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The Prince

2005-05-01T19:50:11Z

Plong: /* Historical Context */

== Historical Context ==

''The Prince'' was written in 1513, a time when Italy was in a prolonged state of political upheaval and instability. Charles VIII of France invaded Italy at the end of the 15th century and a long period of almost continuous domination by foreign powers began, For centuries, Italy served as a battleground between France and Spain and was not an independent state. One result of the French invasion was the expulsion of the Medici, the republic of Florence’s rulers. Florence was weakened by dissenting political factions until their return in 1512.

During this period, [[Machiavelli]] worked in government service as a diplomat. Upon their return to power in 1512, he was dismissed from public service and banished from Florence. When a plot to overthrow the Medici was discovered and foiled in 1513, Machiavelli was thrown in prison and tortured, but was eventually released after he paid a fine. It was at this time that [[Machiavelli]] wrote ''The Prince'', after being deprived of his office, thrown into prison for a crime he did not commit, and exiled from Florence. Obviously the bitter tone of his writings was in some part attributable to the misfortunes of his life and the turbulent political state in his homeland. His conclusions about the attributes required to rule successfully were drawn from observing first-hand the struggle and political intrigue taking place between France, Spain, and the ruling powers in Italy at that time and rose from his desire to see a stable, unified, powerful ruling class in Italy.

[[Category:World Literature]]

Machiavelli wrote for the common man about the truth of politics and the practical guide for ruling. The Prince was written about the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de’Medici.

The Prince is concerned with a government run by one person having unlimited power. The Prince deals with the various types of principalities and princes.

In chapter 7, Machiavelli tells us about how the rulers come into power. A prince acquires states through their own abilities, rather than the good fortune of a noble birth, inheritance or lucky circumstances. A state acquired by a ruler’s natural skill will be easier to maintain control over the state. Rulers who rely on their own skills are more successful in holding power over states because they can take on the challenge of establishing a new order. Laying a good foundation is crucial for maintaining power. A prince must get rid of enemies and win the trust of his loyal followers. Cesare Borgia was made duke of Romagna thought the good fortune of his father, however he was unable to maintain his power. Despite all his efforts he could not keep his position as ruler, but he layed a strong foundation for the future ruler.

In chapter 15, Machiavelli turns his discussion from the strength of rulers to the correct behavior of the prince. He argues that a set of practical rules is needed instead of theoretical rules. Some personal characteristics of a good ruler are courage, compassion, faith and generosity. A prince would generally posses all the qualities deemed good by other men. The characteristics given condemnation are cowardice, cruelty and stubbornness. But a prince’s first job is to safeguard the state and sometimes having bad characteristics is necessary for the welfare of the state. Other men must never influence a prince; he must be strong enough to stand on his own.

In chapter 17, Machiavelli tells us that compassion and generosity is admired. If a prince is too compassionate and does not punish disloyal subjects, he creates an atmosphere of disorder. Crimes harm the communities, where an execution harms only the person who commits the crime. Machiavelli asks whether being feared or loved is preferable. A prince should be both loved and feared, but it’s hard to do this, but forced to make a choice it’s better to be feared than to be loved. For this reason Machiavelli states, “The reason for my answer is that one must say of men generally that they are ungrateful, mutable, pretenders and dissemblers, prone to avoid danger, thirsty for gain.” So the prince must stand firm on the punishment of criminals, which in turn will make him trustworthy of his people.

In chapter 18, Machiavelli tells about how a prince should keep their word, his people generally praise a prince who honors his word. History has demonstrated that princes achieve the most success when they are crafty and cunning, but a prince must live by fighting on of two ways: by law or by force. A prince must learn how to fight both with the law and force. When a prince uses force he acts like a beast, where law comes naturally to men. When using force he must learn to act like two types of beasts: lions and foxes. A fox is defenseless against wolves and a lion is defenseless against traps. A prince must learn, like the fox how to recognize traps and like the lion, how to frighten off wolves. Men will judge their prince on appearance and results, so if a prince appears virtuous and successful, he will be regarded as virtuous.

In chapter 25, Machiavelli states that often fortune controls half of human affairs and free will determines the other half. Fortune is like a flooding river, it ‘s only dangerous when men have not built dykes against it. Fortune varies one may succeed while another may fail, even if they take the same path. A prince must adjust with time in order to succeed. Being marked by force and violence is better than using caution. The younger prince will triumph over the cautious older prince.

To conclude, Machiavelli states in chapter 26, that for Lorenzo to succeed he must create a national army. Lorenzo’s army needs a cavalry and infantry to defeat the Spaniards and the Swiss. The prince should receive unending glory and be embraced in all the provinces with love.

The Norton Anthology World Masterpieces. Seventh Edition/Vol. 1.

Tarlton. Charles D., “Machiavelli’s The Prince as Memoir.” Texas Studies in Lieterature & Language. Spring 2004, Vol. 46 Issue 1, p1, 19p

Medea

2005-04-16T20:25:50Z

Plong: Meda

== Summary ==

[[Image:MedeaChariot.jpeg|thumb|Medea’s Chariot]]The play [[Medea]] begins in turmoil and escalates until the tragic end. ''Medea'' tells the story of passion that transforms from love to hate. Consumed with a passionate rage ''Medea'' seeks to avenge her husband, [[Jason]] who has wronged her. Jason has left ''Medea'' and taken a new wife. To add insult to injury, Jason’s new bride is the daughter of king [[Kreon]] and a Greek.

The play opens outside the house of ''Medea'' and Jason in [[Corinth]]. The [[Nurse]] tells the sorrows of ''Medea'' and how Jason has abandoned ''Medea'' after all she has done for him. The Nurse is afraid ''Medea'' will harm someone close to her. ''Medea’s'' heart is full of violence especially for Jason and the children. ''Medea'' is overwhelmed with grief that is manifesting as jealousy and rage.

The [[Tutor]] appears with ''Medea'' two young children who have been outside playing. ''Medea’s'' children are oblivious to the resentment their mother is beginning to feel towards them. The Nurse warns the children to stay out of their mother’s sight. The Tutor is the bearer of bad news. The Tutor has heard rumors that ''Medea'' and her children will be exiled from Corinth. The Nurse is sympathetic to ''Medea’s'' plight while the Tutor is blasé.

The [[Chorus]] of Corinthian women arrives to check on ''Medea''. The Chorus hears ''Medea'' cries and curses from inside the house. The Chorus asks the Nurse to go see if ''Medea'' will come outside so they can console her.

A distraught ''Medea'' enters the courtyard and delivers a poignant speech on the sufferings and indignations of women in an oppressively man’s world. ''Medea'' points out to the Chorus being a woman is even worst for her because she is a foreigner without a family or a home. The Chorus sympathizes with ''Medea''. ''Medea'' despises Jason for taking another wife, and condemns Jason, his new bride, and king Kreon. ''Medea'' makes the Chorus promise if she finds a way to revenge Jason, they will remain silent. The Chorus gives ''Medea'' a vow of silence agreeing ''Medea'' is right to seek revenge.

''Medea'' has been blatantly lamenting her disgruntlements. ''Medea’s'' condemnations have come to the attention of king Kreon. King Kreon enters and exiles ''Medea'' and her children because he is afraid of ''Medea''. Using her children, ''Medea'' appeals to king Kreon on a paternal level and asks for one more day for the sake of the children so she can get her affairs in order. King Kreon reluctantly agrees and allows ''Medea'' to stay in Corinth one more day convinced she could not do the evil he fears in one day.

The Chorus pities ''Medea'' but ''Medea'' assures them one day is all she needs to avenge Jason faithlessness. When considering how to kill her enemies, ''Medea'' rules out swords or fire because that would mean close contact with the victims and she may get caught giving her enemies a reason to laugh at her. Being humiliated is one of ''Medea'' greatest fears and motivates her to lash out to save face. ''Medea'' decides to use poison. A conniving manipulator ''Medea'' schemes to poison Jason, his new bride, and king Kreon. ''Medea'' is determined no one especially a man will mistreat her and live to tell about it.

Jason visits ''Medea''. Similar to Kreon when he visited ''Medea'', Jason immediately chastises ''Medea'' for her behavior and blames her for her own exile. ''Medea'' calls Jason a coward and reminds him of all she has done for him in the name of love. ''Medea'' is instrumental in assisting Jason in obtaining the Golden Fleece. ''Medea'' betrays her father, murders her brother, an exile from her homeland, and orchestrates the death of Pelias … all for a man who has snubbed her. Jason tries to convince ''Medea'' he married king Kreon daughter for her and their children sake. Marrying into prosperity will benefit them all. Jason argues ''Medea'' has benefited from their marriage more than he. Jason took ''Medea'' away from a barbaric, lawless land. ''Medea'' is very popular living among the Greeks. ''Medea’s'' cleverness is admired in Corinth whereas in [[Colchis]] cleverness is not revered. Also, the children need royal siblings to protect them. ''Medea'' and Jason continue to argue. ''Medea'' feels Jason should have been man enough to tell her he has taken a new bride. Jason believes ''Medea'' is too irrational to handle the news of his bride and her behavior now reflects he was correct in his assumption. Jason offers ''Medea'' contacts with his friends that will help her once she and the kids are exiled from Corinth. Fiercely pride ''Medea'' refuses to take anything from Jason who betrayed her.

By chance ''Medea’s'' friend king [[Aigeus]] of [[Athens]] visits. ''Medea'' envisions a safe haven for escape. ''Medea'' tells Aigeus of Jason’s treachery and her pending exile. ''Medea'' beseeches Aigeus for asylum in Athens. King Aigeus unaware of ''Medea’s'' murderous intentions offers ''Medea'' sanctuary in return for her offer of drugs that will end his childlessness. However, king Aigeus gives Medea one condition for sanctuary, ''Medea'' must come to Athens on her own will. Aigeus swears an oath to all the gods at ''Medea'' appeal that he will not turn her over to her enemies no matter what. Reassured ''Medea'' sets her scheme for vengeance in motion. ''Medea'' tells the Chorus of her plans.

''Medea’s'' scheme of murder is coming together. ''Medea'' has a safe haven once the murders are complete. As her scheme unfolds, ''Medea'' realizes she must also murder her own children to completely avenge Jason’s dishonor. ''Medea'' wants to hurt Jason deeply and she cannot risk anyone who does not love her children hurting them. The Chorus begs ''Medea'' to reconsider murdering her children. ''Medea'' says,” No compromise is possible” (803).

''Medea'' sends for Jason. ''Medea'' uses an assuaging attitude with Jason. ''Medea'' apologizes for her angry and tells Jason he is right to have married king Kreon’s daughter. ''Medea'' pretends to be submissive like Jason expects a good wife to be. After “''kissing up''” to Jason, ''Medea'' sends her children along with Jason and the Tutor to the bride with gifts of a poison woven dress and a golden diadem.

The Tutor returns with the children and tells ''Medea'' the royal princess will let the children stay in Corinth. The Tutor is baffled by ''Medea’s'' melancholy behavior. ''Medea'' exhibits tenderness and cold-heartedness as she cries and talks to her children preparing herself to murder them. When ''Medea’s'' children smile at her she considers relinquishing her murderous scheme. The fury ''Medea'' feels at being betrayed by Jason conquers her resolve. ''Medea'' is compelled to finish what has already been started.

''Medea'' anxiously waits for news from the palace. The [[Messenger]] enters surprise ''Medea'' is hanging around. The Messenger tells ''Medea'' to run. The Messenger brings news that the royal princess and king Kreon are dead. ''Medea'' glories in the details as the Messenger tells her of the anguish deaths. Jason’s bride and king Kreon die an awful, torturous death with suffering as well. The golden diadem burst into flames sitting upon the royal princess head burning her body and the woven dress sloughs the flesh from her bones. As king Kreon cradles his daughter dead body the poison consumes him as the poisonous woven dress adhered to his flesh.

Jason returns looking for his children to protect them from the angry Corinthian mob after he finds out his new bride and father-in-law have been murdered by ''Medea''. The Chorus tells Jason his children have been murdered by their mother’s hand. Jason is appalled and looks for ''Medea''. ''Medea'' has hung around to gloat. ''Medea'' appears above the place in a chariot drawn by dragons provided by her grandfather, [[Helios]], the sun god. The children bodies are on the chariot. Jason begs for the children’s bodies, but ''Medea'' cynically laughs at him refusing to give his the honor of burying the children dead bodies. Jason desperately wants to kiss his dead children and bury them, but ''Medea'' refuses to give him the satisfaction. Jason insults ''Medea'' by telling her a Greek woman would never do the things she has done. ''Medea'' and Jason blame each other for the children’s death. ''Medea'' prophesies Jason’s death. ''Medea'' and Jason argue violently as the play comes to an end. The Chorus closes the play reflecting on capricious nature of gods’ will. ''Medea'' succeeds in revenge and Jason is lonely and tormented. Jason has lost his financial security, his status, and children to carry on his name. Jason is left without distinction. ''Medea’s'' avenge is achieved. Passionate love turned to passionate hate.

Additional Reading

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/medea.html

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu

== Themes and Motifs ==
=== Right Message, Wrong Messenger ===

Euripides’ Medea, was the first in a series of plays in which vivid, powerful women appeared on the Euripidean stage. It was produced in the year that the Peloponnesian War began, and sought to play on the low morale of the public to restore the female sex in positions of social influence and power. Throughout the centuries it has been regarded as one of the most powerful of the Greek tragedies, and also one in which the theme of women was more important than most. It is in this play that Euripides could either restore or condemn the female populace in society (Pelling).

Euripides questions many social norms of the period, but he uses a female such as Medea to convey his message. While Medea has no legal rights, she is the sorceress’ grandchild of the Sun God and therefore able to articulately explain her actions and passionately act on her plans. She is initially able to gain the sympathy and support of the Corinthian women for her plight by passionately pleading her case to the public at large. Medea’s passionate arguments fly in the face of the Greek tradition that only the male has the ability and right to lucid, rational argument. Jason although regarded as civilized by Greek society, is by contrast weak, compromised and cowardly. Medea also challenges ancient Greek society’s decree that the greatest glory for a woman was to bear children, provide sex and to fulfill the demands of her husband (Rassidakis 220-226). From the first compelling moments of this one-act play the audience is drawn into contradictions confronting Medea: to challenge injustice and betrayal or accommodate to it and the financial security and comfort it could bring (Pucci). Traditional behavior of women was a very important aspect of this play, and portraying Medea as both similar and different to fellow womankind allowed the audience to make judgment on the role of women as they knew it. Medea recurrently assaulted fundamental and sacred values and that gave the play much of its power and allowed Euripides to most persuasively portray her as an incarnation of disorder. Could any male audience possibly start to respect any woman that could crush basic human order? Euripides did not himself condemn Medea. Rather, he gave the audience a choice on whether to accept her character and actions. However by implication he is associating a breakdown in human order as being due to the wickedness in such a woman. Yet associating such a drastic event with women would imply that they had the power to be so destructive, and that was not an option of the times - especially when a war had just broken out, and unity was of great importance (McDermott).

In the tragedy Medea, Euripides fails to rehabilitate the female sex. He chooses a semi-divine, foreign sorceress to voice the appeals of ordinary Athenian wives. She is a woman capable of murder, manipulation and deception, and she has no sense of remorse. In choosing her, Euripides appears to be sending out mixed signals concerning women. Her concerns are those that apply to the majority of women at the time, and an audience would no doubt have understood these; yet Medea deals with them in a way that is abhorrent for a woman of fifth-century Athens (Easterling). She invokes both pathos and disgust, and, for a male audience, she would encourage distrust and continuing ‘imprisonment’ and lower social status for women. Although Euripides may well have believed in promoting womankind, it would have been difficult to put this idea across to the male audience of the day, and that may be why he is unable to make any significant advances in the Medea. He had the right message, but used the wrong messenger (Strauss 237-270).

=== Xenophobia ===

Euripides’s Medea explores the tensions which existed between citizens and foreigners and Greece’s subsequent Xenophobia. In the play, Medea represents the non-citizen who completely lacked legal and social rights. Not only is she far from the comforts of her native land, but also, as both a woman and a foreigner, she is viewed as a “poor creature” (643), below the level of a human being.

As Doctor Gerry Lucas pointed out in his lecture, marriage was a citizen’s contract, meaning Medea had no legal hold on Jason and could not take any form of official recourse. The Nurse laments that “…she has discovered by her sufferings/ What it means to one not to have lost one’s own country” (643). The Nurse is making a deliberate comparison to Jason, who as a male citizen enjoyed legal protection and political activity. Medea, a female non-citizen, is left without a voice or support. Her lack of institutional support led to the necessity that she herself administer Jason’s punishment.

Jason most aptly expresses the Xenophobic snobbery inherent in such disparity between citizen and foreigner. As he explains to Medea the advantages of living in a ‘civilized’ culture he insists that “…instead of living among barbarians/ You inhabit a Greek land and understand our ways/ How to live by law instead of the sweet will of force” (653.) Such ethnocentric attitudes were both stemmed from and perpetuated by the lack of citizen’s rights. According to Wikipedia, women and foreigners were unable to vote and therefore could not create public policy that would help eradicate Ancient Greece’s sexism and xenophobia.

===Feminist Concerns===

Euripides wrote ''Medea'' in 431 B.C. (640). Greek mythology shows us how Greeks, at that time, had firm beliefs on how women should behave themselves and the values they should hold. The perceived submissive behavior of women begins the very moment a wife arrives in her husband’s home (O’Higgins 104). A woman is supposed to provide heirs to the man (O’Higgins 104).

An Athenian perception pertaining to a “good woman” was that a woman be loyal to her husband and children (Sourvinou-Inwood 254). The most common characteristics of a good woman would be goodness, self-control and the fact that she was devoted to her husband and children (Sourvinou-Inwood 254). A good woman would reflect the culture’s established values and provide a look into the culture itself. A bad woman would be the opposite of the positive norm. In the beginning of ''Medea'', she portrays herself as a good woman. She was devoted to Jason and loved him so much that she felt as though she could not survive without him. When the nurse is talking in the beginning she states that “poor Medea is slighted, and cries aloud on the vows they made to each other, the right hands clasped in eternal promise (643).” Even though the play begins as seeing Medea as a normal, possibly good woman, she has already shown signs of abnormality in her behavior for a woman at that time. Medea is already showing signs of hatefulness towards her children. “I hate you, children of a hateful mother (645).” Medea is already showing behavior that women would not dare show in this time.

Medea could be seen as a heroine for women who do not want to be confined to the role of the “producer of legitimate offspring (McDonald 303).” By killing her children, she separates herself independently from her husband and the general patriarchy (McDonald 304). Even though at this time, husband’s were expected to be with other women, Medea feels as though her family rights were violated. Medea was also different in this aspect. She didn’t believe that and felt vengeful. The ultimate punishment for Jason, was to violently take his heirs from him. Medea’s anger turned into aggressive action, which can make her into a symbol for women (McDonald 304).

Throughout the play, Medea was more or less an ordinary woman portrayed as a bad woman. However, she could be the victim of male power and just seemed very out of the ordinary for the role of females at this time (Sourvinou-Inwood 258). She ended up being a version of a very bad woman, by killing her son’s and wreaking havoc on Jason and male power (Sourvinou-Inwood 258).

The idea explored in this play possibly suggests that women like Medea “use the weapons of the weak, which are both deceitful and violent and hurt men where they are vulnerable to women (Sourvinou-Inwood 261).” The play suggests that normal philosophy is not perfect and easy and if things go wrong men also suffer.

== Historical Context ==

Greek tragic playwright, Euripides was born in Athens circa 480 BCE. He is credited with authoring at least 80 plays, 19 of which have survived until modern times. Several of his tragedies feature very strong female characters, including ''The Trojan Women'' and ''Medea''. He died at the court of the Macedonian king in 406 BCE. His work gained a greater popularity after his death than it had received during his lifetime (Crystal 317).

''Medea'' was first produced in Athens in 431 BCE. According to legislation passed, twenty years earlier, a foreign woman could not legally marry an Athenian male. Any children begotten through such a union would not be considered legitimate heirs in the eyes of the law (Vandiver 217-16).

== Characters ==
* [[Jason]]

* [[Medea]]

* [[Kreon]]
''Medea'' is the princess of the Isle of Colchis(642). ''Medea'' is a sorceress, skilled in magic, and is renowned for her cleverness. ''Medea'' comes from a prestigious lineage. Medea is the daughter of king Aeetes and Idyia. ''Medea'' is also the granddaughter of the sun god Helios and the niece of Circe who is also known as a sorceress. ''Medea'' admires and is a protégé of goddess Hecate a patron of witchcraft.

''Medea'' falls in love with a man named [[Jason]] when he reached the land of Colchis in pursuit of the Golden Fleece.(642) ''Medea'' falls in love with Jason, helps him steal the Golden Fleece from her own country and leaves with him.(642) She eventually marries Jason and has children with him as they have moved to live in exile in Corinth.(643)

''Medea'' learns Jason has been dipping his noodle in the King of Corinth’s daughter.(643) She learns he has intentions of marrying her and leaving ''Medea'' and the kids to fend for themselves.(647) Kreon, King of Corinth, hears of ''Medea’s'' anger with Jason and the king’s daughter.(648) Kreon approaches ''Medea'' and sentences her to exile.(648)

Nothing like a woman scorned as ''Medea'' in her angered state plans for the demise of her husband, his new bride to be, and her father.(658) ''Medea'' first covers her base by finding a safe place to live in exile. (656) King Aigeus, King of Athens, agrees that if she can find her way to his doorstep she can stay forever and be safe.(656)

Now ''Medea'' plans the way to kill Jason’s bride to be and anyone who touches her.(658) She plans to poison two bridal gifts for Jason’s new bride and have the children hand deliver them to her.(659) Jason falls for the plan and takes the children to his bride to be where she receives her gifts and puts them on falling to her death.(664) The children return to ''Medea'' where she kills them right before Jason returns to find out what dastardly deed she has done.(669) ''Medea'' escapes Corinth with her dead children on a dragon drawn chariot given to her by Helios, her father’s father to protect her from her enemies.(670) She escapes to live in Athens and Jason never sees his children again.(670)

== Commentaries ==
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000320.shtml Euripides' ''Medea'': Patriarchal Terrorism]]

== External Links ==

== Works Cited ==

<U>Athenian Democracy.</U> 2005. Wikipedia. 8 April 2005 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenian_democracy#Citizenship_in_Athens>.

Euripides. ''Medea. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces''. Eds. Lawall, Sarah and Mack, Maynard. 7th. NY: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1999. 642-672.

Ferguson, John.'' A Companion to Greek Tragedy''. TX: University of Texas Press. 1972.

Lattimore, Richard. ''The Poetry of Greek Tragedy.'' MD: John Hopkins Press. 1958.

Rassidakis, Kristina. The origins of love, hate, and retaliation in Euripides tragedy; Medea: a psychodynamic approach. Changes: International Journal of Psychology and Psychotherapy 15, 1997.
Pucci, Pietro. The Violence of Pity in Euripides’ Medea. Cornell University, 1980.
Pelling, Christopher. Greek Tragedy and the Historian. Oxford, 1997.
Ober, Josiah and Strauss, Barry. Drama, Political Rhetoric, and Discourse of Athenian Democracy in Winkler, John J. Athenian Drama in Its Social Context. Princeton, 1990.
McDermott, Emily A. Euripedes’ Medea: The Incarnation of Disorder. University Park, PA. 1989.
Easterling, P.E. The Infanticide in Euripides’ Medea. YCS 25, 1977.

O’Higgins, Dolores M., Sourvinou-Inwood, Christiane, and McDonald, Marianne. Medea: Essays on Medea in Myth, Literature, Philosophy, and Art. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997.

Buxon, Richard. ''The Complete World of Greek Mythology''. NY: Thames & Hudson. 2004.

Graves, Robert. ''Greek Myths''. NY: Penguin Books. 1981.

Crystal, David. ''The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia.'' Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. New York. 1995.

Vandiver, Elizabeth. ''Greek Tragedy''. The Teaching Company. Course # 217. Lectures 1-24.

[[Category:World Literature]]

The story of Medea is one of the best known and widely translated Greek tragedies. Euripides starts this tragedy with the nurse telling what has happened up to this point. He opens a new outlook to tragedy by showing Medea as woman and foreigner, which have almost no rights at all, which is out to avenge her husband Jason for leaving her for another woman.

Medea was the daughter of Aeetes, King of Colchis. Medea fell hopelessly in love with Jason, the commander of the Argonauts, who came to Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece. In return for Jason’s pledge of everlasting love and to take her back to Greece with him. With Medea’s magic she deceived her father to help Jason obtain the Golden Fleece. Medea and Jason sail from Colchis to return to Greece, but to escape Aeetes; Medea kills her brother, Apsyrtus and scatters his remains over the sea. When Aeetes stops to gathering up the remains of Apsyrtus, Jason and his crew manage to escape.

In Greece Jason finds his parents are killed by Pelias. To avenge the death of his parent, Jason asked Medea to help him with her magic. As always Medea grants his wishes and brings about Pelias’s death by a cunning trick. She tells the daughters of Pelias that they could help their aging father to become young again. Medea cuts up an old sheep and boils it, then says a magic spell and a young lamb jumps from the pot and runs away. This convinces the daughters of Pelias that they could make their father young again. So, Medea gave Pelias a sleeping potion, and the girls began to cut their father up but Medea disappeared without saying the magic spell to bring him back to life, thus causing the daughters to killing their father.

After this Medea and Jason escaped to Corinth, where they had two sons. They were living very happy until Jason fell in love with the daughter of King Creon of Corinth. Jason left Medea and was going to marry the Kings daughter to make more wealth and power for him and his sons. But Medea was devastated, and she mourned for Jason and their life together. Medea was going crazy and crying out of control and people around her home began to hear her and word got back to the king. King Creon was worried about the emotional state that Medea was in and what she could do to him and to his daughter. He told Medea that she had to leave the city and take her children with her. So to get her revenge, Medea kills the daughter with a poisoned robe, which kills the daughter and the King. Soon after their death the messenger comes to Medea kills her to sons so that Jason will have to suffer a long a painful life, without the Kings daughter and his two sons. Medea escapes from Jason by leaving Corinth, flying to Athens in a chariot from Helios.

Bates, Alfred. "The Dram: It's History, Literture and Influence on Civilization", vol 1. 1906

COllier Michael. "The Virginia Quarlerly Review." Charlottesville: 2004.

Odysseus

2005-02-25T01:38:23Z

Plong:

In Homer’s epic, ''Odyssey'', he tells a story of Odysseus’s adventures to return home to Ithaca after the fall of Troy. Odysseus is a Greek hero and King of Ithaca. He was one of the leaders of the Trojan War. Odysseus is the son of Laertes, formal ruler of Ithaca where his wife, Penelope and son, Telemachus live. Odysseus is well known for his brain as well as his muscle.

When Menelaus called on the suitors for help to bring Helen back from Troy, Odysseus refused to go. He pretended to being crazy, “…plowing his fields and sowing salt instead of grain.” But when his infant son was placed in front of the plow, he turned to avoid hitting his son, giving in and joining the army. Once in Troy, Odysseus was know for bring a brave and cunning warrior. He was the one who proposed the scheme of the Trojan Horse, which ultimately conquered Troy.

During the 10 year journey from Troy back to Ithaca, Odysseus had many encounters that prolonged his journey home. He has to free his men from the Lotus- Eaters, the Cyclopes giant, Polythemus, and the enchantress Circe. He traveled to the underworld, where he receives valuable information to help him continue his trip home. This new knowledge that he received helped him to have a safe passage from the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis. But, he could not save his crew when they violated commandments by slaughtering and eating the cattle of the sun god. Through this action their ship was struck by a thunderbolt and only Odysseus survived. He swam on the island of the nymph Calypso, where he became her lover and lived there for seven years. He built a boat and sailed for Ithaca, but once again he ran into another storm and was ship-wreaked on the island of the Phaeacians where he was given a crew and ship to sail home.

Once he returned home, he still had problems. After being gone for twenty years, Penelope had remained faithful. But the palace was occupied by a group of suitors who were waiting on Penelope to pick one of them to marry. Odysseus arrived at the palace disguised as a beggar and saw everything in disarray. He slaughters the suitors and cleansed the palace before Penelope sees all the blood and bodies. But, then he had to deal with the anger families of the suitors. But Athena stepped in and told the people of Ithaca that there would be peace and that the King of Ithaca was home.

“Odysseus.” Encyclopedia Britannica from Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article?tocID=9373899&query=odysseus>

“Odysseus.” The History Channel from The History Channel Online.
http://www.historychannel.com/per/print_book>

“Odysseus.” The Mythweb from the MythWeb Online.
http://wwwmythweb.com/odyssey>

Odysseus

2005-02-25T01:37:26Z

Plong: Odysseus-Plong

In Homer’s epic, Odyssey, he tells a story of Odysseus’s adventures to return home to Ithaca after the fall of Troy. Odysseus is a Greek hero and King of Ithaca. He was one of the leaders of the Trojan War. Odysseus is the son of Laertes, formal ruler of Ithaca where his wife, Penelope and son, Telemachus live. Odysseus is well known for his brain as well as his muscle.

When Menelaus called on the suitors for help to bring Helen back from Troy, Odysseus refused to go. He pretended to being crazy, “…plowing his fields and sowing salt instead of grain.” But when his infant son was placed in front of the plow, he turned to avoid hitting his son, giving in and joining the army. Once in Troy, Odysseus was know for bring a brave and cunning warrior. He was the one who proposed the scheme of the Trojan Horse, which ultimately conquered Troy.

During the 10 year journey from Troy back to Ithaca, Odysseus had many encounters that prolonged his journey home. He has to free his men from the Lotus- Eaters, the Cyclopes giant, Polythemus, and the enchantress Circe. He traveled to the underworld, where he receives valuable information to help him continue his trip home. This new knowledge that he received helped him to have a safe passage from the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis. But, he could not save his crew when they violated commandments by slaughtering and eating the cattle of the sun god. Through this action their ship was struck by a thunderbolt and only Odysseus survived. He swam on the island of the nymph Calypso, where he became her lover and lived there for seven years. He built a boat and sailed for Ithaca, but once again he ran into another storm and was ship-wreaked on the island of the Phaeacians where he was given a crew and ship to sail home.

Once he returned home, he still had problems. After being gone for twenty years, Penelope had remained faithful. But the palace was occupied by a group of suitors who were waiting on Penelope to pick one of them to marry. Odysseus arrived at the palace disguised as a beggar and saw everything in disarray. He slaughters the suitors and cleansed the palace before Penelope sees all the blood and bodies. But, then he had to deal with the anger families of the suitors. But Athena stepped in and told the people of Ithaca that there would be peace and that the King of Ithaca was home.

“Odysseus.” Encyclopedia Britannica from Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article?tocID=9373899&query=odysseus>

“Odysseus.” The History Channel from The History Channel Online.
http://www.historychannel.com/per/print_book>

“Odysseus.” The Mythweb from the MythWeb Online.
http://wwwmythweb.com/odyssey>