Euripides is known by most everyone you talk to in some way. Euripides created images for the Gods and changes views on certain stories. Many people take his writings differently. Some take them in a joking tone, others take it as a more serious and sad tone. I believe that he was misogynistic. Women never take the lead role in any of his plays unless they are being sexualized or fought over. He never puts sympathy on the Women, showing they should always be strong and not have feelings. In Helen Euripides talks about Helen being deceiving and tricking Teukros, them man she was supposed to be marrying. But it is all for Menelaus. He tells it in a way that you think it is all Menelaus’ idea, making Helen not seem like the mastermind behind…
In Euripides’ play Medea, the chorus is merely used as an instrument to portray social comment and cultural values. The chorus, in Medea, comprises 15 Corinthian women who are non-professionals, having talent in singing and dancing and serving as a bridge between the protagonist and the audience repeating important lines to portray emphasis on a particular issue or viewpoint. In literature, or more specifically, in Greek tragedy, the chorus is a mere commentator, commenting on the actions of the…
Medea is an Ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides about a woman that does not focus on women’s rights, but women’s wrongs. These wrongs are not necessarily done by Medea but also done unto Medea by Jason and Creon. Euripides, in writing this tragedy, specifically points out social injustices that, in his opinion, were important during that time period. While Medea could just be crazy, injustices within Ancient Greek society are specifically highlighted by Euripides because he could see the…
In the Athenian play, Medea, Euripides explores the role of the Chorus and how their ongoing interactions with Medea influence and enhance the audience’s understanding and perception of Medea and her choices. The homogenous Chorus was a widely used technique in Ancient Greek theatre to bridge the gap between the audience’s thoughts and the performers’ actions, and for Medea, Euripides uses the naïve Chorus to observe and comment on characters' behaviours and actions, guiding the thoughts of the…
Themes: Euripides’ Medea is undoubtedly the most famous and widely produced in modern times. One of the reasons for this modern popularity is a sense that the emotions of this story, though emphasized to the levels of Greek tragedy, are extremely modern and relatable. People move on more than they used to, and can tolerate abandoning their own families and homelands to be with their beloved, to start a family in a new land and hope for it to thrive.To achieve the influence today, any production…
In “Medea”, Euripides uses character to develop the theme of marriage. Set in Corinth, the city-state of Athens, Greece, the reader is given a depiction of how a lopsided marriage proved to have disastrous consequences. Medea, a woman of higher class, has “her heart on fire with passionate love for Jason” (1). She is too eager and impulsive that she willingly sacrifices everything, including her family and homeland, in order to be with him. Medea’s marriage with Jason would become secure when…
In reading both versions of Medea by Euripides, one an adaptation by Robinson Jeffers, the other translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien, it is clear there are differences that affect the reading of the drama. Euripides had a unique way to tap into and connect with the audience and the play Medea is a perfect example. Robinson Jeffers provides a refined version of the work and in his version, the rhetoric is more straightforward, being trimmed to only the essential parts. Jeffers says “Poetry is not…
Euripides has been considered a misogynist and has been accused of hating women, by various critics and even his contemporary Aristophanes, who blatantly calls Euripides a misogynist in his play ‘Lysistrata’. Euripides utilizes the myth and tragedy of Medea, where originally she would have been considered a villain, where she kills her brother and betrays her father to help Jason, to show the plight of the 5th century Athenian woman. While Medea defied social norms and values of the Athenian…
The hunger for revenge comes from the passion a person feels when they have been wronged, and science has even proven that it is completely natural. However, throughout the course of history, it has become more and more clear that although seeking and obtaining revenge can be extremely satisfying, it is not always the practical form of justice. This truth is summed up beautifully in a famous quote from Mahatma Gandhi, preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement, that stated “an eye for…
example of this, as she is brutally left for another person. If someone is cheated on today, most people try to embarrass the other person, usually involving the person’s family. One funny scenario happened when a boyfriend suspected his girlfriend was cheating on him. So when she asked him to leave the house for his birthday, he invited her family and his family over to throw a surprise party for her, but she is caught red handed making love to her secret lover. Similarly, Medea attacks Jason,…