Character Catalog

Medea helps Jason overcome the trials set by her father (plowing with fire-breathing bulls, sowing dragon's teeth) and lulls the guardian dragon to sleep. Without her, the Argonauts' quest would have failed.

At Iolcus, Medea successfully rejuvenates Aeson, Jason's elderly father, by boiling him in a cauldron with magical herbs. This marvel demonstrates the full extent of her powers as a sorceress.

Medea persuades Pelias's daughters to attempt to rejuvenate their father by cutting him up and boiling him — but without adding the life-giving herbs. It is her revenge for the wrongs the usurper inflicted upon Jason.

Through a robe and a diadem soaked in magical poison, Medea causes the deaths of her rival and her rival's father, destroying Jason's new marriage before fleeing Corinth.

The most devastating act of the myth, Medea kills the children she had with Jason to inflict the worst possible punishment upon him. This tragic act goes beyond ordinary revenge and makes her a complex figure of human suffering.

"I know what evil I am about to do, but my passion is stronger than my reason, passion that causes the worst of evils among mortals."

"Medea, whom Eros had struck with a burning arrow, could not close her eyes all night, so fiercely did her heart burn for Jason, son of Aeson."

"Medea superest. Here you will see what a woman can do, what love can do, and what the anguish of a betrayed wife can do."

"By these gods whom I betrayed for you, by the children we share, by my sacrifices and your crimes against me, I beg you: come back."

A tale transmitted orally about the lineage of Medea, daughter of Aeëtes king of Colchis and granddaughter of Helios the sun god, a sorceress who inherited the secrets of the goddess Hecate.

A kingdom on the shores of the Black Sea, ruled by Medea's father Aeëtes. This is where the Golden Fleece is kept, and where Medea grew up, learning the art of magic from the goddess Hecate.

The Greek city where Medea settles with Jason after their exile from Iolcos. It is here that the central tragedy unfolds: Jason's betrayal and Medea's terrible revenge.

The city in Greece where Jason was born and to which he returns bearing the Golden Fleece. It is here that Medea carries out her revenge against Pelias by manipulating his daughters.

Medea's refuge after fleeing Corinth: King Aegeus had promised her sanctuary in exchange for remedies to cure his childlessness. She stays there for a time before ultimately being driven out.

A mythical place associated with Colchis and the palace of Aeëtes in the Argonautica. It is the symbolic starting point of Medea's story, the birthplace of her magical power.