3. Medea and Democracy

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, Lucy talks about the importance of Athenian democratic ideology on our reading of Medea. Given the importance of arguments and rhetoric in Athenian democracy, both Greek tragedy in general and Medea in particular is concerned with persuasion, as is shown in the 'contest' (Greek: 'agon') between Jason and Medea.

Course

In this module, we explore Euripides' Medea, a tragedy in which a Medea kills her own children to get back at Jason, who has left her for another woman. The course begins by looking at the myth of Medea and what the Athenian audience might have known about the character of Medea before Euripides' version. The course also looks at key themes in the Medea, including revenge, rhetoric, women, and the gods, as well as tackling the difficult issue of the role of Chorus.

Lecturer

Lucy Jackson is Assistant Professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at Durham University. Her research interests include Greek drama in the classical period, particularly Greek tragedy and Greek choral performance. Her most recent book is The Chorus of Drama in the Fourth Century BCE (Oxford, 2019).