The play begins sometime after Medea, a princess from Kolchis on the Black Sea, has sacrificed everything for Jason. She helped Jason and the Argonauts steal the Golden Fleece from her father, killed her brother in the process, and eloped with Jason to Greece. After they settled in Korinth and Medea bore him two sons, Jason broke his oath to her by marrying King Kreon’s daughter – his ticket to the throne. The play delves into the abuse of power and the violation of trust in relationships. What happens when words deceive and those you trust most do not mean what they say? In a disturbing story full of deception and betrayal, Medea plans the ultimate revenge. Euripides’ most read and performed Greek tragedy pits a woman with a complicated past against those who have become her enemies.

GREEK TRAGEDY

Festival to Dionysos

Greek tragedy was composed for performance at an annual Athenian festival honoring the god Dionysos. That six-day festival, called the Great Dionysia or City Dionysia, became fully integrated into the new Athenian democracy in the fifth century bce. Athenian playwrights wrote and directed all of the plays for a primarily Athenian audience of 15,000–20,000 that gathered together in an act of citizenship and community.