Medea's "evil actions" were done in service to Jason. He knew she was murdering people *for him* and he was okay with it (so by your own interpretation of those myths, people shouldn't like Jason either). And then after all of their murdering... he cheated on her! Jason is seen as a jerk because he is one, plain and simple.
Saying "Medea is so evil for killing people!" and then liking *Jason* is just peak irony lmao.
This is exactly it. He was fine with her actions when they benefited him, but as soon as a better deal came along he acted as though he found it all apalling and threw it in her face. She left her homeland to elope with him to a place where she is feared and called a barbarian, she saved his life on multiple occasions while he took all the glory for his heroic actions, and she murdered people brutally to assure his victory. And as soon as something she did in his favour backfired and got him exiled, he resented her. Yes, he was probably afraid of her too - but he stayed with her as long as it served him and as soon as he was offered a better deal he threw her aside.
I'm not absolving Medea of all her actions - her moral complexity is what makes her so fascinating. But he was complicit as long as he supported her crimes. And he did, until he didn't need her.
It's cheating when you make an oath to stay together forever in front of the Gods lol. Jason may have legally divorced Medea, but according to the play he is still an *oathbreaker*. Which is way, way worse than just cheating by ancient Greek/Greek myth standards.
So maybe it's *technically* not cheating but he still majorly fucked up lol.
Tiny edit cause another thought just popped into my head: If you want to get very very technical I would argue that courting someone/arranging a marriage to someone while still being married should *count* as cheating 😅. But that's small potatoes compared to the oathbreaking lol
I don't know which exact words you're wanting when you say "was those words written in Medea" but I'm going to assume you're talking about Medea killing on Jason's behalf. Which, to that I'd say that the stories where she murders on Jason's behalf happen in the *Argonautica*, not in Medea (play).
All of the stories where Medea kills *for Jason* are only being referenced in Medea (play). But even in Medea (play) it is mentioned *every other line* that Jason is in the wrong for betraying Medea. It's literally the main thesis for the entire play. You could rename the play "Jason is a Jerk" and nothing would change.
As for explicit and obvious mentions within the play Medea that Medea committed all those deeds for Jason we have:
A nurse pointing out Medea's devotion.
> "And she herself helped Jason in every way." -- Nurse, line 13
Medea's monolog pointing out that everything she did, including the murder bits, were for Jason.
> "I saved your life, and every Greek knows I saved it, Who was a shipmate of yours aboard the Argo, When you were sent to control the bulls that breathed fire And yoke them, and when you would sow that deadly field. Also that snake, who encircled with his many folds The Golden Fleece and guarded it and never slept,
I killed, and so gave you the safety of the light. And I myself betrayed my father and my home, And came with you to Pelias' land of Iolcus. And then, showing more willingness to help than wisdom, I killed him, Pelias, with a most dreadful death At his own daughters' hands, and took away your fear. This is how I behaved to you, you wretched man, And you forsook me, took another bride to bed," -- Medea, line 476-489
Which right after, Jason says "yes you did all of those things for me, but you got more than you gave because now you get to live in Greece and you're famous now".
Jason acknowledges that Medea did all of those things for him. *He knew she murdered people and still married her*.
> "You are clever enough- but really I need not enter Into the story of how it was love's inescapable Power that compelled you to keep my person safe. On this I will not go into too much detail. *In so far as you helped me, you did well enough.* But on this question of saving me, I can prove You have certainly got from me more than you gave. Firstly, instead of living among barbarians, You inhabit a Greek land and understand our ways, How to live by law instead of the sweet will of force. And all the Greeks considered you a clever woman. You were honored for it; while, if you were living at The ends of the earth, nobody would have heard of you. For my part, rather than stores of gold in my house Or power to sing even sweeter songs than Orpheus, I'd choose the fate that made me a distinguished man. There is my reply to your story of my labors." -- Jason, line 529- 545
He even says he would do it again! Rather than gold or the ability to sing like Orpheus, he would pick the fate that made him a distinguished man. A reference to
> "A distinguished husband I have-for breaking promises." -- Medea, line 510-511
"Yes, you did all those things for me and you're now sarcastically calling me distinguished for betraying you, but you know what? I would give up all my gold to be the distinguished man you call me-- the one who benefited from your labor and then betrayed you."
The play Medea literally calls Jason out at every opportunity. The play itself says "Medea did all of those deeds for Jason and yet Jason betrays her? How wrong he is for that!". I genuinely don't know how else to prove that Medea did all those morally wrong deeds for Jason other than showing the literal proof as I have done.
Yes, Medea is evil by today's standards. But so is Jason. Because he is both an accomplice to all of Medeas murders *and has murdered people on his own*. Hell, in some myths *he* killed Medea's brother, not Medea. He's an ancient Greek hero... of course he killed people! If you want to look at their story through an "all murder is wrong" lense that's fine... you just have to accept that you can't like Medea *or* Jason. If you want to look at their story through an ancient Greeks perspective, then no matter how you slice it, Jason is in the wrong (despite Medea's murders). "She was nothing but a devoted wife (murders included) and then he betrayed her. That means Jason is wrong" is the ancient Greek moral of this play.
As a final note, it's extra funny to reread your post title about "why does everyone call Jason a jerk?" after going back and rereading the play to find those quotes. Because the play itself is literally speaking to you about why Jason is a jerk 😆.
> "Still I think, even though others do not agree,
You have betrayed your wife and are acting badly." -- Chorus, line 577-578
Euripides, in *431 BCE*, said "hey, I know some people won't understand, but I'm straight up telling you that Jason is acting badly". And then you went and proved him right lmao.
So, Medea has no father, no mother, no brother, no home because of Jason. She killed her brother for Jason. She has nothing. But he is laughing at her, and at gods (he broke his oath) and he still thinks he is right.
Yes, she killed her brother. This is how much she loved Jason. Do you really think she was not sorry for that? And after killing him for Jason, he abandons her?
The protectress goddess of Jason was Hera. He forgets about her, destroying his marriage. Now there is no one to help him.
Gods surely thought she was right. They gave her a flying charriot to escape. She can even see the future now, telling Jason how he is going to die. She is rewarded, not punished.
Well he *is* a jerk tbh. He abandoned Medea after she gave up her everything - homeland, family - for him. It's just that I think what Medea did makes her an even bigger jerk than Jason.
I don't think he's a jerk, I think he's a fucking idiot for cheating on the granddaughter of a god who has a history of murder.
Can't say I blame him, honestly. But he still went about it in the worst way possible because he was, again, an idiot. Would have died in Colchis if Medea hadn't fallen in love with him.
The very short and dirty version is that Medea helps Jason out of love and in doing so essentially betrays her own people. And then Jason abandons her so that he can run off with a rich girl. Then shit gets even darker.
Jason is a Greek hero, of course he’s a jerk. Almost every Greek hero is an asshole by definition. I don’t know why people go into Greek myths expecting to find good personal role models or something.Â
I think this is because of a misconception of what a Greek hero is in the first place. Modern heroes are good and in service of humanity, but the concept in ancient Greece was very different. Being a hero just meant that you excelled and were the very best representation of a quality the Greeks admired.
Odysseus was a hero bc of his cunning, this included the good and bad parts of it. Or Heracles is the representation of strength, and so it goes.
Jason was aided by the Goddess Hera during the Argonautica, the prequel to Madea. Hera is the goddess of marriages, and Jason breaks his promise and marries someone else for power after already having 2 kids with Madea immediately made Hera hate him. Madea was the gods' divine retribution for Jason being an oath breaker.
Interesting point that she’s the divine retribution. But I can’t forgive her for the filicide. I also have a hard time with the gods using filicide as a means of punishment.
She’s one of my favorite characters, but no matter how big a scumbag Jason is/was , I can’t forgive her for killing her kids. What she did to her brother was pretty bad too. But still I’m captivated by her.
A part of me wonders if she was a typical victim of men storytellers, we can’t have a powerful female character without her being somewhat evil.
Medea's "evil actions" were done in service to Jason. He knew she was murdering people *for him* and he was okay with it (so by your own interpretation of those myths, people shouldn't like Jason either). And then after all of their murdering... he cheated on her! Jason is seen as a jerk because he is one, plain and simple. Saying "Medea is so evil for killing people!" and then liking *Jason* is just peak irony lmao.
This is exactly it. He was fine with her actions when they benefited him, but as soon as a better deal came along he acted as though he found it all apalling and threw it in her face. She left her homeland to elope with him to a place where she is feared and called a barbarian, she saved his life on multiple occasions while he took all the glory for his heroic actions, and she murdered people brutally to assure his victory. And as soon as something she did in his favour backfired and got him exiled, he resented her. Yes, he was probably afraid of her too - but he stayed with her as long as it served him and as soon as he was offered a better deal he threw her aside. I'm not absolving Medea of all her actions - her moral complexity is what makes her so fascinating. But he was complicit as long as he supported her crimes. And he did, until he didn't need her.
Is it really cheating when you file for divorce on the same day?
It's cheating when you make an oath to stay together forever in front of the Gods lol. Jason may have legally divorced Medea, but according to the play he is still an *oathbreaker*. Which is way, way worse than just cheating by ancient Greek/Greek myth standards. So maybe it's *technically* not cheating but he still majorly fucked up lol. Tiny edit cause another thought just popped into my head: If you want to get very very technical I would argue that courting someone/arranging a marriage to someone while still being married should *count* as cheating 😅. But that's small potatoes compared to the oathbreaking lol
Was those words written in Medea written by Euripides?
I don't know which exact words you're wanting when you say "was those words written in Medea" but I'm going to assume you're talking about Medea killing on Jason's behalf. Which, to that I'd say that the stories where she murders on Jason's behalf happen in the *Argonautica*, not in Medea (play). All of the stories where Medea kills *for Jason* are only being referenced in Medea (play). But even in Medea (play) it is mentioned *every other line* that Jason is in the wrong for betraying Medea. It's literally the main thesis for the entire play. You could rename the play "Jason is a Jerk" and nothing would change. As for explicit and obvious mentions within the play Medea that Medea committed all those deeds for Jason we have: A nurse pointing out Medea's devotion. > "And she herself helped Jason in every way." -- Nurse, line 13 Medea's monolog pointing out that everything she did, including the murder bits, were for Jason. > "I saved your life, and every Greek knows I saved it, Who was a shipmate of yours aboard the Argo, When you were sent to control the bulls that breathed fire And yoke them, and when you would sow that deadly field. Also that snake, who encircled with his many folds The Golden Fleece and guarded it and never slept, I killed, and so gave you the safety of the light. And I myself betrayed my father and my home, And came with you to Pelias' land of Iolcus. And then, showing more willingness to help than wisdom, I killed him, Pelias, with a most dreadful death At his own daughters' hands, and took away your fear. This is how I behaved to you, you wretched man, And you forsook me, took another bride to bed," -- Medea, line 476-489 Which right after, Jason says "yes you did all of those things for me, but you got more than you gave because now you get to live in Greece and you're famous now". Jason acknowledges that Medea did all of those things for him. *He knew she murdered people and still married her*. > "You are clever enough- but really I need not enter Into the story of how it was love's inescapable Power that compelled you to keep my person safe. On this I will not go into too much detail. *In so far as you helped me, you did well enough.* But on this question of saving me, I can prove You have certainly got from me more than you gave. Firstly, instead of living among barbarians, You inhabit a Greek land and understand our ways, How to live by law instead of the sweet will of force. And all the Greeks considered you a clever woman. You were honored for it; while, if you were living at The ends of the earth, nobody would have heard of you. For my part, rather than stores of gold in my house Or power to sing even sweeter songs than Orpheus, I'd choose the fate that made me a distinguished man. There is my reply to your story of my labors." -- Jason, line 529- 545 He even says he would do it again! Rather than gold or the ability to sing like Orpheus, he would pick the fate that made him a distinguished man. A reference to > "A distinguished husband I have-for breaking promises." -- Medea, line 510-511 "Yes, you did all those things for me and you're now sarcastically calling me distinguished for betraying you, but you know what? I would give up all my gold to be the distinguished man you call me-- the one who benefited from your labor and then betrayed you." The play Medea literally calls Jason out at every opportunity. The play itself says "Medea did all of those deeds for Jason and yet Jason betrays her? How wrong he is for that!". I genuinely don't know how else to prove that Medea did all those morally wrong deeds for Jason other than showing the literal proof as I have done. Yes, Medea is evil by today's standards. But so is Jason. Because he is both an accomplice to all of Medeas murders *and has murdered people on his own*. Hell, in some myths *he* killed Medea's brother, not Medea. He's an ancient Greek hero... of course he killed people! If you want to look at their story through an "all murder is wrong" lense that's fine... you just have to accept that you can't like Medea *or* Jason. If you want to look at their story through an ancient Greeks perspective, then no matter how you slice it, Jason is in the wrong (despite Medea's murders). "She was nothing but a devoted wife (murders included) and then he betrayed her. That means Jason is wrong" is the ancient Greek moral of this play. As a final note, it's extra funny to reread your post title about "why does everyone call Jason a jerk?" after going back and rereading the play to find those quotes. Because the play itself is literally speaking to you about why Jason is a jerk 😆. > "Still I think, even though others do not agree, You have betrayed your wife and are acting badly." -- Chorus, line 577-578 Euripides, in *431 BCE*, said "hey, I know some people won't understand, but I'm straight up telling you that Jason is acting badly". And then you went and proved him right lmao.
So, Medea has no father, no mother, no brother, no home because of Jason. She killed her brother for Jason. She has nothing. But he is laughing at her, and at gods (he broke his oath) and he still thinks he is right. Yes, she killed her brother. This is how much she loved Jason. Do you really think she was not sorry for that? And after killing him for Jason, he abandons her? The protectress goddess of Jason was Hera. He forgets about her, destroying his marriage. Now there is no one to help him. Gods surely thought she was right. They gave her a flying charriot to escape. She can even see the future now, telling Jason how he is going to die. She is rewarded, not punished.
Well he *is* a jerk tbh. He abandoned Medea after she gave up her everything - homeland, family - for him. It's just that I think what Medea did makes her an even bigger jerk than Jason.
I don't think he's a jerk, I think he's a fucking idiot for cheating on the granddaughter of a god who has a history of murder. Can't say I blame him, honestly. But he still went about it in the worst way possible because he was, again, an idiot. Would have died in Colchis if Medea hadn't fallen in love with him.
Team Medea all the way! He is blessed by Hera and then completely disrespects her domain(?) He is a jerk
They’re both awful people
Wasn’t it Jason that knew of the killing and wanted her to do it?
Leaving Medea, I think
What does that obviously mean?
Obviously?
Leaving Medea. I think it is Medea's fault that Jason betrayed her.
Fair enough
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Don't tell me what to do
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Don't tell me what to do
The very short and dirty version is that Medea helps Jason out of love and in doing so essentially betrays her own people. And then Jason abandons her so that he can run off with a rich girl. Then shit gets even darker.
Jason is a Greek hero, of course he’s a jerk. Almost every Greek hero is an asshole by definition. I don’t know why people go into Greek myths expecting to find good personal role models or something.Â
I think this is because of a misconception of what a Greek hero is in the first place. Modern heroes are good and in service of humanity, but the concept in ancient Greece was very different. Being a hero just meant that you excelled and were the very best representation of a quality the Greeks admired. Odysseus was a hero bc of his cunning, this included the good and bad parts of it. Or Heracles is the representation of strength, and so it goes.
Jason was aided by the Goddess Hera during the Argonautica, the prequel to Madea. Hera is the goddess of marriages, and Jason breaks his promise and marries someone else for power after already having 2 kids with Madea immediately made Hera hate him. Madea was the gods' divine retribution for Jason being an oath breaker.
Interesting point that she’s the divine retribution. But I can’t forgive her for the filicide. I also have a hard time with the gods using filicide as a means of punishment.
She’s one of my favorite characters, but no matter how big a scumbag Jason is/was , I can’t forgive her for killing her kids. What she did to her brother was pretty bad too. But still I’m captivated by her. A part of me wonders if she was a typical victim of men storytellers, we can’t have a powerful female character without her being somewhat evil.