and how did Medea help him?

  - yoke a set offire-breathing oxenand use them to plow a field- medea used hermagicto protect him from the flames

  - when Jason had sown the teeth of the dragon a race of warriors calledspartoirose and attacked him- media threw a rock in their midst, and believing it was an attack, the spartoi killed each other

  - Jason had to get past the dragon that guarded the fleece- Medea made a herbal poison that put the dragon to sleep
• A: Which goddess was Jason a favourite of?

  queen of the god, Hera
• A: How does Hera help Jason?

  - makes Medea fall in love with Jason

  - with Medea´s magic, Hera hoped jason would succeed in his quest
• A: Who put a spell on Medea to like Jason?

  Eros
• A: How is love portrayed, and explain the effect it had on Medea, in

  Apollonius´ ´Argonautica´´speechless amazement seized her soul´>> metaphor>> shows how shes trapped by the love>> surprise

  eros ´laughing loud´>> sees the situation as a joke>> shows the cruelty of the love

  ´burnt deep down in the maiden´s heart like a flame´>> fiery, hot, passionate

  Apollonius focussed on thephysical sideof the love
• A: How is love portrayed, and explain the effect it had on Medea, in

  Ovid´s ´Metamorphoses´´how else should i find my father´s conditions excessively harsh?´>> aware of the consequences>> loyalty to her father

  ´i must extinguish this fire which is raging inside my innocent heart´>> against her will

  Ovid is focussed on themental sideof the love
• A: How do both Appolonius and Ovid describe Medea?


  both show how Medea spent much time debating with herself about what to do
• A: Why did Medea beg Jason to take her with him back to Greece and marry him?

  she went against her father, King Aietes and knew her father would be furious when he found out
• A: Why is it unconventional that Medea betrayed her father in favour of her husband?

  - a greek woman was not expected to choose her own husband

  - rather, she was expected willingly to marry of a man of her father´s choice
• A: How did Jason and Medea escape the angry Colchians as they stole the golden fleece?

  - Medea killed her younger brother,Aspyrtus, and cut his body into pieces- every time the Colchian ships got close to the Argo, she threw a piece of her brother into the water- this forced the Colchians to stop rowing and collect the pieces to give Aspyrtus a proper burial and ensure he reached the underworld
• A: What happened when Jason and Medea returned to Thessaly with the golden fleece?

  king Pelias refused to give up his throne to Jason
• A: What did Medea do when king Pelias refused to give up his throne after they returned to Thessaly?


  - she convinced Pelias´daughters that there was a ritual that could reverse the ageing process

  - Medea demonstrated this on an old ram and while the daughters were distracted, pulled a young lamb from her cloak

  - the daughters eagerly told their father and carried out the ritual

  - therefore, Medea´s plan succeeded in removing king Pelias
• A: What happened after Medea killed King Pelias? What does this show about Medea´s behaviour?

  - jason and medea were driven out of Thessaly by the townsfolk- they had to seek refuge in the Greek city ofCorinth

  - once medea came to theHellenic world, where people were´civilised´, she was less able to get away with behaving like a´barbarian´
• A: Why couldnt Jason become king in Corinth?

  - medea´s actions in Thessaly had made them both exiles

  - her status as a barbarian foreigner made them both unpopular
• A: Why did Jason leave Medea and who for?

  - princess of Corinth, Glauce

  - to improve his position in society
• A: Who was the king of Corinth?

  Creon
• A: Prescribed Source:

  Euripides,´Medea´
• A:

  PS ´Medea´How does the nurse present Medea in the opening speech?´she lies fasting and gives her body to pain´>> medea in a mild form ofthrenos

  ´weep to herself for her dear father and country, and her home´>> filled with remorse

  ´she might a thrust a sharpened sword through her heart´>> medea comes across as volatile and unsatable

  ´no man who takes her as his enemy will be able to sing of a glorious victory with ease´>> unconventional>> emphasises the strength of her grief
• A:

  PS ´Medea´What are the complaints that Medea has about being a woman?´divorce is discreditable for women´>> women have to stay in unhappy marriages or risk ruining their reputations

  ´a man, whenever he is annoyed with the company of those in the house, goes elsewhere and thus rids his soul of its boredom´>> men have a life beyond their marriage´but we must fix our gaze on one person only´>> women´s main priority is their marriage

  ´i would rather stand 3 times with a shield in battle than give birth once´>> more glory going into battle than giving birth>> shows the danger

  - women have to pay a large dowry for a husband who will control their freedom and bodies- high expectations for women to please their husband and be a good kyria once married
• A:

  PS ´Medea´Euripides had a reputation as a misogynist. Why is this particularly surprising considering Medea´s speech about being a woman?- Euripides writes as Medea in a verytruthfulandunbiasedway >> hard realities based on social truths- considering the majority male audience, Euripides does a fair job portraying the struggles of women- in the nurse´s speech, she is portrayed as avictimof the golden fleece expedition
• A:

  PS ´Medea´Is there anything that would support the idea of Euripides as a mysogonist- perpetuates the stereotype ofvolatileandunpredictablewomen >>portrayed as hysterical/emotional in nurse´s speech- Medea seen by the Greeks as´barbaric´, hence her complaints are seen to be extreme >> going against greek society >> disruptingstatus quo- the fact that Euripides expresses Medea´s complaints >> good athenian kyrias would not complain about their jobs >> honourable
• EQ: How much sympathy do you feel for Medea? [8]

  - she betrayed her father and her country, murdered her brother, travelled to a foreign land where a people treated her with dear and suspicion and she had borne jason 2 sons, however Jason still left her
• A: Why was Medea dangerous?

  - Medea refused to play by the rules of Greek society and she got what she wanted

  - such defiance could set a dangerous precedent for other women and destabilise Greece´s traditional patriarchy
• A: How does Medea exact revenge on Jason, Creon and Glauce?

  - she pretends to be full of remorse- she asks that her sons be able to stay in Corinth and not be sent in exile with her- she sends them with gifts for glauce on her wedding day to convince the royal family that she is sincere- glauce accepts the gifts, acoronetand adress- as soon as she puts the dress on, it clings to her and burns her flesh, as medea has cast a posionous spell- creon tries to help her but it sticks to him too- both die
• A:

  PS ´Medea´(when Medea kills her sons)How does Euripides present Medea here?Is she presented as good or noble in any way?- selfish >> prioritises her own revenge + pride over her own children´you were not going to dishonour my bed...without punishment´

  - unconventional as she challenges Jason´absolutely not´´bury them with my own hands´

  - abandons her duties as a kyria>>says proudly she´s going to live with Aegus

  good or noble?- although,does not want her enemies to abuse themandwants to bury them with her own clothes- calls them´unholy murders´which may show remorse- gods on her side- smart and calculated- good points about women´s position in marriage
• A:

  PS ´Medea´(when Medea kills her sons)How does Euripides present Jason here?- unconventional for a kyrios >> cannot control his wife

  - self-centred >> only cares that he is childless because he has no heirs

  - irony in the way it feels their roles have been reversed
• A:

  PSThe Flight of Medea KraterWhat does this source depict?-medea in extravagant clothing>> immodest>> drawing attention to herself>> unconventional kyria>> dress of the persians >> barbaric

  -medea framed by the sun>> symbol of helios as her grandfather

  -jason gazing up at medea>> power imbalance>> simple, scrappy clothing compared to medea

  -medea and jason´s children on top of the altar>> sacrilegious nature of their deaths

  -chariot led by golden serpents>> symbol of witchcraft

  
• A: Medea visual prescribed source


  The Flight of Medea Krater
• A:

  PSThe Flight of Medea KraterHow has the artist represented the final scene differently from Euripides? Can you offer any explanations as to why?E: Medea buries her sons

  K: sons on altar >> shows medea leaving them behind, shows medea´s selfishness and cruelty

  
  

  E: bigger villain is jason

  K: Medea presented as a barbarian and witch through her dress and snakes >> stresses magical and strange nature of her character
• A: Evaluate which of Medea´s crimes were the worst?

  Aspyrtus:- in ancient greece it wasvery dishonourable to kill a member of your family(going against your family frowned upon by the god)- however medea´s actions can be justified through the fact thatshe helped jason escape- despite betraying her father and brother,the gods were still on her side

  Pelias:- manipulated the daughters into killing pelias- cruel and brutal- however for a good cause as pelias would not give up his throne

  Glauce and Creon:- as a result of medea´s jealousy, pride and need for revenge- justified as she waswrongly left by jason

  Her sons:- worse crime- as sheprioritised her pride and revenge
• A: What do you think would have terrified a Greek audience more: Medea´s magical powers, her cunning mind or her independence?

  magical powers- perpetuates the idea ofbarbarianism(witchcraft)- terrifying as she has an extreme amount ofpower>> shown by hernumerous crimesand thenumber of times she helped jason escapehowever:- magical powers areexpectedas she is thedescendent of Helios- shown by other heroes >> not out of the ordinary- not punished by the gods for her immoral actions

  cunning mind- intelligent women aredangerous>> medea´s intelligence led her to formulating the plans for all her crimes>> links toMenanderquote ´a man who teaches a woman to write should recognise he is providing poison to an asp´>> another example of how smart women are considered dangerous- like pandora with her´bitch´s mind´- she knew how toexploit men´s weaknesses:>> need to bury his children (Aietes)>> importance of having an heir (Jason)

  Independence- unconventional- stem for all her immoral actions- no one really seems to be able to control medea