Medea: An Early Voice for Feminism

The Golden Age of Athens (480s–404 BCE) was a time when artistic and literary works flourished, giving rise to revolutionary dramatists such as Euripides. In 431 BCE, he created his famous tragedy Medea, where Medea plotted revenge against Jason for his infidelity. Praised for being a forward thinker, Euripides offered whispers of Greece’s misogynistic culture in his work. He highlighted the misfortunes of being a woman through Medea’s character. Greek civilization prioritized physical strength, military excellence, and rational discourse, which were traits typically associated with men. On the other hand, women were considered “irrational, fearful, or ruled by physical desires” and were treated like second-class citizens in Ancient Greece (“Women in Ancient Greece”). However, Euripides rebuked those female stereotypes through Medea’s character. Using the power of pharmakon (i.e., persuasion), Medea revealed her clever nature to highlight the unfortunate consequences of being a woman in Greek society. From using pharmakon to committing filicide (slaughtering her sons), Medea directly opposed female stereotypes and forged her own female identity. 

Medea rebuked Greek gender norms by demonstrating her power of pharmakon to the audience. While discussing her revenge plot with her Nurse and the Chorus, Medea says, “And they say of us that we’re never at risk, / sheltered at home, while they fight with spears” (Lefkowitz 248-249). A significant characteristic of Medea’s pharmakon was her use of juxtaposition. By doing so, Medea highlighted the differences between men and women in Greek society. Her mention of “spears” represented the ideal, male characteristics: intelligence, physical strength, military excellence, and self-restraint. Because Greek society was more biased towards men, Medea claimed it was harder to be a woman. By saying “sheltered at home,” Medea underscored Greek women’s lack of autonomy and control over their lives. Forced to remain at home, women were domesticated and forced to perform domestic chores and bear children. Because they were believed to be “ruled by physical desires,” women must remain at home to avoid being seduced from the outside (“Women in Ancient Greece”). Creating an audible juxtaposition, Medea powerfully used the pronoun “we” to represent women while utilizing “they” to indicate men. By voicing women’s hidden struggles, Medea effectively creates a bond between her and the women in the audience. She challenged the idea that women were incapable of leadership by establishing a sense of unity among women. Through her use of juxtaposition in her pharmakon, Medea demonstrated great intellect, a typical male trait. In her strong defiance against gender stereotypes, Medea not only revealed her incredible intellect, but she also created a sense of unity among the women in her audience. 

On the other hand, Medea could also validate gender stereotypes by using pharmakon on other performers within the theater. In a fake attempt to reconcile with Jason, Medea said, “I won’t say / that’s a bad thing, but you must not be like us; / you must not answer our silliness with your own” (889-891). Medea cited “our silliness” as a traditional female stereotype; women were “irrational” (“Women in Ancient Greece”). She also said “you must not be like us” to highlight the societal difference between men and women. Combining these elements, Medea was using her power of pharmakon to fake submission towards Jason, making him believe he’s in control. After appeasing Jason’s self-importance and sense of superiority, Medea manipulated him to give poisoned gifts to his mistress Glauce. In contrast to creating a sense of inclusivity among her audience, Medea used her pharmakon to manipulate Jason to help her murder Glauce. This action displayed the duality of Medea’s pharmakon. On the surface, Medea was using pharmakon to seemingly establish peace with Jason. However, she’s truly using her power to design a plan to murder Glauce and ruin Jason. In opposition to creating a sense of inclusivity, Medea used pharmakon to harm other actors in the theater. By using her pharmakon to harm and manipulate others, Medea supported the stereotype that women were dangerous and deceitful. 

Medea also rebuked gender norms by committing filicide to complete her revenge against Jason. After telling Aegeus about her plan for revenge, Medea says, “The children I bore him he’ll never see alive again; he’ll never have a child with his new bride” (804-805). In Greek society, motherhood and wifehood was a significant part of a woman’s identity. However, Medea disproved Greek gender norms by abandoning both of her duties for the sake of her revenge. Rather than listening to societal traditions, Medea executed her own decisions in pursuit of her goals. Through this extreme action, Medea demonstrated that she was capable of forming her own choices and acting upon them, a trait uncharacteristic of women. She believed that the best way to harm Jason was through her children. In Greek civilization, children were a means of continuing one’s bloodline. If one’s lineage continued, then that one could live on forever through generations. By killing her children, Medea essentially ended Jason’s bloodline and his promise for generational continuity. She decided to punish Jason not through death, but forcing him to live a future marked by disgrace and the lack of heirs. Furthermore, Medea’s commitment to filicide was also a direct rebuke toward women’s sole duty: bearing children (“Women in Ancient Greece”). By murdering her own sons, Medea symbolically released herself from her role as a child-bearer. On the other hand, Medea supported the stereotype that women were irrational and emotionally unstable. Filicide was morally wrong and punishable by death in Greek society. In other words, Medea would rather accept exile and death than allow Jason to remain with Glauce. Medea’s pursuit of filicide could likely be a result of her jealousy and anger, supporting the idea that women were controlled by their emotions. In addition to defying gender norms, Medea could also be seen as a woman submitting to her emotions to seek revenge that harmed both herself and her children.  

Medea defied gender norms by directly rejecting Jason, defying women’s traditional reliance on men. After Jason offered money to help with her exile, Medea said, “ . . . give me / nothing. The gift of a bad man is no help” (616-618). Out of courtesy of their marriage and children, Jason offered Medea help in her exile. However, Medea’s frank refusal of his offered insight to a larger picture: women’s conventional dependency on men. In a largely misogynistic culture, women were incredibly limited as they were economically dependent on their husbands. In order to maintain their quality of life, women were expected to act submissive and go to great lengths to please their husbands (“Women in Ancient Greece”). However, Medea’s direct rejection of Jason implied that she didn’t desire to be economically dependent on Jason. By defying the tradition of women’s traditional dependence on men, Medea created her own female identity separate from that of Jason. Medea challenged Jason’s concept of superiority and self-importance by labeling him as a “bad man.”  This countered the idea that women must appease men’s interests and desires. Her act of defiance symbolized her passage of becoming an independent woman, allowing her to rebuke Greek gender norms and create her own unique identity. 

Euripides displayed Medea as a strong female character capable of opposing female stereotypes in Greek society. By using pharmakon, Medea displayed great intelligence and charisma by creating a sense of solidarity among her female audience. She also demonstrated an incredible spirit in her pursuit of filicide and had the courage to sever herself from Jason. Through this journey, Medea arose as a self-reliant woman who defied the cliché that women were submissive and lacked intelligence. On the other hand, Medea simultaneously validated the conception that women were dangerous, manipulative, and emotionally unstable. Using her power of pharmakon, she manipulated Jason into a false sense of superiority to bring harm to Glauce. Medea’s pursuit of filicide was likely a result of her jealousy and anger, adding to the idea that women were emotionally unstable. She could be seen as a woman surrendering to her emotions to seek revenge that harmed both herself and her children. Nevertheless, the intricacy of Medea’s character was intriguing among women in Greek tragedies. While she was morally ambiguous, Medea stood apart from other Greek women and took the role as an early voice for women empowerment.