Jason & Medea
The sorceress who killed for love and revenge
The sorceress Medea betrays her father and kills for love of Jason so he can win the Golden Fleece; when he abandons her for another, she takes revenge by killing the bride and her own children.
01Why it matters
Euripides's tragedy is the fiercest portrait of passion turned to vengeance.
02The conflict
Jason's betrayal and Medea's unleashed fury.
03The iconic moment
Medea fleeing in the chariot of the Sun after her terrible revenge.
04What survived
Euripides's "Medea"; countless operas and films.
05Frequently asked questions
Why is the story of Jason & Medea famous?
Euripides's tragedy is the fiercest portrait of passion turned to vengeance.
How does the story of Jason & Medea end?
Medea fleeing in the chariot of the Sun after her terrible revenge. Euripides's "Medea"; countless operas and films.
Related loves
Theseus & Ariadne
The thread that saved him, the love he abandoned
The Cretan princess Ariadne falls in love with Theseus and gives him the thread with which he escapes the labyrinth after killing the Minotaur; he flees with her, then abandons her asleep on the island of Naxos.
Read the story
Echo & Narcissus
She could only echo; he loved only himself
The nymph Echo, condemned to only repeat the last words of others, falls in love with the beautiful Narcissus, who rejects her; punished by the gods, he falls in love with his own reflection and dies gazing at himself.
Read the story
Apollo & Daphne
He chased a love that turned to laurel
Cursed by Eros, the god Apollo burns with desire for the nymph Daphne, who flees him; to save herself she begs her father, the river Peneus, and is turned into a laurel tree just as Apollo reaches her.
Read the story