Study Guide 11

According to the myth about Jason, in what ways did Medea save Jason's life?

Medea, fell in love with Jason. She was skilled in magic, and enabled him to plow the field, lull the dragon to sleep, steal the fleece, and escape back to Greece; she killed her own brother to distract the attention of their enraged Colchian pursuers. Medea becomes friends with Pelias' daughters and tricks them into killing their own father. Medea has saved Jason 6 times.

What is an agon?

One is the agon ("contest" or "struggle"), in which one character makes a long, sometimes legalistic speech, arguing a particular case, and a second character replies with another speech, putting the case against.

Why do you think the Nurse is speaking to herself in the opening lines of Medea?

The Nurse (the nurse is a nanny who takes care of the kids) is speaking to herself in the opening lines of Medea because she is acting as the storyteller or the messenger. Using exposition through dialogue.

How is Medea's situation distinct from the situation of the women of the chorus, according to her?

According to Medea her situation is different from the women in the chorus because this is their city. The houses they grew up in, where all their daily pleasures, friends, are located. Medea on the other hand is alone, without a city, disowned by her husband, snatched from a foreign land. She has no mother, brother, or other family to shelter her now that disaster has struck.

What did Aeschylus supposedly call his own work?

Aeschylus supposedly called his own work "slices from the feast of Homer."

What does the essay say about the entrances and exits of characters in Greek drama?

Entrances and exits tend to be particularly important in Greek drama, because they took a long time; the audience would have been watching the characters make their way into the playing area before they actually reached the stage. When reading these plays, it is a good idea to pay particular attention to the moments when a new character comes on.

According to the essay about Euripides, who were the Sophists and what is "sophia"?

It was also a time of new, antitraditional ideas, brought by the Sophists, men from other societies who came to Athens to teach "cleverness" or "wisdom"—sophia. The Sophists were seen by some as a mark of Athens' progressive openness to new modes of thought, but by others as a dangerous influence, liable to corrupt the city's young men.

At the end of her long speech to the Chorus, what favor does she ask of them?

Medea asks the women if some plan or scheme occurs to me by which I can get back at my husband [and the king and his daughter, Jason's new wife], say nothing. (Medea's call to action).

Which goddesses does Medea call upon by name? According to the footnote, with what are these goddesses associated? Why do you think she calls upon these particular goddesses in her present situation?

Medea calls upon Artemis, a daughter of Zeus, is a goddess who protects virgins and women in childbirth. Medea also calls upon Themis, whose name means "Right" or "Lawfulness," is a female Titan associated with order and keeping promises.

How has Medea behaved in Corinth? Do the citizens like her? How has she acted toward Jason?

Medea has charmed the citizens (The citizens like her) of her new home and doing whatever she could to help out Jason. That is the strongest safeguard there is: when a wife always sides with her husband.

Whom does Medea call to witness Jason's betrayal of herself, according to the Nurse?

Medea keeps calling on the gods to witness what kind of thanks she gets from Jason.

What does Medea say she would rather do than go through childbirth once?

Medea says she would rather face battle three times than go through childbirth once.

What does Medea shout from offstage about the children?

Medea shouts that her boys are cursed and they might as well die along with their father.

How does Medea try to build common ground with the Chorus? What does she say they have in common as women? What are some of the difficulties of women that men do not suffer?

Medea tries to find common ground with the women by relating to their problems with being a woman. As women they must pay First, you have to pay an enormous sum to buy a husband who in turn gets to be the master of your body. She says you're likely to get a bad husband one as a good one. Divorce means disgrace for women, and you can't say no to a husband. A wife needs to be clairvoyant.

In a Greek drama, where does killing (and other violence) usually take place?

Mutilation and violent death, by murder or suicide, accident, fate, or the gods, are frequent events in Greek tragedy. Dead bodies are often displayed onstage, but the actual killing usually takes place offstage.

According to the essay "Ancient Athenian Drama," before the invention of tragedy there were contests in which rhapsodes recited parts of what works of literature?

Performers called rhapsodes recited parts of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey; the best performers won prizes.

In Medea, the Chorus is composed of what kind of people?

The Chorus is composed of Corinthian women. Shows that this a play about the role women play in the Greek society. A play about women in Ancient Greece. The Chorus speaks in unison and they represent audience in which the characters speak too.

What does the Tutor call the Nurse, and what does the Nurse call the Tutor?

The Tutor calls the Nurse 'Old servant of my mistress's house', and the Nurse calls the Tutor 'Old tutor of the sons of Jason'.

What does the Chorus say in reply to her request for this favor?

The chorus says they will say nothing and Medea has a right to pay him back.

What does the Chorus often represent?

The chorus was composed of twelve—later, fifteen—masked dancers, of whom only one, the "leader," had a speaking role. This group is used in different ways by the different dramatists and varies radically from play to play. Sometimes the chorus listens sympathetically to the main characters, acting as an internal audience and allowing for the revelation of inner thoughts that might otherwise be hard for the dramatist to bring out. Sometimes, on the other hand, the chorus is either neutral or positively hostile toward the main characters. Choruses can be characters themselves, with their own biases and preoccupations.

How many characters are usually engaged in dialogue in an ancient Athenian play?

The dialogue sections of ancient Athenian plays usually show two—occasionally three—characters in confrontation or discussion with one another. Dialogue may be free-flowing and apparently natural. These plays are about rhetoric.

What is the Argo, according to the footnote?

The first ship constructed by Jason for his quest for the Golden Fleece.

What is the purpose of the "messenger speech"?

The messenger speech is therefore one of the most important conventions of Athenian drama. Long, vivid, blow-by-blow accounts of offstage disasters allow the audience to imagine and visualize events that the dramatist cannot or will not bring onstage. (Had to wear masks and stay in one place on the stage to be heard).

What is stichomythia?

The other is stichomythia ("line-speech"), in which characters speak just a single line each—allowing for a fast-paced, usually argumentative exchange.