Medea

Excellent translation of a Greek classic. The story of Medea is told in a very easily consumed prose, with footnotes to explain small details that might otherwise be unknown to the reader. As for the story itself, "Medea" is one of betrayal, anger, and vengeance (with a bit of infanticide along the way). It is a compelling read, and the characters are well written and very human. Through this is clearly set in Ancient Greece, the emotions, the drama, applies to any era. It's a story that could take place in any time period, and it certainly has transcended into reality more than once. A great read, especially if you enjoy Greek mythology and Greek tragedies.

Needed it for classes

Medea by Euripedes was a play I chose for my 2015 reading challenge. The play, with only 47 pages took about 1/2 hour to read. My first thought was.....doesn't the woman on the cover look like Salma Hayek? The play centers around Medea, a goddess who falls madly in love, emphasis on MADLY, with Jason. She gives up everything for this man. We're talking killing, stealing, betraying her father and home, the whole kitten caboodle. She has 2 sons by him then one day, bang........homeboy hooks up with this younger chick, leaves Medea and the kids and marries this home-wrecker. Say what???? Say it isn't so........ oh, it's so! To put icing on the cake, this home-wrecker's daddy (Creon) banishes her from the land. Allowed to stay one more day she plots her revenge and baby she went for it. Unfortunately her revenge is an act that would cost a lifetime of suffering not only her husband but herself as well. Medea, although a quick read, is very powerful. You will agree with Medea and understand her pain but will hate her for her decisions. Jason is a loser who tries to convince Medea that what he was doing was for a good reason. Let me tell you something, no one (woman) in there right mind would believe it. What's interesting is the mentality of both individuals. Medea was not afraid to show her emotions, whether sadness, fear or anger but Jason remained calmed and had no hatred towards her. She screamed at him, called him names, yet he thought they could still remain friends until the end. With no idea what this play was about or how it would turn out. I'm glad I chose it.

This is an amazing piece of writing and has given me a new respect for Greek tragedy. The depth of the character Medea and what she goes through as told by Euripides is worth reading regardless of preferred genres which may not include plays or Greek tragedies.

The book itself was pretty nice considering how cheap it was and being paperback, but I really just didn't like the story at all. I know it's a classic but it's not a good tragedy in my opinion. It's just an annoying read. I really wouldn't want to watch this as a play.

I read this for the first time years ago. I read it again in preparation for writing the sequel to the Sparrow Princess, which will be told from the main antagonist's viewpoint. To say this is a story about a woman scorned doesn't even come close to describing the intensity of Medea's hate. Although I could clearly see both sides of this conflict, it occurred to me that this tragedy repeats itself over and over again to varying degrees even until today. And like the story illustrates, the children are always the ones who suffer the most.

As far as mandated reading for AP English Lit goes, this book was one of the more enjoyable (especially after the length-wise monstrosity of Crime and Punishment). At 1.27, it's a great option for those students who will be writing "marking" it up anyways.

Excellent bargain copies for teachers on a tight budget! I bought a class set and wasn’t disappointed

Exactly as described, arrived on time

haven’t read it yet but prolly get it