Medea in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Medea

47 passages from 8 ancient authors that tell of Medea, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Medea was a sorceress and princess of Colchis who helped Jason win the Golden Fleece. Follow her story from Colchis to Corinth and Athens, and her family. For the story in one place, read our article on Medea.

Apollodorus (2)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 1.9.23–28Jason and Medea: the Golden Fleece, the return and CorinthAt Colchis Aeetes sets Jason the tasks of yoking the fire-breathing bulls and sowing dragon's teeth, and Medea's drugs bring him through; she then helps him take the fleece. Medea kills her brother Apsyrtus to delay pursuit, and the Argo sails on to Circe, the Sirens, the Phaeacians, Crete (where Talos is killed) and Iolcus. Medea tricks the daughters of Pelias into boiling him, and when Jason marries Glauce at Corinth she destroys the bride and her father and kills her own sons. She flees to Athens and marries Aegeus, bears Medus, and finally returns to Colchis to restore Aeetes.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome E.1.1–24Theseus and the Minotaur; Daedalus, Phaedra and PirithousThe Epitome picks up Theseus' labours with the sow of Crommyon and goes on through Sciron, Cercyon and Damastes, after which he reaches Athens and Medea's plot against him fails. With Ariadne's clue he kills the Minotaur, and Ariadne is left on Naxos for Dionysus; Aegeus leaps to his death when he sees the black sail. The section then follows Daedalus and Icarus and Minos's death in Sicily, Theseus's Amazon wife and Phaedra's passion for Hippolytus, the Centauromachy, Helen's abduction, and Theseus's capture in Hades and death on Scyros.

Pindar (2)

Pindar, Pythian Odes 4.143–299Pythian 4: for Arcesilas — the Argonauts and the golden fleeceJason offers Pelias the flocks and herds but asks for the sceptre and throne of his father Aeson, and Pelias answers softly, sending him to fetch the golden fleece and the spirit of Phrixus. Jason gathers the Argonauts, including Orpheus, Echion and Eurytus, who sail after his prayer to Zeus. At Colchis Aeëtes sets him a task, and with Medea's charms Jason wins the fleece, kills the serpent and carries Medea off, and the ode ends with a plea that Arcesilas recall the exile Damophilus.
Pindar, Pythian Odes 4.1–142Pythian 4: for Arcesilas — Medea's prophecy and Jason at IolcusPindar honours Arcesilas, king of Cyrene and victor in the chariot race, and recalls the word that Medea spoke at Thera, that her companions' descendants would colonise Libya, so that Arcesilas is eighth in the line from Battus. He then turns to Jason, who arrives at Iolcus wearing one sandal and astonishes the crowd in the market-place, and who says that he has come to recover his father's honour. His kinsmen Pheres, Amythaon, Admetus and Melampus gather to him, and he leads them to the hall of Pelias and begins his appeal to the king.

Euripides (14)

Euripides, Medea 627–758Second choral song; Aegeus promises Medea refuge in AthensThe Chorus prays that love may come in moderation and that it may never be exiled from its own country, since no sorrow is worse than the loss of a fatherland. Aegeus, on his way home from the oracle at Delphi where he asked how he might have a child, meets Medea and hears her story. She offers to cure his childlessness, and he swears by Earth and the sun-god Helios to give her refuge and never to give her up to her enemies.
Euripides, Medea 1361–1419Exodos: Jason mourns and Medea foretells his deathJason begs to be allowed to touch and bury his dead sons, and Medea refuses. She says that she will bury them herself in Hera's sacred field and found a yearly rite in Corinth to atone for the murder, and that she will go to Athens to live with Aegeus. She foretells Jason's death, struck by a piece of the Argo, and the Chorus ends the play on the unexpected ways of the gods.
Euripides, Medea 214–356First episode: Creon banishes Medea but grants her one dayMedea comes out and speaks to the women of Corinth about the hard lot of wives and of a foreigner, and asks for their silence about her revenge. Creon enters and orders her out of the country at once, for he fears her cleverness and her threats. After she pleads on her knees, he grants her a single day, and she turns the delay to her purpose.
Euripides, Medea 545–626Second episode: Jason's defence and Medea's rejection of his helpJason argues that he married the princess so that he and his family could live in comfort and so that his sons by Medea would have brothers of royal rank, and he says that she has no need of more children. He offers her money and letters to friends abroad to help her in exile, but Medea refuses to take anything from him and sends him back to his new bride.
Euripides, Medea 976–1080Fourth choral song; the children return and Medea decides to kill themThe Chorus sees no hope for the children, for the bride and for Medea. The children's Attendant then brings word that the princess has accepted the gifts and that the children are no longer to be exiled, and Medea weeps. In two long speeches she argues with herself, pulled between her love for her sons and her wish to hurt Jason, and at last she decides on the killing.
Euripides, Medea 1–130Prologue: the Nurse laments Medea's plightThe Nurse wishes the ship Argo had never sailed and tells how Medea, who followed Jason from Colchis, has been betrayed now that he has married the daughter of King Creon. The children's Attendant tells her what he has heard, that Creon means to banish Medea and her sons, and the Nurse sends the boys inside. Medea's cries of grief and anger are heard from within the house, and the Nurse fears what she may do.
Euripides, Medea 866–975Episode: Medea feigns reconciliation and sends gifts to the brideMedea calls Jason back and pretends that she was wrong to be angry, and asks him to persuade the king to let the children stay. She will send them with a robe and a golden crown as a gift for the bride, and Jason, deceived, agrees to ask his bride to plead for them.
Euripides, Medea 1081–1135Fifth choral song on children; Medea awaits the newsThe Chorus reflects that those who have never had children are happier than parents, who must worry how their children will turn out and whether death will take them. Medea waits for news from the palace and sees Jason's servant, the Messenger, approaching in haste. He tells her to flee, and she asks to hear how the princess and Creon died.
Euripides, Medea 131–212Parodos: the women of Corinth hear Medea's criesThe Chorus of Corinthian women hear Medea's cries from the house and ask the Nurse what is wrong. Medea, still inside, calls on Themis and Zeus as guardians of oaths and prays for the ruin of Jason and his bride. The Chorus asks the Nurse to bring her out, and the Nurse goes in to try, while the Chorus hears Medea invoke Themis again.
Euripides, Medea 759–865Medea reveals her plan; third choral song in praise of AthensWith a safe refuge assured, Medea tells the Chorus how she will take her revenge: she will send her children with poisoned gifts to the princess, and then kill the children as well. The Chorus pleads with her not to kill her sons, and sings in praise of Athens and its famed wisdom, asking how such a city could receive a murderess.
Euripides, Medea 1293–1360Exodos: Jason learns his sons are dead and confronts MedeaJason arrives in haste to save his sons from the vengeance of the royal house, and learns from the Chorus that Medea has already killed them. Medea appears and says that the Sun, her grandfather, has given her horses to carry her out of reach. Jason rages at her as a lioness and a murderess, and she answers that she has wounded him as he wounded her.
Euripides, Medea 446–544Second episode: Medea reproaches JasonJason says that Medea's own rash words brought her exile, and that he is willing to help her. Medea answers with a list of what she did for him, among them saving his life from the fire-breathing bulls and the dragon, helping him win the Fleece, and persuading the daughters of Pelias to kill their father, and she asks where she can now go. The Chorus calls such quarrels terrible, and Jason begins his reply.
Euripides, Medea 358–445Medea plans revenge; first choral song on broken oathsThe Chorus pities Medea, who says that she has won a day in which to kill Creon, his daughter and Jason, and considers the possible ways of doing it. She decides to poison them, calls on Hecate, and resolves that she will not be mocked. The Chorus sings that the rivers flow back to their sources, that men's oaths have failed, and that the honour of women is changing.
Euripides, Medea 1231–1292Medea kills her sons while the Chorus lamentsMedea tells the Chorus that she is resolved to kill her sons, and urges on her own heart. The Chorus calls on the earth and the sun to look down on her, and prays that she may be stopped. The children's cries are heard from inside, and the Chorus compares Medea to Ino, who also killed her children, the one other woman it knows who did so.

Apollonius Rhodius (17)

Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 3.576–743Aeetes' plot, Medea's dream and Chalciope's pleaAeetes plots to destroy the strangers, but Argus goes to his mother Chalciope, who wants to ask Medea for help. Medea dreams that she undertakes the contest herself and is taken away by the stranger; and when Chalciope begs her to help her sons, Medea agrees and promises to bring charms to the temple of Hecate at dawn.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.212–349Aeetes' pursuit and the route homeAeetes learns of Medea's flight and sends the Colchian fleet in pursuit, and the Argonauts sacrifice to Hecate on the coast of Paphlagonia. Argus advises a different way home by the river Ister, and a heavenly sign confirms it, but Apsyrtus' fleet takes a shorter way. The Argonauts, meeting them at the Brygean islands, agree that Jason keeps the Fleece and Medea is held in trust until a king decides her fate.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 3.1026–1162Medea's charm and the lovers' partingMedea tells Jason how to use the charm: sacrifice to Hecate by night, anoint himself and his weapons, and throw a stone among the Earthborn men. They exchange promises to remember each other, Jason speaks of Iolcus and Ariadne, and Medea reproaches him before they part; she returns home in distress.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.1124–1227The marriage of Jason and Medea in Macris' caveJason and Medea are married that night in the sacred cave of Macris, with the Golden Fleece spread on the couch. At dawn Alcinous declares his judgement that the marriage stands, the Colchians ask to stay on the island, and the Argonauts leave with gifts from Alcinous and Arete.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 3.167–298Medea falls in love with JasonIn council Jason proposes to try Aeetes with words first and goes to the palace with the sons of Phrixus, Telamon and Augeias. Hera hides them in mist; Chalciope greets her sons, and Eros shoots Medea with an arrow as Jason stands among them, so that she is struck with love for him.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 3.439–575The heroes decide to ask Medea for helpMedea, tormented by love, fears for the stranger's life. Argus tells Jason that Medea knows magic and should be asked for help, and after Peleus, Telamon and Idas offer to face the contest, an omen of a dove escaping a hawk, which Mopsus reads as the will of Cypris, persuades the heroes. Idas scorns the plan, and Argus is sent back to the city.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 3.744–911Medea's night of tormentAt night Medea is divided between her duty to her parents and her love for Jason, and takes up a casket of drugs with the thought of ending her life. A fear of Hades and a prompting from Hera restore her resolve, and at dawn she takes the charm of Prometheus and drives to the temple of Hecate. She tells her maids that she will meet the stranger there.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 3.912–1025Jason and Medea meet at the temple of HecateArgus leads Jason and Mopsus towards the shrine of Hecate, and a crow, speaking for Hera, mocks Mopsus; he sends Jason on alone. Jason and Medea meet in silence, and he begs her for help, speaking of Ariadne and Theseus. She gives him the charm.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.1–91Medea's flight to the ArgoAeetes plots all night against the Argonauts, and Hera fills Medea with fear for what she has done. Medea says farewell to her room, steals out of the palace, and the moon watches her go. At the river she calls to Phrontis, and begs Jason to take her away and not to dishonour her.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.685–782Circe purifies Jason and MedeaAt Aeaea Circe, daughter of Helios, purifies Jason and Medea of the murder. When she learns the whole story she drives them from her house with reproaches. Hera sends Iris to fetch Thetis and to ask Hephaestus and Aeolus to help Argo.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.982–1123Medea appeals to Arete on DrepaneArgo comes to the Phaeacian island of Drepane, but a Colchian fleet follows. Medea begs Arete and the heroes for protection, and Arete urges Alcinous to protect her. Alcinous declares that, if she is already Jason's wife, he will not give her up, and Arete sends word to Jason.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.1537–1693Triton, and Talos of CreteTriton, in the form of a young man, gives Euphemus a clod of earth and later shows the way out of Lake Triton to the sea. At Crete the bronze man Talos hurls rocks at Argo until Medea overcomes him with her spells and he falls.

5 more passages of Apollonius Rhodius that name Medea

Diodorus Siculus (3)

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.54.1–4.56.8Jason and Medea at Corinth; the Argonauts' alleged return routeAfter ten years Jason takes Glauce, daughter of Creon, and Medea burns the palace and kills her children before escaping to Heracles at Thebes. The historian gives the later fortunes of Medea and her son Medus, remarks on the invented marvels of the tragic poets, and records the Argonauts' alleged return route by way of the Tanaïs and the ocean, with place-names in Italy and Libya that are said to prove it.
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.45.1–4.49.8The Argonauts II: Colchis, Medea and the golden fleeceThe historian explains the custom of the Colchi of killing strangers by the story of Aeëtes and his brother Perses, and gives the traditions about Medea and about Phrixus and the ram with the golden fleece. With Medea's help the Argonauts take the fleece; the king of the Colchi falls in the fighting, and the chiefs sail home by way of Byzantium and Troy.
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.50.1–4.53.7The Argonauts III: Medea, Pelias and the return to IolcusWhile the Argonauts are away Pelias puts Jason's father and brother to death, and Jason's mother kills herself. Medea promises to kill Pelias by a trick: she fashions a hollow image of Artemis and, appearing as an old woman made young by drugs, persuades his daughters to boil their father, and the Argonauts then take the palace. Jason gives the kingdom to Acastus, marries Pelias' daughters to notable men, dedicates the Argo at the Isthmus and settles at Corinth, and as the chiefs part Heracles proposes an oath of mutual aid and the games at the Alpheius that he names Olympia.

Ovid (4)

Ovid, Metamorphoses 7.297–403Medea and the daughters of PeliasMedea, to punish Pelias, who had wronged Jason's family, pretends to have quarrelled with Jason and persuades Pelias' daughters to cut up their old father and boil him in a cauldron, promising to make him young. She shows them how a ram is made young again by the same method, but she leaves out the magic herbs for Pelias, and the daughters kill him. Medea flees in a chariot drawn by dragons and flies over Greece, over the places of many transformations, and takes refuge with Aegeus, king of Athens.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 7.159–296Medea rejuvenates AesonJason, home in Thessaly with the fleece, asks Medea to give some of his own years to his father Aeson. Medea, on the night of the full moon, calls on Hecate and gathers magic herbs, and drains the old man's blood and fills his veins with a potion. Aeson regains the vigour of a young man, and Dionysus (Bacchus), watching, asks Medea to do the same for his nurses.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 7.1–158Jason and MedeaThe Argonauts, after freeing King Phineus from the Harpies, reach Colchis, and Jason demands the Golden Fleece from King Aeetes, who sets him impossible tasks. Medea, the king's daughter, falls in love with the stranger, torn between love and duty, and at last gives way, deciding to save him if he will swear to marry her. She gives him a charm to protect him against the fire-breathing bulls, and he yokes them, ploughs the field, sows the dragon's teeth, and kills the armed men that spring from them by throwing a stone among them. Medea then lulls the dragon to sleep, and Jason takes the fleece and sails away with her to Iolcus.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 7.404–452Medea and TheseusMedea becomes the wife of King Aegeus of Athens, and Theseus comes to the court, not yet recognised as the king's son. She brews poison for him, but Aegeus sees the sword that Theseus wears, and knocks the cup from his hand, and Medea escapes in a cloud. Athens celebrates with feasts and prayers for the hero.

Pausanias (4)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.3.1–11Corinth: the agora, the spring Pirene and the children of MedeaPausanias continues through Corinth: the bronze Athena, the temple of Octavia, the portal with chariots of the Sun, and the spring Pirene with its link to Corinthian bronze. He lists images of Hermes, Poseidon and Palaemon, the baths and fountains, and the road to Sicyon with the Glauce basin and the tomb of Medea’s children. He recounts the varied stories of Medea, Jason and her children, drawn from the Naupactia, Eumelus and others.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.18.1–8Olympia: the Chest of Cypselus, second and third fieldsPausanias describes the second field of the chest, with Night nursing Death and Sleep, Justice and Injustice, Idas and Marpessa, Alcmena, Menelaus and Helen, Medea, the Muses, Atlas and Hercules, and Perseus pursued by the Gorgons. The third field shows armies meeting, which he reads as the migration of Melas to Corinth.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.4.1–7Corinth: Athena the Bridler, the kings of Corinth and the road up to Acro-CorinthNear the tomb of Medea’s children is the sanctuary of Athena the Bridler, which leads Pausanias to Bellerophon and Pegasus and to the lineage of Corinth’s kings from Sisyphus to the Dorian Aletes, the Bacchids and the tyrant Cypselus. He describes the theatre, the Daedalic Hercules, the spring Lerna and the temples of Zeus and Asclepius, and the shrines of Isis, Serapis, the Mother of the Gods, the Fates, Demeter and Bunaean Hera on the way up to Acro-Corinth.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.11.1–12Mantinea: the daughters of Pelias and the grave of EpaminondasPausanias describes the oak wood of Pelagus on the road from Mantinea to Tegea and the graves of the daughters of Pelias, who went to Arcadia after Medea tricked them into killing their father. He also notes the tomb of Areithous at Phoezon. He discusses who killed Epaminondas, Machaerion or Grylus, describes his death, his burial on the battlefield and the grave with its dragon-bearing shield, and praises him as a general. He ends with oracles misunderstood, including Pelagus for Epaminondas and the Libyan earth for Hannibal.

Epic Cycle (1)

Epic Cycle, Summaries and Fragments 9.1–10.2Returns and TelegonyProclus' summary of the Returns begins with Athena causing a quarrel between Agamemnon and Menelaus about the voyage from Troy. The fragments mention Medea and Aeson, Heracles at Themiscyra, and Telemachus marrying Circe. The Telegony, in two books, has Odysseus sailing to Elis after the suitors are buried, and the author says that Odysseus had a son Telegonus by Calypso.