Medea

When Medea hatches her plan to kill Creusa, she decides to send several gifts to the young princess: a beautiful cloak, a gold necklace, and a beautiful hairband made of gold and gems. These gifts will be laced with a terrible poison, causing Creusa’s death. The poisoned gifts symbolize the contrast between Creusa’s naivety and Medea’s cunning. Although Creusa never speaks or appears on stage, the gifts imply that she fulfils the stereotype of a spoiled and perhaps vapid young girl. Other characters only ever praise Creusa for her youth and beauty, and Medea’s choice of gifts suggests that Creusa is likely vain and susceptible to (literal) shiny objects. Given the foreboding circumstances around her wedding, it seems that Creusa should exercise caution about any gifts, but she fatally accepts them with open arms. Medea’s choice to have the gifts delivered by her children also enhances the symbolism that Creusa is essentially a child herself.

The symbolism of the gifts also establishes the contrast between Creusa and Medea as romantic rivals: Creusa is foolish enough to fall for the trick, while Medea is clever and powerful enough to enact it. When Medea herself was a young princess, she had the intelligence and courage to spring into action and come to the aid of

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