The plot. Medea and Jason were best known to Athenians of the fifth century B.C. as the main characters in the legend of the Golden Fleece. This tale concerned Jason's search for the magic fleece of a ram that was sacrificed by Phrixus and transformed into the constellation of Aries. The character of the nurse in Medea recounts part of this legend in the opening scene of the play, and other characters mention the legend liberally throughout.
In the legend, Jason and his troop of young Greek heroes arrive in Medea's home of Colchis, located on the farthest shores of the Black Sea. Jason is continuing his search for the magnificent golden fleece that is in her father's possession. Medea falls in love with Jason and betrays her father by helping the adventurer win the treasure. Jason, Medea, and her brother (lee Colchis with the fleece. In some versions of the story she kills her brother and throws pieces of his body overboard to delay her father, who is in pursuit. When the fugitives arrive in Jason's homeland, Medea commits another murder by dispatching Jason's uncle, who has usurped the throne. Forced to flee once again, the pair settle in Corinth, where Euripides's play takes up the story.
This is a free page. This page contains 198 words. This
article contains 2,093 words (approx. 7 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our Medea Access Pass.
