Medea

Euripides' tragedy of the barbarian sorceress who takes the ultimate revenge on the husband who abandons her.

Specifications & Metrics

author

Euripides

type

Tragedy (Greek)

era

Classical Athens (431 BC)

language

Ancient Greek

setting

Corinth

source text

The Argonaut myth cycle

acts

1 acts

Relative Scale in Plays

Core Principles & Analysis

• Euripides presented it in 431 BC, where it won third prize at the City Dionysia.
• Medea's murder of her own children is Euripides' most notorious innovation on the myth.
• The play's study of a wronged, intelligent woman keeps it among the most revived Greek tragedies.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Medea (play)