Creon and Medea
Creon and Medea
The “barbarian” princess and witch Medea met the Argonaut hero Jason while he was in Colchis on his quest for the Golden Fleece. She fell in love with Jason and used her magical knowledge to aid him in the seemingly impossible tasks set by her father King Aeetes as the price for obtaining the Golden Fleece. She fled Colchis with Jason back to his home at Iolcus in Thessaly, but they were soon forced to flee once more to Corinth, where they lived in relative peace for some ten years, during which time they bore two sons. Jason, however, looking to better his political position, deserted Medea in favour of an advantageous marriage with Creusa (known as Glauce in Greek), the daughter of King Creon of Corinth.
Medea was a very diverse character who possesses several characteristics which were unlike the average woman during her time. As a result of these characteristics she was treated differently by members of the society. Medea was a different woman for several reasons; she possessed super natural powers , she was manipulative, vindictive, and she was driven by revenge. The life that Medea lived and the situations she encountered, were partly responsible for these characteristics and her actions, And because she was such a different woman people in her society were afraid of her, including men.
So for her reputation as a violent, ruthless woman at the beginning of the play is reaffirmed by the nurse's foreshadowing statement that she "may even kill the king and the new-wedded groom" (42) and Creon's fear that she is "a clever woman, versed in evil arts" (283), who "may injure [his] daughter mortally" (281). Medea's evil intentions further become evident through her reaction to the news from a messenger that Creon and his daughter are dead. She replies that "those were the finest words [he has] spoken" (1101) and that "[he] will delight [her] twice as much if [he says] they died in agony" (1109-1110). Medea shows
The “barbarian” princess and witch Medea met the Argonaut hero Jason while he was in Colchis on his quest for the Golden Fleece. She fell in love with Jason and used her magical knowledge to aid him in the seemingly impossible tasks set by her father King Aeetes as the price for obtaining the Golden Fleece. She fled Colchis with Jason back to his home at Iolcus in Thessaly, but they were soon forced to flee once more to Corinth, where they lived in relative peace for some ten years, during which time they bore two sons. Jason, however, looking to better his political position, deserted Medea in favour of an advantageous marriage with Creusa (known as Glauce in Greek), the daughter of King Creon of Corinth.
Medea was a very diverse character who possesses several characteristics which were unlike the average woman during her time. As a result of these characteristics she was treated differently by members of the society. Medea was a different woman for several reasons; she possessed super natural powers , she was manipulative, vindictive, and she was driven by revenge. The life that Medea lived and the situations she encountered, were partly responsible for these characteristics and her actions, And because she was such a different woman people in her society were afraid of her, including men.
So for her reputation as a violent, ruthless woman at the beginning of the play is reaffirmed by the nurse's foreshadowing statement that she "may even kill the king and the new-wedded groom" (42) and Creon's fear that she is "a clever woman, versed in evil arts" (283), who "may injure [his] daughter mortally" (281). Medea's evil intentions further become evident through her reaction to the news from a messenger that Creon and his daughter are dead. She replies that "those were the finest words [he has] spoken" (1101) and that "[he] will delight [her] twice as much if [he says] they died in agony" (1109-1110). Medea shows