Medea

Medea is the protagonist of the play. She is present in every scene, and speaks most of the lines in the play. Medea is the wife of Jason and mother to their two sons. She comes from a royal dynasty that rules Colchis, and can claim semi-divine status as the granddaughter of Helios, god of the sun. Medea is proud of her origins. As she tells Creon, “I had high birth, good luck, and royal power/I shone in glory” (II.217-218). No physical description is given of Medea: her age is indeterminate, but she repeatedly contrasts her identity as a wife, mother, and mature woman with an earlier time when she was a young girl.

Medea’s primary character traits are her rage, jealousy, and desire for revenge. In her very first speech in the play, Medea urges herself to “take on the armor of anger, prepare for destruction/Possessed by fury” (I.51-52). Even when other characters, such as Jason and the Nurse, plead with her to reconcile herself to her fate, Medea stubbornly insists on her need for vengeance at any cost. She claims, “peace can only be mine/If I see everything ruined along with me” (III.