Miscellaneous Myths: Medea

Summary

The script discusses the release of enamel pins inspired by Greek mythology, highlighting the complex character of Medea. It contrasts the typical one-dimensional portrayal of women in myths with Medea's multifaceted persona, exploring her story from the epic 'Argonautica' to the tragic play 'Medea'. The narrative delves into her love for Jason, betrayal, and eventual descent into a vengeful fury, showcasing her as a morally ambiguous figure who retains divine favor despite her actions.

Takeaways

• 📌 The script introduces a new set of enamel pins featuring Greek mythological characters Zeus and Hera, united by their dislike for Jason.
• 🏺 The creator critiques Greek mythology for its lack of nuanced female characters, with most being one-dimensional and often defined by their relationships with heroes.
• 🧙‍♀️ Medea stands out as an exception, being a complex character with a rich backstory that includes being a sorceress and having a morally ambiguous role.
• 📚 Medea's story is primarily found in two texts: the 'Argonautica', an epic poem, and a tragic play by Euripides, which together present her life as a mix of epic and tragedy.
• 🛶 The 'Argonautica' tells the story of Jason and the Argonauts' quest for the Golden Fleece, with Hera's divine intervention playing a key role in their journey.
• 🔥 Medea helps Jason by providing him with magical assistance to overcome challenges set by her father, King Aetes, showing her conflict between love and loyalty.
• 💔 After their marriage, Jason's betrayal of Medea by courting another woman, Glauce, sets off a tragic chain of events, highlighting the darker side of their relationship.
• 🔮 Medea's intelligence and resourcefulness are key to her actions, as she carefully plots her revenge against Jason and the royal family of Corinth.
• 💔 The tragic play 'Medea' ends with Medea killing her own children to spite Jason, showing the extent of her despair and the tragic consequences of Jason's infidelity.
• 🌄 Medea escapes her fate using divine aid and is prophesied to live a long life, contrasting with Jason's miserable end, suggesting a moral complexity in her character.
• ⚔️ The story of Jason and Medea serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of ambition, betrayal, and the human capacity for both love and destruction.

Q & A

What are the newly released enamel pins themed around?

The enamel pins are themed around Greek mythology characters Zeus and Hera, who are brought together by their mutual dislike of Jason.

What is the main criticism of Greek mythology in terms of female characters as presented in the script?

The script criticizes Greek mythology for lacking nuanced female characters, often portraying them as one-dimensional figures defined by their relationships with heroes or as victims of divine retribution.

Who is Medea in Greek mythology, and what makes her unique?

Medea is the granddaughter of Helios, princess of Colchis, a powerful sorceress, and is considered a unique character due to her complexity, existing in a gray area between being a girlboss and a supervillain.

What are the two main texts that tell Medea's story?

Medea's story is mainly told in two texts: the Argonautica, an epic poem from the 200s BCE by Apollonius Rhodius, and Medea, a tragic play by Euripides around 431 BCE.

Why is the story of Jason and the Argonauts significant in Greek mythology?

The story of Jason and the Argonauts is significant as it takes place before the Trojan War and involves a quest for the Golden Fleece, showcasing a generation of heroes and their various challenges.

What was the favor that Hera granted Jason after he helped an old woman across a river?

After helping the old woman, who was actually Hera in disguise, Jason gained her favor, which she would call upon to subtly intervene and assist him throughout his journey.

What series of tasks did King Aetes set for Jason to retrieve the Golden Fleece?

King Aetes set Jason the tasks of yoking a field full of deadly fire-breathing oxen, plowing the field with dragon's teeth, and defeating an army of warriors that sprouted from the teeth.

How does Medea assist Jason in overcoming King Aetes' challenges?

Medea provides Jason with a potion called the 'Charm of Prometheus' to make him invulnerable, and she also gives him advice on how to handle the other challenges, including how to deal with the warriors that sprouted from the dragon's teeth.

What tragic event occurs in Euripides' play 'Medea'?

In Euripides' play 'Medea', after being betrayed by Jason, Medea takes a tragic revenge that includes murdering her own children and poisoning the Corinthian princess and her father, King Creon.

What is the ultimate fate of Jason as depicted in the script?

The script depicts Jason's ultimate fate as dying alone and unhappy, crushed under the rotting prow of the Argo, which serves as a crumbling monument to his only heroic achievement.

How does the script characterize the relationship between Jason and Medea?

The script characterizes the relationship between Jason and Medea as a classic tragedy, where they were once heroes and lovers but were ultimately torn apart by their human flaws, particularly Jason's betrayal and abandonment of Medea.

Outlines

00:00

🏺 Enamel Pins and Greek Mythology: Medea's Tale

The script introduces a new set of enamel pins featuring Zeus and Hera, united by their disdain for Jason. It critiques the lack of depth in Greek mythology's female characters, highlighting Medea as an exception. Medea, a sorceress and princess of Colchis, is portrayed as complex, with her story spanning from the 'Argonautica' to Euripides' tragedy. The summary sets the stage for Medea's narrative, which begins with Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece and the divine intervention of Hera. Medea's conflicted loyalty between Jason and her father, King Aetes, is explored, culminating in her decision to aid Jason by providing him with magical assistance.

05:02

🔥 Medea's Conflict and Tragic Descent

This section delves into the darker aspects of Medea's story, detailing her and Jason's escape from Colchis with the Golden Fleece, the murder of Medea's brother Absyrtus, and the curse from Zeus that follows. The narrative shifts to their life in Corinth, where Jason's betrayal through a new marriage proposal to Glauce, the Corinthian princess, incites Medea's wrath. Medea's cunning and her quest for revenge are highlighted, including her poisoning of gifts for Glauce and King Creon, which results in their deaths. The summary also touches on Medea's contemplation of killing her own children to spite Jason, setting the stage for the tragic events to unfold.

10:02

🛡 The Downfall of Jason and Medea's Escape

The final paragraph recounts Medea's ultimate revenge and Jason's tragic end. Medea, after poisoning Glauce and inadvertently killing King Creon, decides to murder her own children to complete her vengeance against Jason. She escapes using Helios's flying chariot, a divine symbol of her sorceress powers. The script describes Jason's realization of his mistake and Medea's parting words, which include a prophecy of his miserable death. The summary concludes with Medea's escape to Athens and her continued presence in mythology, juxtaposed with Jason's lonely and tragic demise, underscoring the moral complexity and the tragic nature of their story.

Keywords

💡Enamel Pins

Enamel pins are decorative badges or ornaments typically made of metal with enameled surfaces. They are often used for collecting or as fashion accessories. In the script, the speaker mentions the release of a new set of enamel pins featuring characters Zeus and Hera, which is related to the theme of Greek mythology discussed in the video.

💡Greek Mythology

Greek Mythology refers to a collection of stories and legends from ancient Greece that involve gods, heroes, and various mythical creatures. The video script revolves around the analysis of characters and narratives from Greek Mythology, particularly focusing on the character of Medea and her complex role within these stories.

💡Medea

Medea is a figure from Greek mythology, known as a sorceress and the granddaughter of Helios, the sun god. She is a central character in the video, with her story being explored in depth, including her role as both a heroine and a tragic figure, as well as her relationships with Jason and other mythological figures.

💡Argonautica

The Argonautica is an ancient Greek epic poem that tells the story of Jason and the Argonauts' quest for the Golden Fleece. In the script, it is one of the two primary texts mentioned that codify Medea's story, highlighting her early life and adventures with Jason.

💡Golden Fleece

The Golden Fleece is a legendary artifact in Greek mythology, which Jason and the Argonauts, including Medea, sought after. It symbolizes the central quest in the story and is a key element in the challenges Jason must overcome to win it, as detailed in the video script.

💡Hera

Hera is the queen of the gods and wife of Zeus in Greek mythology. She plays a significant role in the script as a divine figure who intervenes in the story, particularly in helping Jason and influencing Medea's actions through dreams and the favor she grants.

💡Tragedy

Tragedy, in literature, refers to a genre that typically deals with serious themes and often ends in disaster or sorrow for the main characters. The script discusses the tragic aspects of Medea's story, especially in the context of her relationship with Jason and the subsequent downfall they experience.

💡Jason

Jason is a hero in Greek mythology, known for his quest for the Golden Fleece and his relationship with Medea. The script explores his character, his motivations, and the tragic consequences of his actions, particularly his betrayal of Medea and the resulting tragedy.

💡Favor of the Gods

The favor of the gods refers to the divine support or assistance granted to a character by the deities in Greek mythology. In the script, it is mentioned that Medea's actions, despite their tragic nature, seem to retain the favor of the gods, which adds a layer of moral complexity to her character.

💡Oathbreaker

An oathbreaker is someone who breaks a promise or a sworn oath. In the video script, Jason is referred to as an oathbreaker for abandoning Medea and their children, which is a key factor leading to the tragic events that unfold in their story.

💡Curse

A curse, in the context of mythology, is a powerful utterance or invocation intended to invoke a misfortune or adverse effect upon someone. The script mentions Zeus's curse on Jason and Medea's voyage due to the murder of Medea's brother, which adds to the challenges they face.

Highlights

New enamel pins featuring Zeus and Hera have been released, united by their dislike of Jason.

Greek mythology is often criticized for its lack of nuanced female characters.

Atalanta and Circe are mentioned as exceptions to the one-dimensional portrayal of women in Greek mythology.

Medea stands out as a complex character in Greek mythology, being a powerful sorceress and a figure between a girlboss and supervillain.

Medea's story is primarily told in two texts: the Argonautica and Euripides' Medea.

The Argonautica is set decades before the Trojan War and follows Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece.

Jason is aided by Hera and assembles a team of heroes called the Argonauts to sail to Colchis.

Medea, the daughter of King Aetes, falls in love with Jason and helps him overcome challenges to retrieve the Golden Fleece.

Medea's assistance to Jason includes providing him with a potion that makes him invulnerable and advice on how to handle other tasks.

Jason and Medea's escape from Colchis involves a murder plot against Medea's brother Absyrtus.

The voyage home is cursed by Zeus due to the murder, leading to a long and complicated journey.

Medea and Jason eventually marry on an island to prevent her from being sent back to Colchis.

In Euripides' play, Medea becomes a tragedy as Jason betrays Medea by courting Glauce, the princess of Corinth.

Medea's revenge involves poisoning gifts that kill Glauce and her father, King Creon.

Medea contemplates but ultimately decides against killing her children to hurt Jason.

Medea escapes to Athens with the help of King Aegeus, who offers her sanctuary.

Jason is left to face the consequences of his actions, including the loss of Hera's favor and a tragic end.

The story of Medea and Jason serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of betrayal and the complexity of love and loyalty.

Transcripts

Uh, real quick, we've just released another  set of enamel pins! We finally got Zeus and  

Hera ready to go, brought together  by their mutual dislike of Jason,  

and I'm honestly really happy  with how these ones turned out,  

so check out the link to our crowdmate  shop and snag a set before they're gone!

I don’t think it’s exactly controversial to  suggest that Greek Mythology is a bit lacking  

in the “nuanced female characters” department. The  goddesses have their fair share of personality,  

and you do get the occasional anomalous powerhouse  like Atalanta and Circe, but for the most part,  

the ladies of greek mythology are fairly one-note  - queens who mother heroes, princesses who fall  

in love with heroes, random targets of divine  retribution, Zeus’s victims of the week. Not  

a whole lot of variety, and certainly not much in  the depth department. Usually the most interesting  

thing about these women is either what hero they  boinked or how they died. Nice to know modern  

media’s really sticking to its roots on that one! But there’s one crowning exception to the rule,  

and that is Medea. Granddaughter of Helios,  princess of Colchis, powerful sorceress,  

and somewhere in the gray area between girlboss  and supervillain, Medea is anything but boring.  

She shows up off and on through later Greek  mythology, but her story is mostly codified  

in two texts - first, the Argonautica, a Greek  epic poem from the 200s BCE written by Apollonius  

Rhodius and based on the well-known Hellenistic  mythology of the time; and second, Medea, a tragic  

play written earlier by Euripides around 431  BCE. The first half of her life is an epic, the  

second half is a tragedy - I think we can safely  assume this story is gonna have some twists in it.

Now this video is not about the Argonautica.  It’s about Medea. So we’re gonna play a  

little fast and loose with this summary  until our leading lady hits the stage.  

Got it? Good. Now the events of the Argonautica  take place a few decades before the Trojan  

War - this is the previous generation  of heroes before the Iliad and Odyssey. 

So the Argonautica is about Jason, prince of  Thessaly, whose father Aeson was overthrown by  

his treacherous half-brother Pelias, who kills  all of Aeson’s descendants except for Jason,  

who’s smuggled out to be raised by the centaur  Chiron. Many years later, Jason returns to  

Thessaly to claim his rightful throne and runs  into an old lady who needs help getting across  

a river. Jason carries her across, losing a sandal  in the process but gaining something very valuable  

in return - the favor of Hera, who it turns out  was the old woman all along. From this point on,  

Hera regularly intervenes with subtle acts of  divine intervention to help her boy out. Jason  

arrives at the palace and demands Pelias give him  his rightful throne, but Pelias hits him with the  

classic hey-kid-ya-like-proving-yourself and sends  Jason on a quest to retrieve the golden fleece,  

a textbook macguffin that could’ve been literally  anything. Jason assembles a crack team of heroes  

called The Argonauts and they set sail on the  Argo for Colchis, where the Golden Fleece is  

stowed. The exact crew kinda depends on who you  ask - every version of the story has a different  

set of heroes onboard. Sometimes Atalanta’s  onboard, sometimes Jason decreed the Argo a  

strictly no-girls-allowed zone; sometimes Theseus  and Pirithous are there, sometimes they’re already  

stuck in hades for the crime of being absolute  morons. Heracles is usually onboard, but amusingly  

he gets totally ditched early on and they keep  having near-misses for the rest of the book  

without ever meeting back up again. The cast list  doesn’t really matter - this is basically just an  

excuse to let an ensemble cast of heroes deal  with a bunch of Weird Island Sh*t for a while. 

After a lot of filler they eventually reach the  kingdom of Colchis, where the Golden Fleece is  

held. But unfortunately, Colchis is ruled  by a different, unrelated evil king named  

Aetes who also hits Jason with the patented  hey-kid-you-like-proving-yourself gambit and  

sets him a series of tasks to do before he gets  the fleece. First he’ll have to yoke a field  

full of deadly fire-breathing oxen and then use  them to plow the field, then he’ll need to sow  

the field with dragon’s teeth, and finally  defeat an army of warriors. Jason’s not too  

optimistic about his prospects, so he and the  Argonauts head off to discuss their options. 

But fortunately for Jason, Aetes has a sexy  sorceress daughter named Medea, and with a little  

nudging from Hera, Eros hits her with the arrow of  love. Suddenly head-over-heels for this handsome  

stranger, Medea finds herself utterly tormented  by this new conflict of interests. She desperately  

wants to help Jason out, but she hates the thought  of betraying her father, and she’s pretty scared  

of what he might do to her if he finds out she’s  been involved. Hera sends her dreams where Jason  

came to her kingdom, not for the golden fleece,  but for her hand in marriage, but when she  

chooses him over her family and accomplishes his  impossible tasks for him, her family is enraged.  

She wakes up, conflicted almost to the point of  suicide, but while she’s absolutely terrified  

of dying in disgrace, known to the world only  as a foolish woman who gave up everything for  

a stranger, she eventually steels her resolve  and decides to help Jason out, because love. 

She arranges for a covert meeting at the Temple  of Hekate where she serves as a priestess,  

tricking her handmaidens into thinking she’s only  pretending to like Jason so she can sabotage his  

success with evil magic. When Jason arrives,  they awkwardly blush for a hot minute before  

Jason explains that he knows she’s his only hope  of success, and if she helps him, he’ll make sure  

she’s famous throughout Greece for her heroism.  He compares her to Ariadne helping Theseus  

through the minotaur’s maze, and, smitten by his  praise, Medea gives him a potion called the “Charm  

of Prometheus” that’ll make him invulnerable. She  also explains how to handle the other challenges. 

Anyway, the day arrives and Jason heads to  the field, where, currently invulnerable  

thanks to Medea’s potion, he easily yokes the  fire-breathing bulls and sows the field with  

dragon’s teeth. After a quick snack break,  he returns to find an army of warriors have  

sprouted from the dragon's teeth, and, recalling  Medea’s advice, he chucks a rock at them and  

all the warriors get confused and pissed off  thinking one of them did it, and then they all  

kill each other. With the tasks completed,  Jason’s riding pretty high, and King Aetes  

is baffled that Jason managed to pull it off. That night, Hera sends Medea nightmares to warn  

her that Aetes has figured out her involvement,  and Medea wakes up and runs into the night,  

arriving at the Argo and telling them they gotta  get outta there right this minute and also please  

take her with them. Jason promises to do her  one better and marry her the minute they get  

back to greece. They obviously need to grab the  Golden Fleece first, so Medea charms the dragon  

guarding it to sleep while Jason retrieves the  fleece. Then they get the heck outta dodge. The  

Colchians obviously give chase, with one of the  fleets led by Medea’s brother Absyrtus, and Jason  

and Medea come up with a cunning plan to deal  with him. It’s murder. The plan is murder. They  

lure him into a trap and Jason dismembers him. Now Zeus gets pretty pissed about the family  

murder thing, so he curses the voyage to get  all turned around and confused by the wind,  

so the journey home ends up taking a lot  longer than expected, although that’s partially  

resolved when they end up blowing ashore on  Circe’s island and she magically cleanses  

Medea and Jason of the guilt for the murder.  Hm, didn’t know she could do that! Useful! 

A few more filler arcs happen while they sail  home, and Jason and Medea end up getting properly  

married on an island so Medea won’t be sent  back to Colchis by the king of the island,  

who’s a pretty nice guy and won’t break up a  properly married couple. Jason and Medea are  

married in a sacred cave on the cliffside  and take a nice little wedding night nap  

on top of the golden fleece, which I will  admit was not a detail I was expecting to  

read in this ancient greek epic. Yeah, Pelias,  I don’t know if you’re gonna wanna touch that. 

So after a long and complicated voyage home,  the lovers finally return to Thesally. Now  

that’s around where the Argonautica peters  out, but the story’s not over - the next  

bit is recounted in a short now-lost play by  Euripides called the Peliades. Now obviously  

Pelias doesn’t wanna give up the throne,  proving-himself be damned. He’s also gone  

ahead and killed all of Jason’s relatives, just  to, you know, be proactive. But don’t worry,  

Medea has a solution! It’s murder. The solution  is murder. She shows Pelias’s daughters a cool  

spell she knows for rejuvenation by butchering an  old ram and throwing the pieces into a boiling pot  

of herbs - at which point a young and healthy lamb  jumps out! The daughters think that’s really cool,  

so they go grab their dad and butcher  him, and he’s dead. He’s just dead. Oops. 

So that’s basically the first half of Medea’s  story. A young, demure, lovestruck woman falls  

head over heels for a handsome, heroic stranger  and gives up everything to save him from an  

impossible situation, and then he rescues her  from her vengeful family and brings her to a  

better land to marry him and live happily ever  after. That is a beautiful, classic, textbook  

love story ᵖˡᵘˢ ᵒʳ ᵐᶦⁿᵘˢ ᵃ ᶜᵒᵘᵖˡᵉ ᵐᵘʳᵈᵉʳˢ. So…… why is the play Medea a tragedy?  

Buckle up, it’s actually kinda fascinating. So to start us off, Jason has a bit of a problem.  

See, what with whole the gruesome death of Pelias  and all, Jason is now an accessory to a crime,  

and he can’t really claim the throne of Thessaly -  little-known downside to solving all your problems  

with murder - so he and Medea decide to head to  Corinth instead. A few years evidently pass and  

they make a home there, but Jason ends up courting  Glauce, princess of Corinth and daughter of King  

Creon, in the hopes that marrying her will make  him royalty and ensure the future of his line, as  

well as the safety of Medea and their two children  ᵇᵉᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ᵇʸ ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵃʸ ᵗʰᵉʸ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵗʷᵒ ᶜʰᶦˡᵈʳᵉⁿ. 

Now, this is…… aw, what’s the word…… adultery!  That's right. Jason is married to Medea, both  

in the eyes of the law and the gods, and now he’s  trying to marry this Corinthian princess for the  

perks. Medea is, understandably, furious, and has  been completely inconsolable with grief and rage  

for long enough that King Creon is starting to get  worried she might end up doing something drastic,  

like… ah, just spitballing here… murder, so  he decides that he should exile her and her  

children so she can’t do any murdering. She  successfully pleads with him to give her one  

more day to get her affairs in order before  he exiles her, and he agrees, which is unwise,  

because now he’s given her 24 hours to  get all that murdering out of her system. 

But Medea isn’t stupid. We’ve already seen how  clever she is, and how carefully she arranges  

her exit strategies. We also already know  from the argonautica that her worst fear is  

being abandoned and suffering the humiliation  of sacrificing everything for a stranger who  

doesn’t even care about her. She definitely  wants revenge, but she knows she can’t just  

start willy-nilly murdering people - then she’ll  still be abandoned and also wanted for murder. 

While she’s pondering this conundrum, Jason shows  up to tell her if she’d just been cool about him  

ditching her for this new woman, she wouldn’t be  getting exiled right now. Medea enumerates the  

many ways she’s saved his ass in the past and  accuses him of denying his oaths to the gods,  

which sets up a pretty interesting theme in  this story of Medea’s actions - no matter how  

murdery - having the tacit approval of the gods.  More on that later. Anyway, Medea points out that  

exile is almost a death sentence because she’s  made enemies everywhere by constantly helping  

out Jason, who has a habit of pissing people off  and then requiring magical assistance, and Jason  

counters that really she got more than she gave  in that bargain, because sure, she sacrificed her  

family and homeland to do his impossible tasks for  him and saved his life over and over again - but  

hey, now she gets to live in greece, not that  icky barbarian place she came from. And also  

she’s famous now because of all that cool stuff  she did for him that he got to take the credit  

for! Besides, Medea is just some barbarian woman  with phenomenal cosmic powers. Jason can’t pass  

up a real princess. His genius plan was to keep  Medea as his mistress when he marries the princess  

so he could get them some sweet royal protection  - and then eventually Medea’s lame non-royal kids  

will have some properly royal half-siblings!  Isn’t that lovely? Unfortunately Medea getting  

herself exiled has spoiled his brilliant plan  somewhat, but don’t worry, he’s totally willing  

to give her some money to make that whole  wandering-the-wastelands-with-two-young-kids  

thing easier. Ah, man. I wanna see her kill him so bad. 

So Jason leaves, and when Medea heads outside  to think, she runs into Aegeus, king of Athens,  

who greets her like an old friend. Apparently  he’s in town cuz he wanted to ask the oracle  

why his wiener doesn’t work, but when he sees  Medea looking so down he asks what’s wrong,  

and she fills him in on Jason being the absolute  worst. He’s totally sympathetic and offers her  

sanctuary in Athens, though he does say he can’t  actually get her there - she’ll have to make her  

own way over. Medea, cautious as ever, tells him  she’s made quite a lot of enemies and she needs to  

know he’ll be willing to protect her from..... I  dunno...... retribution or somethin'? He promises,  

and with her exit strategy firmly in place, Medea  gets down to the brass tacks of plotting a murder. 

So Medea takes a beautiful golden gown and coronet  - two gifts from Helios - and applies a poison to  

them so potent that it won’t just kill whoever  wears them, it’ll also kill anyone that person  

touches. She also thinks about killing her  kids, reasoning that’ll hurt Jason pretty  

bad - although the chorus points out it’ll also  hurt her a lot more, since Jason is kind of a  

terrible dad who doesn’t really like them that  much - but she decides it’s worth it. I mean…  

it wouldn’t be the first family she’s murdered. Anyway, she calls Jason back in and pretends to  

be all remorseful about their argument, and  Jason totally buys it because he knows women  

tend to get emotional when their husbands leave  them for other women. Medea tells him she hates  

the thought of their poor children sharing her  exile, and couldn’t he possibly convince Creon  

to let them stay? Jason’s not sure about Creon,  but he thinks he can convince Glauce to do it,  

what with her being a woman, and  thus dumb and emotional and stuff. 

Medea gives the gown and coronet to her kids,  and tells them to be very convincing and persuade  

Glauce to let them stay by giving her these  wedding gifts. She sends them off, and evidently  

they’re very persuasive, because they come back  without the presents. Medea suffers from a brief  

internal conflict over murdering them, and then  a messenger arrives in a panic telling her to get  

the hell out of dodge because everyone’s dead and  they’re definitely gonna blame her. He’s probably  

not expecting Medea to respond “Ooooh, spill  the tea! Did she suffer? Tell me she suffered.” 

So apparently when the kids showed up, everyone  was excited because it meant Medea was maybe  

getting over her grudge - everyone except  for Glauce, who refused to even look at them  

until they showed her the shiny presents. She  immediately put them on, stumbled around for  

a bit, and then caught fire. That’s a hell of a  poison. So she dies, and Creon cradles her body,  

at which point he also dies. Whoopsies! The messenger books it, and Medea decides  

this at least makes the whole child-murder thing  easier, since killing the entire royal family of  

Corinth is gonna get them killed anyway. She heads  discreetly offstage and the kids yell about how  

they are Very Definitely Getting Murdered Right  Now, which is when Jason shows up, loudly talking  

about how he sure hopes nobody kills the kids  to retaliate against him. Ooooh! Poor timing! 

So Medea rises out of the house and into the  air in Helios’s flying chariot, using a bit of  

stagecraft usually reserved for gods, by the way,  and she taunts Jason that he’ll never reach her up  

here and she’s successfully taken everything from  him. Jason yells about how he probably should’ve  

taken Medea’s willingness to betray her family for  him as a red flag. He also says that the souls of  

their children will avenge him on her, but Medea  says the gods know who really messed up in this  

situation, and she’s gonna bury their kids in  Hera’s sacred lands before purifying herself  

of the crime - presumably with Circe’s help again  - and then heading to Athens for a nice long nap,  

and meanwhile she prophesizes that Jasons’s  gonna die a miserable death crushed under  

the ruins of his only heroic achievement. Jason  swears that an avenging fury will destroy her,  

and Medea tells him “good luck finding one  that’ll listen to a liar and an oathbreaker!”  

and flies away. Jason leaves, asking the gods  to avenge him, and the play closes out with the  

chorus singing that the gods don’t always  give us what we want. Honestly? Hilarious. 

Sure enough, Medea remains conspicuously un-smote,  and makes sporadic appearances in later mythology,  

heading to Athens and marrying Aegeus fairly  happily until his son Theseus shows up and she  

tries to kill him a little bit and runs off to  a nebulous faraway land. Medea quietly vanishes  

into the mythos, never even canonically  dying. Her story seems to vindicate that,  

despite all the familicide and the poisoning  and stuff, she really did retain the favor  

of the gods right up to the end, framing  her as a bizarrely morally nuanced figure. 

And in contrast, Jason…… well, things really  don’t go so hot for Jason. As you may recall,  

his whole hero’s journey really got started when  he won the favor of Hera through that secret test  

of character thing. She was essentially his patron  god, and basically the only reason he passed all  

those proving-himself dealios - as well as the  only reason Medea falls in love with him. Well,  

Hera was the goddess of marriage and  family - and then Jason betrayed his  

wife. Medea wasn’t just sassing when she called  him an oathbreaker, he was quite literally  

breaking a divine oath by abandoning her and their  children. Without the favor of Hera, Jason dies  

alone and unhappy when the rotting prow of the  Argo breaks off and crushes him in his sleep - a  

crumbling monument to his only heroic achievement. Jason and Medea are a classic tragedy that hits  

surprisingly hard. They were in love, they were  heroes, they did incredible things, and then when  

the situation changed, their very human flaws tore  them apart. Two characters who were heroes in one  

context become nightmares in another. Reading the  Argonautica is a genuinely very weird experience,  

seeing the beginning of their relationship knowing  how terribly it’s going to end, and you can kinda  

tell it was written with that in mind. There are a  few little tidbits of Medea's character that seem  

like they're deliberately written there to make  the impact of the original tragedy hit harder.  

Jason could have never succeeded in his quest  without Medea, but because of the murderiness  

of Medea’s methods, he ended up failing to win  the throne he’d been after in the first place,  

driving him to further extremes to try and claim  the royalty he deserved. Jason loved Medea,  

but not more than he wanted the future he’d been  after, and in casting her aside he made a terrible  

enemy. And Medea was always brilliantly clever,  and she loved Jason very fiercely - she had no  

other choice, thanks to Hera. And she loved their  children in a way Jason didn’t - throughout the  

play he only ever calls them HER children  until they’re dead, and suddenly they’re  

HIS children and he feels really bad about  it. In a better time, in a better situation,  

they probably could’ve been happy together for  the rest of their lives - if only Jason weren’t  

such an 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘂𝘀. Oh yeah, I’ll just ditch  my incredibly cunning and powerful sorceress-wife  

for this random princess. I’m sure she’ll be  cool about it! What could possibly go wrong?!

[Thunder Rolls]