Back Medea (Euripides) ALS ميديا (مسرحية) Arabic Medea (obra d'Eurípides) Catalan Médeia (divadelní hra) Czech Medeia (drama) Welsh Medea (tragedie) Danish Medea (Euripides) German Μήδεια (Ευριπίδης) Greek Medea (Eurípides) Spanish Medeia (näidend) Estonian
| Medea | |
|---|---|
&sq=Albert Einstein&lang=en&file=File:Alfons_Mucha_-_Medea.jpg) Poster by Alfons Mucha for performance by Sarah Bernhardt in Medée at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris (1898) | |
| Written by | Euripides |
| Chorus | Corinthian Women |
| Characters | Medea Nurse Tutor Aegeus Creon Jason Messenger Medea's two children |
| Date premiered | 431 BC |
| Place premiered | Athens |
| Original language | Ancient Greek |
| Genre | Tragedy |
| Setting | Before Medea's house in Corinth |
Medea (Ancient Greek: Μήδεια, Mēdeia) is a tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides based on a myth. It was first performed in 431 BC as part of a trilogy, the other plays of which have not survived. Its plot centers on the actions of Medea, a former princess of the kingdom of Colchis and the wife of Jason; she finds her position in the world threatened as Jason leaves her for a princess of Corinth and takes vengeance on him by murdering his new wife and her own two sons, before escaping to Athens to start a new life.
Euripides' play has been explored and interpreted by playwrights across the centuries and the world in a variety of ways, offering political, psychoanalytical, feminist, among many other original readings of Medea, Jason and the core themes of the play.[1]
Medea, along with three other plays,[a] earned Euripides third prize in the City Dionysia. Some believe that this indicates a poor reception,[2][3] but "the competition that year was extraordinarily keen";[3] Sophocles, often winning first prize, came second.[3] The play was initially rediscovered with Rome's Augustan drama, and then again in the 16th century. It has remained part of the tragedic repertoire, becoming a classic of the Western canon and the most frequently performed Greek tragedy in the 20th century.[4] It experienced renewed interest in the feminist movement of the late 20th century,[5] being interpreted as a nuanced and sympathetic portrayal of Medea's struggle to take charge of her own life in a male-dominated world.[4] The play holds the American Theatre Wing's Tony Award record for most wins for the same female lead character in a play, with Judith Anderson winning in 1948, Zoe Caldwell in 1982, and Diana Rigg in 1994.
- ^ Macintosh, Fiona; Kenward, Claire; Wrobel, Tom (2016). Medea, a performance history. Oxford: APGRD.
- ^ Gregory (2005), p. 3
- ^ a b c Euripides (2001). "Medea", in Euripides I. David Kovacs (ed. & tr.). Cambridge, MA; London, England: Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press. p. 277. ISBN 9780674995604.
- ^ a b Helene P. Foley. Reimagining Greek Tragedy on the American Stage. University of California Press, 1 Sep 2012, p. 190
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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