Medea (Seneca)

Medea
AuthorLucius Annaeus Seneca
LanguageLatin
GenreTragedy
Set inCorinth, Greece
Publication date
1st century
Publication placeRome
TextMedea at Wikisource
Medea about to kill her children (Eugène Delacroix)

Medea is a fabula crepidata (Roman tragedy with Greek subject) of about 1027 lines of verse written by Seneca the Younger. It is generally considered to be the strongest of his earlier plays.[1] It was written around 50 CE. The play is about the vengeance of Medea against her betraying husband Jason and King Creon. The leading role, Medea, delivers over half of the play's lines.[2] Medea addresses many themes, one being that the title character represents "payment" for humans' transgression of natural laws.[3] She was sent by the gods to punish Jason for his sins. Another theme is her powerful voice that cannot be silenced, not even by King Creon.[3]

  1. ^ Heil, Andreas; Damschen, Gregor (2013). Brill's Companion to Seneca: Philosopher and Dramatist. BRILL. p. 594. ISBN 978-9004217089. "Medea is often considered the masterpiece of Seneca's earlier plays, [...]"
  2. ^ A.D., Seneca, Lucius Annaeus, approximately 4 B.C.-65 (2014). Medea. Boyle, A. J. (Anthony James) (First ed.). Oxford. ISBN 9780199602087. OCLC 862091470.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b Boyle, A.J. (1997). Tragic Seneca: An essay in the theatrical tradition. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 127. ISBN 9780415124959.