goes to extremes for revenge. The Medea myth is a metaphor that
describes the Hera woman’s capacity to put her commitment to a
man ahead of everything else, and her capacity for revenge when
she finds that her commitment counts for nothing in his eyes.
In Greek mythology, Medea was the mortal woman who murdered
her own children to revenge herself on her man for leaving her. She
is “a clinical case” of a woman who was possessed by the destructive
aspect of Hera.
Medea was the priestess-daughter of the king of Colchis. The
Golden Fleece, which Jason and the Argonauts sought, belonged to
this kingdom. Jason needed help if he was to take it, for the fleece
was well guarded. Hera and Athena, his patron goddesses, prevailed
on Aphrodite to make Medea fall in love with Jason, and help him
steal the Golden Fleece. Jason begged Medea to help him, promised
he would marry her, and pledged to be with her “till the doom of
death fold us around.” So, out of her passion for and loyalty to Jason,
Medea helped him steal the fleece. By doing so, she betrayed her
father and her country, and brought about her brother’s death.
Jason and Medea settled in Corinth and had two young sons. As
a foreigner, Medea’s position was similar to that of a common-law
wife. Then opportunistic Jason seized the chance to marry Glauce,
the daughter of Creon, King of Corinth. As a condition for the mar-
riage, Jason agreed that Medea and their children would be exiled.
Wounded by his perfidy and humiliated at having all her sacrifices
and crimes for him come to nothing, Medea became homicidal. First
she gave her rival a poisoned robe. When Glauce put it on, the effect
was like a coat of napalm, which burned and destroyed her flesh.
Next, Medea was in conflict between her love for her children and
her desire for revenge. Fury and pride won out, and to avenge herself
against Jason she murdered their children.
Medea behaved monstrously, yet she was clearly the victim of
her compelling love for Jason. While some women might get de-
pressed and even suicidal after being rejected and spurned, Medea
actively plotted and carried out revenge. Her relationship to Jason
was the center of her life. Everything she
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