Are you familiar with the story of Medea?

She's a character from the world of ancient Greek mythology

who's most closely associated with the tale of Jason and the Argonauts.

Medea was a woman with a knowledge of magic from the Black Sea region of Colchus.

She was instrumental in helping Jason secure the long sought-after golden fleece.

However, Medea's story ends in tragedy.

After falling in love with Jason, she bore him two children and returned with him to the city of Corinth.

But soon, the former Argonaut decided that the foreign-born mother of his children was not the most politically advantageous partner.

If he was to marry the comely daughter of the local king Creon, that would be the making

of a mighty dynasty. So he made the fateful decision to set aside Medea and marry a princess.

This was a huge mistake.

In her grief and rage, Medea killed both of her children to punish Jason for his fickle ways.

Then in some versions of the story, Medea makes her escape from Corinth in a flying chariot

pulled by dragons.

And this, my friends, is why I love Greek mythology.

The Medea story truly contains multitudes.

It's a rumination on gender dynamics, murderous rage, and feminine power,

while also being a wild-ass tale where a previously unintroduced dragon chariot can just appear.

But even that very brief summary of Medea that I just laid out for you is an amalgamation of a number of different traditions.

The earliest version of Medea's story is preserved in the work of the archaic Greek poet Hesiod.

But many of the best-known details about her myth have come down to us from the play, Medea,

by the beloved Athenian playwright Euripides.

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