Daughter of King Aeetes of Pontus, she was well into sorcery when Jason and his Argonauts came to capture the Gold Fleece owned by the king. Medea took one look at the handsome hero and decided “He’s mine!”

She took it upon herself to help him fleece her father. She protected Jason from all the impossible tasks he was given, which included plowing with flaming bulls, sowing dragon’s teeth that turned into warriors and getting past the dragon itself that guarded the fleece. Her unguents, ointments and spells never failed and Jason romped through the trials.

This made Aeetes furious and a final straw was added when Medea ran off with Jason, slowing down pursuit by chopping up a young brother and scattering bits and pieces on the way.

Reaching Thessaly she got up to all sorts of mischief, such as inciting the daughters of King Pelius to chop up their father and boil the bits in a pot to rejuvenate him. A hasty exit to Corinth followed, with Jason in tow. Here she seemed to settle down for a bit and they had two sons.

Now it was Jason’s turn to go off the rails and he chased after Creusa, daughter of the King of Corinth. Medea sent her a special wedding present, a tunic and a crown which burst into flame, after which she slaughtered her two children to teach Jason a lesson. She had to make another swift exit. She was seen leaving the city in a chariot drawn by winged serpents.

Next she married King Ageus of Athens and tried to poison his son Theseus when he turned up to see his estranged father. Another swift exit.

Did she come to a bad end? Not a bit of it. She is now reputed to be romping around in the Elysian Fields with Achilles.

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Article last revised on September 05, 2018 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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