How does Medea Essay

Usually Greek Playwrights were primarily concerned with religious issues rather than the smaller issues of social or political. However, within the Greek myths there were a series of topics that were primarily presented to challenge the audience socially and politically. In the case of Medea by Euripides it is the strong female character Medea who takes the main lead role in the play. It is possible to study the role of women in culture yet especially with a text like Medea it is evident that there is more than one culture involved. They are the culture of the actual subject, in this case Medea and the culture of the author. Euripides constructed a play by using a series of stories that had been handed down generations gone before him from the time of Medea and of course his own particular observations of women in that society around him. What Medea does by the end of the play is a very powerful statement on the role of women in Ancient Greece. From researching into the political status of women it is suggested that it was seen as acceptable that they were treated as an object of possession. The Greek legal system worked accurately if the husbands were honest and responsible. The wife herself only had legal protection if her husband was either dead or sick. Also, the non citizen wives were worse off as they had to have a citizen friend besides their own husband. In this play Medea creates a very strong and stern warning to society to not take advantage of this possibility. Many modern day critics of the play believe that this Greek view of the role of women in society was to blame for Medea’s excesses and the overall extreme she went to. If there was a good well balanced legal system then there would be no need for vengeance. Thus making Medea take the law into her own hands. A point worth mentioning is the fact that Medea is not described to the audience on her appearance instead she is greatly described on what she can do. Unlike Greek women in her society at that time, Medea does not rely it seems on such Gods and Goddesses such as Aphrodite and her charms, but instead she relies on her own potions and her incantations. Medea in her society was the priestess of Hecate who gave her lots of power both physically and socially. With having this power she had the powerful social status in which she was respected and also greatly feared. If Medea was alive today she would be considered a witch, yet this Ancient Greek woman does not fit our stereotypical idea of a witch. Instead of this view the Ancient Greek Witches were young and beautiful, during their Sabbath on looking men would be in awe and incapacitated by their beauty. During her era a Greek lady would not have to worry about the devil as such. Women who acted like witches were considered to be powerful and interesting. They would either be good or bad which was, to be expected greatly dependant on what they did with their powers. In Ancient Greek times it was much harder to live outside of your family than it is now. Back in that era as a woman you would be very dependant on your family for welfare, social security, food and your social life. Other important aspects included your legal protection and citizenship. In Medea she was the Princess in Colchis so she had all the important elements that a family provided for their child. However, she fell in love and decided to leave Colchis with Jason and took the biggest step of all, killing her own brother. This was considered and still would be considered a very powerful act against your family, which is an act in which few Ancient Greek people could identify with. This made Medea be caste out of her Greek society. The stereotypical man of Ancient Greek times wanted to fall in love with a woman who they considered to be easy to handle. Men saw women as easy to handle when they appear weak and are just strongly agreeable to the men. Yet, when they are powerful they are regarded as nightmares. Thus giving the indication that Jason would consider Medea as a nightmare as she challenges in the extreme. This stereotypical view of the perfect Ancient Greek wife who could fit easily into the men’s fantasies was a view in which Medea certainly does not fit into. There is a vast extremity in Medea, one which no man could successfully control. An American critic of the play Fredrick John Kluth quotes that â€Å"Medea does for men what they cannot do for themselves†. Thus creating a very interesting character who adds a great deal to the interests of the play. Therefore, in a sense Medea is outside of the time and does not really show a role of women in any time period. Looking closely at Ancient Greek women they usually possessed the characteristics of a nurturing and [passionate individual. Medea strove against men and stood up to them as a strong woman. This would not have been considered in the era of the Greeks, instead this rationality would have been left to the men whilst the women stood back. Medea stands as a great symbol of the intelligent woman who has no place in the social life of the Greek community. By this I mean other members of the Greek community would not wish to be caught up and eventually damaged by this woman’s great power. She provides Euripides’ complain for the actual social status that a woman has in Greek society which is likely to be more relevant to Euripides era rather than Medea’s. Therefore Medea the play acts as a social statement by the playwright himself. Euripides also attempted to explain the spiritual nature of mankind and their attitudes towards other people of their own, slightly different society.