Medea Exile Quotes

Medea gave up everything to help Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece. She made herself an exile out of love for Jason. Ironically, his betrayal has made her an exile once more.

Pelias was the king of Iolcus and Jason's uncle. Medea tricked his daughters into chopping him up, hoping to help Jason gain the throne. The people of the city didn't take it so well and chased Medea and Jason from the city. In effect, both Medea and Jason have been exiles the entire time they've lived in Corinth

It says a lot that Corinth previously thought well of Medea. Especially after the mischief she got up to in Iolcus. We wonder what exactly made the Corinthians accept her. Maybe, it was all her smarts and skills. Probably, though, they just accepted her because Jason was a famous hero, and it was widely known that she was instrumental in his quest.

The violence of Medea's exit from her homeland has made her a permanent exile. This fact heightens the stakes of the entire play. Medea is backed into a corner with nowhere to turn, making her all the more dangerous.

It's hard to deny that Creon has a pretty good reason for kicking Medea out of Corinth. What else is he supposed to do? She's going around saying that she's going to kill everybody.

Medea has to find another city-state to retreat to, after she commits the murders. This will help protect her from the inevitable retribution from Corinth, but there's more to it than that. To the ancient Greeks, their city-states were there worlds. The thought of roaming the land without a civilized place to call home was horrifying.

Jason blames Medea for her exile from Corinth. Is his argument in anyway credible? Yeah, she has been going around threatening the royal family, which isn't the best move. It seems, however, that Jason would've been able to predict such a reaction from his spouse. It's likely that he would've known exactly how Medea would react, when he took another wife.

It's important to note that Jason is an exile as well. He's originally from Iolcus, not Corinth. He's actually heir to the throne of Iolcus, but was exiled from the city after he and Medea conspired to have King Pelias, Jason's uncle, killed by his daughters. Jason's desperate desire to regain royal status undoubtedly motivates his marriage to Creon's daughter.

Here the Chorus expresses the depth to which ancient Greeks felt an affinity towards their native city. Many Athenians would've have totally agreed with the sentiment that death is better than exile.

Often in the play, Medea expresses deep regret at having made herself an exile. She seems especially regretful about severing ties from her father. This distance from her dad is, perhaps, the worst exile she's had to endure.