despite depicting a mother that kills her own child does the play Medea have a clear sense of good and bad?
Medea herself is a human but the way she acts on her rage has a color to it that is more like how a fictional god acts.
at least she views the situation as if she's betrayed by her own creation done so by the lack of gratitude and has the right to destroy everything in retaliation.
there are parts in the story that support this view but it's not clear and even down to the last lines of the play Jason still views Medea as an ordinary (yet clearly crazy) woman who's acting out her jealousy.
it's like Euripides wanted to show how someone with a god complex(?) acts given the power and that's what makes it better. she asks herself at some point if she's doing the right thing. tells herself that she should give up and leave. takes the right steps to make things right but still she stays. she shows her anger and acts on her plan. which is not very god like. is it?

Each story has its own charm and uniqueness but, Alcestis is definitely my favorite

Medea is a QUEEN

medea did nothing wrong

3.5 stars

I only read the intro and 'Medea' and not the 'Other Plays.' This Penguin Classics edition is neat because there are detailed notes throughout the play (noted at the back) explaining all sorts of stuff: how the tragedy would've been presented on stage back then, the backstory of the mythology behind it all, the critical reactions to certain passages throughout history, etc. There is ALSO a glossary at the back that explains the whos, whats and wheres of all proper nouns listed throughout the plays. This all makes for a very easy and informative/enriching reading experience compared to just reading the play dry and going, "Huh? Who is AEGEUS?" Did you know that the word 'panic' comes from Pan - one of the Greek deities attributed to causing madness?

So Euripides, along with Sophocles and Aeschylus, are the 3 main tragedians of Ancient/Classical Greece (all 3 in Athens mostly) as my "Western Humanities" text book points out. They all wrote tons of plays but not many survived. They'd present their tragedies at the Festival of Dionysus. At each festival they'd present 4 plays- the first 3 were tragedies (sometimes a related trilogy, other times not) and the 4th play was a 'satyr play' which was comic and oftentimes raunchy and grotesque - it was like a little dessert for the audience at festival's end. The people of Athens declared Aeschylus and Sophocles winners of the festivals more times than Euripides but it sounds like they maybe just weren't ready yet for Euripides. I don't know - I've already forgotten what I read about him 3 days ago.

The story of 'Medea' is pretty awesome - I guess it's about as tragic as tragedy can get. There are some enjoyable passages about a woman's place in the world of men - a lot of stuff that is still relevant and funny and scathing. The basic plot is that Medea is the wife of Jason (the guy with the Argonauts) and he really dicks her over - I won't say how. And she then spends the whole play seeking revenge. There are some brutal elements here that reminded me of "Oldboy" - the Korean film from a couple of years ago - the one that churned my innards in ways like no movie has before. It was one of 3 films in the director's Vengeance Trilogy. Medea reminds me of a character in the movie - I won't say who - but it's got one of the best movie endings ever- TRULY turning things up to 11!!!!!!!!!

Here's my favorite passage from 'Medea.' It's towards the beginning, after we've learned about what Jason the A-hole has done. The nurse is one of the caretakers of Medea and Jason's children.

NURSE: "Inside with you, children, it will be all right, into the house! And you do all you can to keep them out of the way; don't let them near their mother while she's in this depression! I've already seen her glaring at them like a bull, as if she wanted to do something awful. I'm sure of one thing, that anger of hers won't die down until someone's felt the force of her thunderbolt. I pray her victims are enemies, not those who love her!"

This reminded me of a woman I know!

Euripides is the best writer of women in the ancient world, maybe ever. There's so much in these stories that read like prophecy for how they'll be told in the future, especially the metacommentary on Helen's reputation, Heracles looking a bit like a dumb jock, but mostly Medea's rage on behalf of women.

Particularly biting are these lines from Medea: "What other creatures are bred so exquisitely and purposefully for mistreatment as women are? Think of how we buy ourselves husbands, power and alliances for them, slavery and conquest over us. Bad enough to have no choice in servitude- but to pay for it and then celebrate a wedding feast adds salt to the wound. Try refusing the arrangement, or later petition for divorce--the first is impossible while the second is like admitting you're a whore."

I swear we haven't summed it up as well in 2000 years. Medea is practically addressing the audience when she says "tell me -- how does it feel with my teeth in your heart?"

Three stars... Euripedes comes off as very misogynistic and his portrayal of human emotion in Medea feels fleeting rather than natural...

Maybe it's because I've always been on Medea's side

Overall 4****
Breakdown:

Medea: 5***** ”Surely, of all creatures that have life and will, we women are the most wretched.”

Medea is my favourite play by Euripides. It demonstrates the true plight of women in Ancient Greece and the inequality they face. She is a woman who knows she has been wronged and wants to take her vengeance, even if it means losing those dearest to her. I just love Medea- she has done everything for love, even the darkest of actions, and Jason seems to not give a fuck... she will make him pay.

Hecabe: 4**** ”A free man?- There’s no such thing! All men are slaves.”

I enjoyed this one as well. This is set after Troy has fallen and Hecabe and her daughters are now Trojan slaves. This covers the slaughter of Polyxena and the discovery of Polydorus’ death. This also covered the importance of guest-friend and the heavy penalties of breaking these sacred rules.

Electra: 4/4.5****

Orestes: “Would you be resolute to help him kill your mother?”

Electra: “I Would- with the same axe by which my father died... When I have shed her blood to requite this, then I can die content.”

This takes place after Agamemnon has been killed by Clytemnestra and the siblings, Orestes and Electra, have been parted for many years. This focuses on Orestes return to Argos to find Electra and kill Clytemnestra and Aegisthus for killing his father. This was an interesting play as at first I find Electra annoying with her self-pity, but it’s interesting to see both of Orestes and Electra and their change of decisions and complex psychology taking place. It was also interesting to see the Ancient Greek attitudes to female behaviour- such as looking down on women talking to two young men outside without a male companion.

Heracles: 4****

Probably my least favourite of the collection- mainly as the others really delve into the vengefulness of the female characters (which I love!) whereas this one does feature some of Hera’s revenge but it’s not the main point.
This one covers Heracles madness, ordered by Hera, and his subsequent slaughtering of his wife (Megaera) and his three children.

I enjoyed this collection of plays the most- they all feature vengeful women and Euripides does this so well !! He describes their inequality, feelings and emotions, things that might be overlooked in a heavily male-dominated society.

General Introduction & Notes, by Richard Rutherford
Note on the Text
Further Reading
Chronological Table
Translator's Note

Preface to Alcestis
--Alcestis

Preface to Medea
--Medea

Preface to The Children of Heracles
--The Children of Heracles

Preface to Hippolytus
--Hippolytus

Notes
Bibliography
Glossary of Mythological and Geographical Names

Euripides make up your mind either you hate women or you're a feminist you can't sit on a fence babe

Medea was mentioned in another book I recently finished (Anna O by Matthew Blake) so I decided to read that. I’m glad I did. Why haven’t I read the plays by Euripides before? Highly readable. Shocking at times for the reference to human sacrifices to the ancient gods, killing of children, revenge murders, power plays, and the treatment of women in Ancient Greece’s entertainment for the masses back then. All the characters in this book, Medea, Electra, Hecabe and Heracles are brought down by betrayal, guilt, jealousy and then all “lose the plot”.

Medea and Other Plays by Euripides (Book Review) and a bit of Anna O by Matthew Blake
https://youtu.be/uMp4Yg0EBi0