Greek-barbarian dichotomy through the character of Medea, a princess

from the "barbarian", or non-Greek, land of Colchis. Throughout the

play, it becomes evident to the reader that Medea is no ordinary woman

by Greek standards. Central to the whole plot is Medea's barbarian

origins and how they are related to her actions. In this paper, I am

attempting to answer questions such as how Medea behaves like a female,

how she acts heroically from a male point of view, why she killed her

children, if she could have achieved her goal without killing them, if

the murder was motivated by her barbarian origins, and how she deals

with the pain of killing her children.

As an introduction to the play, the status of women in Greek society

should be briefly discussed. In general, women had very few rights. In

the eyes of men, the main purposes of women in Greek society were to do

housework such as cooking and cleaning, and bear children. They could

not vote, own property, or choose a husband, and had to be represented

by men in all legal proceedings. In some ways, these Greek women were

almost like slaves. There is a definite relationship

probably not commonly linked. When she kills her brother, she shows

she cares for them and knows they had no part in what their father did.

There are two main reasons why Medea decides to kill her children. The

to complement the death of the princess in getting revenge on Jason.

women. Later in the play, Medea debates with herself over whether or

cares about her children. She struggles to decide if she can accomplish

betray her own family to be with Jason shows her loyalty to him.

Finally, there is the revenge factor. Many times heroes were out for

subordination of women and what transpires in the play. Jason decides

Some common words found in the essay are:
Colchis Throughout, Medea Third, Golden Fleece, Jason Secondly, Unfortunately Medea's, Revenge Medea, kill children, revenge jason, greek women, killing children, barbarian origins, getting revenge, women greek, greek society, greek standards, jason divorcing, women greek society,
Approximate Word count = 890
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)