How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the

work developed through the interactive oral?

With respect to the interactive oral held in the class, there is a lot to be discussed.
Euripides was way ahead of his time, a protofeminist, he shows an entire tribe of
heroes to be without virtue!
Position of Women and gender roles.

Medea: Of all creatures that can feel and think,

we women are the worst treated things alive. (31)
Euripides boldly states the central theme of the play: the sorry state
of the female in Greece.

Medea's opening speech to the Chorus is

Classical Greek literature's most eloquent
statement about the injustices that befall
women.
Oath/Honor

Medea argued that Jason is a liar, an oath-breaker. In

the Athenian society, where oath and honor were
guarded with life, Jasons betrayal gives rise to
resentment towards him from the audience.
Kings rule Power
o King Creon, who is usually portrayed with godly supremacy is
somewhat subdued by medeas ingenuity, he also seems meek
when approaches medea on the street and finally lays victim to her
plans.
Did not get appreciation from Athenian audience (adjudged last in the
competition)
Masculinity and femininity
Medea sharply criticizes the male-dominated society of its time. Its
protagonist is a radical anti-heroine who continues to inspire both
admiration and fear. We sympathize with Medea's downtrodden state
and applaud her strength and intelligence. However, her bloody and
vengeful rebellion shocks and unsettles audiences even to this day.

The play can be seen as a cautionary tale to oppressors as well as

the oppressed.
Role of the (all female) chorus
o The chorus does not interfere.
o It offers sympathy to Medea but also expresses its outrage on
Medeas plans to kill her sons.
o Can safely talk about abstract ideas
Cunning and cleverness
Medea is symbolic of the clever woman imprisoned in a world of men.
Her intelligence inspires both suspicion and cautious admiration. In
the end, her cunning becomes her supreme weapon in her quest for
revenge. None of her enemies stand a chance against her supreme
intellect. Medea shows that, without a doubt, the greatest power lies
in knowledge.
Marriage
Medea is an extreme depiction of just how bad a marriage can go. It
really doesn't get much worse than the marriage seen in this play.
When Jason takes a new wife, Medea, his former wife takes revenge
by killing four people, including their two sons. Indeed, the play
doesn't exactly have a bright outlook on matrimony. In Medea the
severing of a marriage releases the same destructive force as the
sundered atom of a nuclear bomb.

Exile
Medea is laced throughout with the theme of exile. All the characters
relate to the motif. Some, like Medea, have been banished from their
homes; some are the ones doing the banishing. The theme of exile
would have resonated strongly with Euripides's audience of ancient
Athenians. Their city-state was their lives. The thought of being cut off
from it and cast out into the wilderness would have been terrifying.
Portrayal of the king
Betrayal

All the violence and terror in Medea is caused by Jason's betrayal of

his wife Medea. Her sheer rage at his unfaithfulness drives her to
commit horrific acts of bloody revenge. Ironically, Medea's fury at her
husband's betrayal drives her to the use of trickery and manipulation,
which are really just another form of betrayal. Medea shows how,
when one person betrays another, all may be corrupted.

Revenge
Medea's relentless pursuit of vengeance is legendary. She is driven
by a passionate desire to right the wrongs done to her and sacrifices
even her own children in the pursuit of satisfaction. Medea shows
audiences the horror that can come when a person lets desire for
revenge rule her life. Euripides's play helped pave the way for many
later revenge tragedies, from the numerous Spanish revenge dramas
to Shakespeare's Hamlet.

The divine presence

o The divine entities are often used in greek drama for symbolic
purposes. But gods here have a small role in the play, It seems as if
they condone what Medea is doing. Which if further proven by
Helios helping media flee in a chariot.
Agon debate. Repartee.
o In a broader sense, Agon refers contest or debate between two
characters, and development of their case.
o Agon has a great influence on greek plays, especially that of
Euripides, agon expresses the central conflict of the play. There is
no clear victory of one side, the audience is left to discern.
o Stychiomythia, a stylistic device heavily used in greek drama
Rhetoric debate
o Euripides masterfully uses ethos, logos and chiefly pathos as a
mode of persuasion, a rhetoric device to connect with the audience.
Catharsis
Treachery

o Because Medea had given him not only children but sons, Jason
had no right to divorce her. Anyway, his diivorce was driven by selfinterest and the desire to gain the citizenship of corinth
Dependency

Medea: Divorce is a disgrace

(at least for women),
to repudiate the man, not possible.
The rest of society would reject them if they left their husband.
Alien status
o Medea was in a land where she was considered a barbarian.
Euripides somewhat proved himself by characterizing medea as an
atypical, cunning and clever.
Importance of sons and the Family (Oikos)
o Oikos, meaning a fraternity
o Destruction of Jasons primogeniture is the zenith of Medeas
revenge because a father was supposed to be dutiful towards the
sons and sons added muscle to the oikos(unlike daughters)