Medea

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A figure from Greek mythology known for her association with magic and revenge, particularly in relation to her love for Jason
2. A tragic character in literature, often depicted as a woman scorned who commits acts of vengeance, including the murder of her own children
3. An archetype of the wronged woman, symbolizing themes of betrayal and the extremes one may go to for love and retribution

Etymology: Medea was the sorceress of Greek myth who helped Jason win the Golden Fleece from her father, King Aeetes of Colchis, and later took a terrible revenge when Jason abandoned her for a new bride. The name itself is Greek, Μήδεια, and it appears in the stories of the Argonauts and in the tragedies that dramatists built around her. The most famous version of her story comes from the Athenian playwright Euripides, whose tragedy "Medea" was staged in 431 BCE and shaped how audiences imagined her ever after. In his play she kills her own children to punish Jason, which turned her name into a byword for a wronged woman whose rage knows no limits. In English, the name is used for a vengeful, murderous sorceress, and the figure has been retold by writers from Seneca onward, so the word now carries the weight of that long tradition.

Synonyms: sorceress, mythological figure, heroine