Medea
by Euripides · Μήδεια
Assigned by 4 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 431 BCE
- Form
- Tragedy
- Language
- Greek
- Length
- Short · 70 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendEuripides I (The Complete Greek Tragedies), translated by Oliver TaplinUniversity of Chicago Press, 2013The third edition of the Chicago series replaced the old Warner Medea with Taplin's, which is clearer and closer to the Greek.
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Medea, a foreign princess and sorceress who betrayed her family to help Jason win the Golden Fleece, has been abandoned by him in Corinth so that he can marry the king's daughter. Sentenced to exile, she bargains for a single day, secures a refuge in Athens from the visiting king Aegeus, and uses the day to kill Jason's bride and her father with a poisoned robe. Then, to complete his ruin, she kills their two sons and escapes in the chariot of the sun god, leaving Jason with nothing.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Medea are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
