Sinead Sheerin - Seneca's Medea

In Medea, Seneca focuses on his title character’s psychological complexity and the intensity of her suffering. Medea dominates the play, appearing on stage in every act and speaking over half of the lines. Seneca’s preoccupation with the death-from-life paradox is dominant in this tragedy, as she destroys those whom she has created, her children. The play’s first fifty-five lines act as Medea’s opening soliloquy, where she appeals to the gods of all three realms; the Underworld, Heaven and the Ocean, to hear her pleas for vengeance. It is in this speech that she first mentions the breaking of the oath that was made by her and Jason upon their marriage, and witnessed by the Gods. Jason’s abandonment of his wife and disrespect for the oath they once made acts as a catalyst for her desire for vengeance.

Medea’s soliloquy is juxtaposed with the first Choral Ode which follows her speech. It is made clear that the chorus is objective and not loyal to the protagonist as per usual in Greek drama. The chorus perform a song of wedding celebration, and pray for protection of Jason and his new bride, Creusa. The chorus clearly approve of the new marriage as they contrast the positive attitude all of Corinth has towards it, with the negativity associated with Jason’s union with Medea. An example of this is their mention of Jason’s father-in-law’s acceptance; Creon’s reaction is contrasted with the horror Medea’s father, Aeetes, felt when she fled her homeland with Jason. As they are a chorus of loyal Corinthian women, perhaps it should not be surprising that they side with Jason as he is in favour with the crown and their king.

The chorus’ hostility to Medea is clearly revealed when they state “let her depart in silent darkness, any woman who runs away and marries a foreign husband” (line 114/115). The topic of foreigners is brought up as the chorus disapprove of the marriage of Medea, who is from Colchis, and Jason, who is from Iolcus. Both are foreigners to Corinth but the sympathy they foster for Jason implies a double-standard. The chorus neglect to realise that their statement also applies to Creusa, who is from Corinth. They effectively have forecasted Creusa’s horrible death due to her acceptance of Jason, who is a foreign husband. They also refer to Medea as “an evil worse than the sea”, while they remind the audience of Jason and the Argonauts’ sea journey in their second choral ode. Following this, they pray for forgiveness from the gods so that Jason may be spared from an unfortunate fate. They compare Medea to a ‘tigress’ which shows how dangerous they deem her to be. Gordon Braden has made an interesting comparison between this chorus and an ostrich that mindlessly buries its head in the sand, hoping that the world (and all problems) will go away . The chorus focus on the Argonauts and past events for two of their choral odes which shows their refusal to deal with current issues.

The sympathetic view of Jason is continued when Creon states he is only refraining from ordering Medea’s death due to the entreaties Jason made on her, and their children’s, behalf. He continues to call Jason innocent as he did not directly carry out any crimes. The killing of Medea’s brother, abandonment of her father, and plotting of the murder of Pelias were all carried out by Medea on Jason’s behalf, but according to Creon, Jason’s hands are clean. Creon then claims that Medea is in possession of a woman’s wickedness. This may reveal a misogynistic edge to the play; Seneca has consciously made the chorus and other characters hostile to Medea and friendly to Jason. Jason is depicted as a loving parent when he anxiously fears for his children’s safety, and claims he had no choice but to leave Medea as fate had demanded. At the close of the play he begs Medea to spare their son, and destroy him instead.

The theme of tyranny is brought up constantly in the play. Medea blames Creon for seeking the marriage of his daughter and Jason, and causing the destruction of “faithfulness that was bound with tight pledges” (lines 145-6). This also links to the theme of oaths. Medea insists that Jason’s breaking of their oath by leaving her is a crime and deserves punishment. During his conversation with Medea, Creon states that she should “submit to a king’s power, whether just or unjust” (line 195). This statement places the king of Corinth in a tyrannical light, and is followed by Medea pointing out the unjustness of Creon’s attempted banishment of her. Jason states that he fears “exalted kingly power”, whilst Medea’s mind is “accustomed to despise kingly wealth” showing her as a rebel against authority once again. Seneca has been labelled as a writer of tyrant tragedies as it is a common subject for him. It is speculated that his plays may hold advice for his pupil Nero against acting tyrannically. The fact that he personally observed the nature of tyranny in Imperial Rome may explain his preoccupation with evil and folly in his plays. The theme of silence is then introduced by the Nurse, whose first conversation with Medea is riddled with words such as ‘quiet’, ‘hide’, ‘concealed’, ‘silence’, ‘refrain’, ‘subdue,’ and ‘adjust’. Creon tells his servants to “order (Medea) to be silent”, as well as preventing her from physically touching him, which will prevent her attempting supplication. This also links into the theme of tyranny as Creon attempts to oppress Medea’s ability to speak with his authority.

The question of how much control humans have over their destiny is raised in this play. Medea seems to take her destiny into her own hands and achieves her goal of vengeance. The final words of the play are Jason’s, as he claims “there are no gods” (line 1027). However, Medea’s prayers to Hecate and the sun god have been answered, showing that the gods do not condemn her plans for revenge. Unlike Orestes she is subjected to no trial, but assisted by her ancestor, the sun-god’s chariot in her escape. Medea becomes more concerned with herself than with her children, who she sees as pawns in a game of vengeance. She regrets not having given birth to as many children as Niobe, which is 14, so that her vengeance could have been even more effective. That the play opens with the word ‘gods’ and ends with ‘gods’ also, shows the dominance of the omnipresent beings in this play. Medea’s speech that begins at line 893 is the longest soliloquy in Senecan tragedy, which shows the importance Seneca put on thoroughly treating Medea’s emotions before she slays her children. The ending of the play is also the most theatrical finale in Seneca’s plays, as it includes armed crowds, roof top dialogue, child-slaying and the presence of the serpent drawn chariot of the sun.

A quick comparison between Seneca’s Medea and Euripides’ Medea may be helpful here. The Medea we meet in Seneca’s play has already decided on vengeance, and is praying to the gods for it. Euripides’ Medea’s first lines are “Oh, how unhappy I am, how wretched my sufferings – Oh, woe is me, I wish I could die” (line 196-7). Euripides’ Medea does not seem in control of her fate at the start of the play, Seneca however has empowered her from the beginning. Euripides opens his play with a prologue by the nurse which sets the scene for forthcoming doom, while Seneca opens with Medea’s decisive prologue. Euripides’ Jason is cunning, crafty and rhetorical, in comparison to Seneca’s Jason who is emotionless, mechanical and fearful. Seneca has portrayed him as the antithesis of the heroic Jason of the Argonauts. The number of confrontations between Medea and Jason is less in Seneca than Euripides, but he gives the Nurse more stage time and a more central role. King Aegeus comes to Medea’s aid in Euripides’ plot, but she does not need the help of a social superior to carry out her vengeance in Seneca. Euripides played down the tradition of Medea as a sorceress, but Seneca devotes the entire fourth act to showing Medea’s unleashing of dark powers (it is claimed he is indebted to Ovid for this portrayal). In Euripides’ play, both of the children are slain upon Jason’s arrival. In Seneca however, Medea wants Jason to witness her killing their second son and so waits for his arrival to slay him. Although Euripides’ version of the play is better known, it was seemingly unsuccessful at the time of its first performance as he came 3rd, and last, in the drama competition in the year 431.

Bibliography:
1) Motto, Anna Lydia and John R. Clark Essays on Seneca. Berlin: Peter Lang, 1993.
2) Boyle, A. J. Tragic Seneca: An Essay in the Theatrical Tradition. London: Routledge, 1997.
3) Sorensen, Villy. Seneca: The Humanist at the Court of Nero. trans. W. Glyn Jones. Edinburgh: Canongate, 1984.
4) Costa, C. D. N. Seneca. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1974.
5) Seneca. Medea, trans. Hine, H. M. Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 2000.