The Myth Of Medea, A Sorceress In Love

The myth of Medea is about the archetype of the witch. This character is an autonomous woman, guided by her great passions and with a great capacity to make decisions. At the time she first appeared, she represented the opposite of what a woman should be. This may be why the story aroused great interest and had a great impact on the authors.

According to the myth of Medea, she was the granddaughter of Helios, the god of the sun. She was also the daughter of Aeëtes, king of Kolchis, the same place that held the mythical golden skin. This was a winged buck with gold wool. Medea’s mother was the nymph Idyia, daughter of the sea.

The story goes that this sorceress learned witchcraft from Aunt Circe. She had powerful powers and had knowledge of magical potions that allowed her to turn enemies into animals. She was also able to cure diseases thanks to her knowledge of herbs and medicine.

The myth of Medea, the woman in love

The moment the myth of Medea comes to life, Jason and Argonauts Kolchis, the wizarding kingdom, arrive in search of the golden skin. The goddesses Hera and Athena protected the travelers and asked the goddess Aphrodite to help them. Specifically, they requested that Medea, the king’s daughter, fall in love with Jason and support him in achieving his goals.

Aphrodite had to convince her son Eros to do his thing. He was reluctant, but his mother promised him a gift, so he agreed to shoot one of his arrows straight at the witch. Of course, this made her fall in love with Jason and she had no qualms about helping him carry out his mission.

The king of Kolchis promised Jason to give him the golden skin, provided he completed some tests. The first was to plow a field of oxen that breathed flames through their noses. Shortly afterwards, and with the help of protection from the goddesses, Jason and Medea met at Hecate’s sanctuary, deep in the forest. There the hero asked for help. He promised to marry her and take her with him to his native Greece.

Medea’s help

The myth of Medea says that the wizard gave Jason a magic potion that made him invulnerable to the flames of the bulls. She also helped him defeat some soldiers who came out of nowhere. And she also got the kite that looked after the golden skin to sleep. Thus, the hero was able to fulfill all imposed tasks.

The couple later fled on the famous ship Argo. To prevent his father from pursuing them, Medea killed his younger brother, Absyrtus, who was on the ship. She cut him up and threw his body parts into the sea so that her father had to spend some time searching for his body. Thus, she stopped the persecution.

In this way, they managed to reach Yolco, Jason’s homeland. The people there welcomed them with all kinds of celebrations. The myth of Medea says that the couple married and that the witch decided to rejuvenate Jason’s father. She did it out of gratitude because he had kept his promises. The daughters of Pelias, the brother of Jason’s father who had been deprived of his throne, wanted the sorceress to rejuvenate their father as well.

A tragic end

Medea deceived the young women, and instead of giving them Pelia’s rejuvenation, she killed him. Because of this, the couple were expelled to Corinth, where King Creon warmly welcomed them. Medea and Jason lived happily ever after and had two children. However, Jason fell in love with the king’s daughter Glauce and began inventing ways to get rid of his wife.

He pretended to accept Jason and Glauce’s engagement, and the witch gave the princess a dress. According to the myth of Medea, it was set on fire when the young woman put it on. Then the fire spread to the king and to the whole palace. The witch later killed her children and fled to Athens, where she was received by King Aegeus, whom she married and had a son named Medus.

Years later she plotted so that Thesevs, son of Aegeus, could not occupy the throne. Thus, his father would give it to Medo instead. The king found out what she was doing, and she had to flee in a magical cloud. Thus she returned to Kolchis, where the people forgave her. The myth of Medea says that the sorceress is immortal and still lives around Elysian.