Medeia - At the service of justice and piety

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47661/afcl.v12i23.8843

Keywords:

Euripides, Medea, Greek Tragedy

Abstract

In archaic Greek mythic thought, Justice is one of the fundamental aspects of the world, perceived and described as a Goddess, daughter of Zeus and Themis, a member of the triad of the Hours (HES. W.D. 901-903). Being one of the Hours, Justice, like the two other sisters of the same triad, manifests itself in the temporal horizon of the course of events as the actualization of the order and the designs of Zeus. In the theatre of Euripides, in my view, the question of justice, thought and determined in the terms of the mythical imaginary, constitutes the guiding thread of the narrative; - and the narrative itself, being constructed according to the logic proper to mythical thought, is in turn a verbal image of the mythical notion of justice and therefore a demonstration of the constancy and inevitability of the Justice of Zeus. Through the analysis and interpretation of Euripides 'tragedy Medea, we will now see the demonstration of this general thesis of Euripides' theatre in one of his tragedies.

Author Biography

Jaa Torrano, Universidade de São Paulo

Graduated in Classical Letters (Latin and Greek Portuguese) from the University of São Paulo (1974), Master in Letters (Classical Letters) from the University of São Paulo (1980), PhD in Letters (Classical Letters) from the University of São Paulo (1987 ), and free teaching in Greek Literature by the University of São Paulo (2001). He is currently Full Professor of Greek Language and Literature at the University of São Paulo.

References

EURIPIDES -- Medea. Edited by Donald J. Mastronarde. Cambridge University Press,

EURIPIDES -- Medea. Introduction, Translation and Commentary by Judith Mossman.

Oxford, Aris & Phillips, 2011.

EURIPIDES -- Medea. The text edited with introduction and commentary by Denys L.

Page. Oxford University Press, 1985.

EURIPIDES -- Medea. Translated with na Introduction and Notes A. J. Podlecki.

Newburyport, MA, Focus Classical Library, 2005.

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Published

2018-12-31

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 23 (2018): Mulheres míticas

Section

Artigos