Month: September 2008

Jason

Jason –

Greek Name meaning "Healer."

Jason is a legendary Greek hero who led the Argonauts.  He sailed to Colchis in order to seize the Golden Fleece.  It was said that the one to retrieve the Golden Fleece would have to power to overthrow a usurper.   In Medea Jason leaves his wife Medea for the Princess.  He only reveals that he on left Medea in order to establish security for his family in the long run.  By doing so this makes Jason the usurper or the one who wrongfully seizes power. 

A Jason is also mentioned in the Biblical books of Acts and Romans, his house is used a refuge by Paul and Silas.

In Medea Jason is a very peculiar character.  Because of his varying behavior and backwards ways of thinking I would place him in the Aristotelian category of Unique.  I would also see him as the foil or the character who takes the brunt of the plot.  Much of the plot is happening to him directly or indirectly.  The death of the Princess, Creon, and his two sons all seem to directly affect him in a negative manner. He tries to play both Medea and the Royal family at the same time.  Each time he speaks to Medea he has a different agenda and tone with her.  Before the play even begins he has already left Medea for the Princess and basically abandoned his two sons.  Once she is told she will be exile, Jason comes to her basically so say "I told you so" but at the same instance offers her help.  He then comes at her request and tells Medea he only left her for the Princess in order to secure the well being of his family in the long run.  This idea to help your family by hurting them is very strange and almost mirrors Medea actions of killing their children in order to obtain revenge on Jason.  Jason comes to Medea in panic after the murder of his new wife and her father.  However, even knowing Medea's wickedness and unstable state of mind, Jason is more concerned to protect his sons from the wrath of the Royal Family then from their own mother.    

(MORE TO COME €¦ I can't keep my eyes open at the moment)

Character/ Classification of Chorus

                Using Aristotelian analysis, the chorus would be classified as a "character" that is like us.  Compared to Antigone, the chorus plays much less of a participative role in the plot of the play.  Instead, as the chorus speaks, it seems to be observing the events that are unfolding and commenting on them.    

              Towards the beginning of play, we, the audience, are presented with the fact that Medea has been abandoned by her husband Jason.  The reason Medea is abandoned is simply because Jason has the opportunity to marry a Princess.  Medea has done nothing wrong herself.  Looking upon the situation, it is quite likely that the audience would feel sympathetic towards Medea's grief.  The chorus makes its sympathy for Medea quite clear.  The chorus states "I do grieve, lady, for the sorrows of this house, for it hath won my love."

            As Medea is still grieving the fact that Jason has left her, Creon comes to tell her that she will be exiled.  Once again, the chorus expresses its feelings, very typical of how an audience would feel toward a woman who has been abandoned by her husband only to be exiled by her King.  The chorus states "Ah! poor lady, woe is thee! Alas, for thy sorrows! Whither wilt thou turn? What protection, what home or country to save thee from thy troubles wilt thou find? O Medea, in what a hopeless sea of misery heaven hath plunged thee!"

            As the play continues, however, Medea makes it clear that she wishes to kill her children in an effort to get even with Jason.  While these children have played no fault in Jason's abandonment of Medea, a reaction from the audience would most likely be repulsion from a mother's murder of her own children.  The chorus, feeling as we would, states it views on Medea's plan by stating "’Think on the murder of thy children, consider the bloody deed thou takest on thee. Nay, by thy knees we, one and all, implore thee, slay not thy babes."  The chorus additionally states "Where shall hand or heart find hardihood enough in wreaking such a fearsome deed upon thy sons? How wilt thou look upon thy babes, and still without a tear retain thy bloody purpose? Thou canst not, when they fall at thy feet for mercy, steel thy heart and dip in their blood thy hand." 

Idea: Unjust Gender Roles in Grecian Society

In Medea, an idea that cannot be ignored in the text is that of the gender roles in place in Greek society. By looking directly at the text, one can find numerous instances where the gender roles are stated by the characters, and it is difficult to ignore the main idea that the position of women in Greek society was unjust. For example, in her opening monologue of the play, the nurse tells the audience that Medea is "a refugee who's won respect, admired, stable, domestic – supporting her husband as she should" (line 10-12). Not only is this idea supported by the nurse, but also the chorus of all females who serve as her neighbors who come to support her and sympathize with her as she emotes.

In today's society these ideas are clearly "old fashioned" and can be titled masochistic. In fact, Medea seems the only one with enough foresight to see her own mistreatment. In her first monologue to the audience, the audience hears her worldview that strongly opposes that of the chorus and the nurse.

"What other creatures are bred so exquisitely and purposefully for mistreatment as women are?…Bad enough to have no choice in servitude – try refusing the arrangement, or later petition for divorce – the first is impossible while the second is like admitting you're a whore" (lines 241-250).

This admittance familiarizes today's audience with the adversity and dilemma Medea faces, and it raises the stakes in terms of the plot line. Making the circumstances all the more dire is when the male characters come into the picture, and the converse attitudes are witnessed by the audience.

Jason: "€¦you'd admire what I've done if sex wasn't your obsession. It's folly that women measure their happiness with the pleasures of the bed, but they do. And when the pleasure cools or their man goes missing, all they once lived for turns dark and hateful€¦" (line 575).

This is only one of many instances where Medea is berated for her emotionality and her rage toward Jason by one of the other characters, through statements.  However the actions in the play also work against Medea, and enforce the idea of gender roles. The conflict in the play begins when Jason accepts Creon's offering of his daughter's hand in marriage to Jason. Although Jason states that he is marrying Glauce to better his family, there is no consideration for Medea's wants, needs, or emotions and is simply accused of acting irrationally. However Medea stands against this adversity of course through the killings of Glauce, Creon, and her two sons. The main idea that the treatment of women or position of women in Grecian society is unjust then is supported by the final scene. Throughout the play Zeus's sense of justice is referred to, so when Medea is carried away on a God's chariot it is clear that the Gods thought that her actions were justified.

Medea Plot: Buildup to the Inciting Incident

The stasis of Medea’s world before Euripides’ play is indeed precarious.  Having fallen in love with Jason, Medea helps him to win the Golden Fleece against her father’s wishes, then kills her brother.  She leaves Colchis and, in turn, loses everything she has ever known.  Jason and Medea sail to Corinth, where she is essentially looked upon as a lower-class barbarian.  This is compounded with her nature as an argumentative, vengeful woman with knowledge of magic.   Living in an alien land where she is seen as a savage witch, her husband is her greatest support.  In Medea’s time and place, that is a dangerous position for a woman indeed.

The inciting incident which tips all of these factors out of balance is Creon’s offering of Glauce to Jason.  At first glance, it seems that it could be Jason’s actual announcement that he is leaving Medea.  However, it is obvious that Jason highly prizes his social and political position. There is no way that he would refuse Creon’s offer of a young, beautiful bride who can bring him prestige. On the other hand, Jason is very aware of Medea’s nature and her magical abilities. He knows that she will react violently. Therefore, there is no other outcome that could occur from Creon’s offer.

Character/Classification of Medea

            Under Aristotelian analysis, Medea can be classified as a character who is larger than life.  The implication's of Medea's actions exceed Medea herself. 

            Medea, greatly disturbed by her husband's infidelity, plots against her own King and husband in an effort to satisfy her need for revenge.  First, Medea sacrifices her belonging to the state of Thebes and security for her revenge.  By displaying "sullen looks" and "angry thoughts," Medea attracts Creon's attention.  After Creon exiles her, Medea does not beg for forgiveness.  As she proves to be a master of manipulation as the play progresses, Medea does not use this power to stay in Thebes.  Instead, she only asks for a day, so she can implement her plan that will ruin Creon, his daughter, and Jason.  A fundamental part of Medea's plan involves fleeing from Thebes after she has carried out the deed against the three that have humiliated her.  By fleeing Thebes, she sacrifices her own security and contact with Thebes.  When she begs for another day, Medea has no knowledge of Aegeus’ coming, so it is very probable that Medea may have envisioned herself wandering the land outside of Thebes looking for a city state that would take in the murderer of a King.(" Nor have I any landing-place to come at in my trouble")      

            By plotting against Creon, Medea goes against the Greek ideals of loyalty to the King and City State.  Additionally, by plotting against her husband, Medea goes against Patriacal Greek Values.  "Divorce is not honourable to women,"  "a captive I from a foreign shore," "without resenting the yoke, our life is a happy one; if not, ’twere best to die. But when a man is vexed with what he finds indoors, he goeth forth and rids his soul of its disgust, betaking him to some friend or comrade of like age; whilst we must needs regard his single self" are all quotes from Medea's mouth that identify these values of Greek society.  By plotting against her husband, Medea is breaking the accepted norms of Greek society.  She suggests that a wife has a right to retaliate against the wrongs committed by her husband. 

            In an effort to get revenge with her husband, Medea also sacrifices her own children.  Early in the course of the play, Medea states "I would gladly take my stand in battle array three times o’er, than once give birth."  Cutting of any ties to her family, and sacrificing the very children who have caused her much toil to bear, Medea murders her children in an effort to cause Jason great agony.  Most importantly, Medea throws away a mother's bond to her children in an effort to get even with Jason. 

                      Medea can also be seen as the antagonist within the play.  She stands in the way of Jason’s plan of marrying Creon’s daughter and becoming royalty.  When Jason believes that he has finally accomplished his goal, Medea implements her plan of revenge, killing both his would be wife(princess) and his would be father in law.    

Important Characteristics to describe Medea- Proud, manipulative, vengeful. 

Sound: How the Play was Performed

The theaters of Ancient Greece enormous, when, for example, the nearest seat was almost 10 meters away from the performer, large movements and loud voices were critical to conveying the full story.

As such, it is widely accepted that the performers would wear very simple, plain masks which made their facial features more clear and obvious for the audience to see. Some theater historians assert that these masks also had a type of megaphone built in for amplification, although this point is disputed.

In conjunction with their enlarged faces, the performers were often on stilts and wearing heavy robes of fabric to accurately convey their character. These amendments to their body meant that every move they made and every sound they created needed to be worth it. There was no “stage whispering” in this theater which limited but also inspired Euripides to write plays with more dynamic and complex plotlines, ones filled with action and confrontation to futher add to the experience.

In addition, the chorus of some twelve men (playing women in Medea) would constantly dance around the orchestra (derived from the Greek term for dancing) during their scenes. The dancing was entertaining but also allowed the group to spread around the wealth so to speak of their odes, so that all might be privy to hearing their sound and seeing their dance.

Source: Didaskalia

Ancient Greek Theaters/Sound

Greek Theater

Ancient Greek theaters were specially constructed to perfectly suit the art which they housed (although without roofs). The multi-thousand-seat theaters were built into hilsides to allow for minimal construction and also excellent accoustics.

In today’s theater, sound is almost always electronically amplified to permit better hearing by the audience, but not having this as an option, these grecian temples had to be constructed perfectly.

By encircling the orchestra  with a mathematically perfected design of wooden or stone benches, sloping upwards away from the performance, the ancient architects nearly mimiced the way that sound travels as it spreads. This near-perfect acoustical environment allowed the actors’ voices to travel all the way to the last row of seats.

Also, the Skene buidling which stood behind the orchestra may have assisted in the amplification by reflecting voices and sound towards the thousands of audience members. This arrangement meant that the words which were spoken and sounds of music and dancing were clear such that their importance could be heard accurately.

Spectacle: The Ending

After the extraordinary hardships which Medea faces throughout the play, we come across the ending when she “appears in a winged chariot, rising above the house. The bodies of the two children are visible in the chariot.” Interestingly, over the past 1570 lines of the play, the stage directions are almost never this specific or elaborate. Showing that Euripides has literally saved the best for last, perhaps to shamelessly present a big ending, the rising chariot is the epitome of spectacle in this play.

Although there would be no such chariot in the ancient theaters, it is likely that Medea herself would be lifted from the stage level by the deus ex machina (literally, god machine) and the childen’s bodies would be thrust forth on a rolling wagon from the skene in the rear of the orchestra.

By creating such a spectacle, Euripides also highlights the importance of this event: Medea has killed her own childen in order to free them from the terror of the world which has been created for them. Her actions display her insanity, and her relentless pursuit of revenge against Jason.