Medea: Maligned Sorceress or Heartless Murderer?
The Ancients
History Hit
4.7 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 11 January 2026
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
She helped Jason win the Golden Fleece, betrayed her own family, and became one of the most feared figures in Greek myth. Medea’s name has echoed through the ancient world for over two millennia, a byword for passion and revenge but was she really a villain?
In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by acclaimed classicist and bestselling author Natalie Haynes to unravel the full story of Medea. From her origins in distant Colchis on the edge of the Greek imagination to her unforgettable portrayal in Euripides’ tragedy, they explore how the ancient Greeks understood Medea, why her vengeance shocked audiences, and whether she was ever truly the villain of her own story?
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Jason and the Argonauts
Medusa
Watch this episode on our NEW YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcast
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Ever wondered why the Romans were defeated in the Tudorburg forest? |
| 0:04.0 | What secrets lie buried in prehistoric Ireland? |
| 0:07.0 | Or what made Alexander truly great? |
| 0:10.0 | With a subscription to history hit, you can explore our ancient past alongside the world's leading historians and archaeologists. |
| 0:17.0 | You'll also unlock hundreds of hours of original documentaries with a brand new release every single week |
| 0:22.5 | covering everything from the ancient world to World War II. |
| 0:26.5 | Just visit historyhit.com slash subscribe. Medea. She is one of the most recognizable names from Greek mythology and tragedy, |
| 0:51.7 | a princess of Colchis, a faraway kingdom at the eastern end of the Black Sea. |
| 0:58.1 | It was Medea who helped the hero Jason in his quest for the golden fleece. |
| 1:04.0 | She would abandon her family for Jason, sailing away with him aboard the Argo, |
| 1:09.2 | later on becoming his wife and fathering his children. |
| 1:13.6 | It's Medea's later story that is central to one of the most popular surviving tragedies |
| 1:18.6 | from the ancient Greek world. Euripides is Medea, a story of betrayal and horrific vengeance. |
| 1:28.0 | So what is Medea's tragic story? |
| 1:31.0 | What did ancient Greeks think of her? |
| 1:32.8 | What do they think of Euripides' play? |
| 1:35.7 | And was Medea, despite everything that happens, still quite a good match for Jason? |
| 1:41.9 | This is the story of Medea, the archetypal femme fatal. Our guest is the acclaimed |
| 1:49.6 | classicist and best-selling author Natalie Haynes, whose newest book, No Friend to This House, |
| 1:56.3 | is all about Medea. |
| 2:04.3 | Natalie, it is such a pleasure to have you back on the podcast today. |
| 2:06.2 | Thank you. It's lovely to be back. |
... |
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