Medea

When Euripides’s Medea was first staged in 431 BC, it caused ripples throughout the ancient world. Shocking and subversive, this story of a murderous mother both infuriated the judges at Athens’s City Dionysia festival and entranced the Greek-speaking world. Medea is now the most performed Greek tragedy in the modern world, with adaptations from theatre to film to opera. Where did the original Medea myth come from? Why does Medea continue to fascinate modern audiences and artists alike? In this series, Shivaike Shah talks to academics and dramaturgs about Medea’s history and dramatic impact, from before Euripides to the present day.