Medea

Mēdēa, ae (arch. gen. Medeaï, Enn. ap. Cic. Tusc. 3, 26, 63; v. Enn. p. 127, v. 292 Vahl.; nom. Mēdē, acc. to id. p. 130, v. 311 Vahl.), and Mēdīa, f.,

• = Μήδεια, a celebrated sorceress, daughter of Aeetes, king of Colchis. She assisted her lover, Jason the Argonaut, in obtaining the golden fleece, accompanied him to Greece, and prevented her father, who was in pursuit, from overtaking them, by strewing the sea with her brother's limbs. When Jason afterwards repudiated her, in order to marry Creusa, she killed the children she had had by him, and burned the bride to death in her palace: item ut Medea Peliam concoxit senem, Plaut. Ps. 3, 2, 52 (841); Ov. M. 7, 9 sqq.; Hyg. Fab. 21, 22, 25: ne pueros coram populo Medea trucidet, Hor. A. P. 185.—The subject of tragedies by several authors, v. Quint. 10, 1, 98.—
• • B Transf.
  • • 1 Medea Palatina, i. e. Clodia, Cic. Cael. 8, 18.—
    • 2 Medea nigra, a precious stone, so named after Medea, Plin. 37, 10, 63, § 173.—Hence,
• II Mēdēis, ĭdis, f. adj., Medean, magical (poet.): Medeides herbae, Ov. A. A. 2, 101.

Mēdēa, ae, f. (Μήδεια), I) Tochter des Königs Äetes in Kolchis, eine Zauberin, die dem Argonauten Jason, ihrem Geliebten, zum goldenen Vlies verhalf und mit ihm entfloh, wobei sie ihren Bruder Absyrtus mitnahm, den sie aber unterwegs, als sie ihr Vater verfolgte, tötete u. in Stücke zerschnitten ins Meer warf. Während Äetes diese Stücke sammelte, entkamen Medea u. Jason nach Jolkos, wo sie sich heirateten. Später verstieß Jason Medea, um Krëusa od. Glauke, die Tochter Kreons, des Königs von Korinth, zu heiraten, Cic. de imp. Pomp. 22. Ov. met. 7, 9 sqq.: Nbf. Medīa fabulosa, Plin. 37, 173. – übtr., Medea Palatina, d.i. Klodia, Cic. Cael. 18. – Häufig als Stoff zu Tragödien benutzt, bei den Griechen von Euripides, bei den Römern von Ennius u. Seneka, auch von Ovid, Quint. 10, 1, 98. – II) (Nbf. Medīa) ein schwarzer, uns unbekannter Edelstein, Plin. 37, 173.

Mēdēa, (11) æ, f. (Μήδεια), ¶ 1 Médée [fille dʼÉétés, fameuse magicienne] : Cic. Cæl. 18 ; Hor. P. 185 ; Ov. M. 7, 9 || [titre de tragédie] Quint. 10, 1, 98 ¶ 2 sorte de pierre précieuse : Plin. 37, 173.

➳ Media Plin. 37, 173.

medea, ae. f.
巫女之名。寳石名。

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Medēa

(Μήδεια). The daughter of Aeëtes, king of Colchis, by the Oceanid Idyia, or, according to others, by Hecaté, the daughter of Perses. She was celebrated for her skill in magic. The principal parts of her story are given under Absyrtus, Argonautae, and Iason. It is sufficient to state here that, when Iason came to Colchis to seek the Golden Fleece, she fell in love with the hero, assisted him in accomplishing the object for which he had visited Colchis, and afterwards fled with him as his wife to Greece; that, having been deserted by Iason for the youthful daughter of Creon, king of Corinth, she took fearful vengeance upon her faithless husband by murdering the two children whom she had borne to him and by destroying his young wife by a poisoned garment; and that she then fled to Athens in a chariot drawn by winged dragons. So far her story has been related elsewhere. (See Iason.) At Athens she is said to have married King Aegeus, or to have been beloved by Sisyphus. Zeus himself is said to have sued for her, but in vain, because Medea dreaded the anger of Heré; and the latter rewarded her by promising immortality to her children. Her children are, according to some accounts, Mermerus, Pheres, or Thessalus, Alcimenes, and Tisander; according to others, she had seven sons and seven daughters, while others mention only two children, Medus (some call him Polyxenus) and Eriopis, or one son Argus. Respecting her flight from Corinth, there are different traditions. Some say, as stated above, that she fled to Athens and married Aegeus; but when it was discovered that she had laid snares for Theseus, she escaped and went to Asia, the inhabitants of which were called after her Medes (Μῆδοι). Others relate that she first fled from Corinth to Heracles at Thebes, who had promised her his assistance while yet in Colchis, in case of Iason being unfaithful to her. She cured Heracles, who was seized with madness; and as he could not afford her the assistance he had promised, she went to Athens. She is said to have given birth to her son Medus after her arrival in Asia, where she had married a king; whereas others state that her son Medus accompanied her from Athens to Colchis, where her son slew Perses, and restored her father Aeëtes to his kingdom. The restoration of Aeëtes, however, is attributed by some to Iason, who accompanied Medea to Colchis. At length Medea is said to have become immortal, to have been honoured with divine worship, and to have married Achilles in Elysium. The story of Medea is the subject of plays by Euripides (q.v.) and Seneca (q.v.).

Medea Medea, daughter of Aeetes

• Apollod. 1.9.23
• a curse to Pelias: Apollod. 1.9.16
• a witch: Apollod. 1.9.23; Paus. 2.3.6
• her spells chanted by priests: Paus. 2.12.1
• loves Jason and gives him a magic drug: Apollod. 1.9.23
• procures for him the Golden Fleece: Apollod. 1.9.23
• flies with him and murders her brother Apsyrtus: Apollod. 1.9.23
• her surrender demanded of Alcinous: Apollod. 1.9.25
• married to Jason: Apollod. 1.9.25; Paus. 5.18.3
• beguiles Talos to his death: Apollod. 1.9.26
• beguiles the daughters of Pelias into murdering their father: Apollod. 1.9.26; Paus. 8.11.2ff.
• goes to Corinth: Apollod. 1.9.27
• governs Corinth: Paus. 2.3.11
• hides her children in sanctuary of Hera: Paus. 2.3.11
• is divorced by Jason: Apollod. 1.9.27
• burns Glauce, murders her own children, and flees to Athens: Apollod. 1.9.27
• her children stoned by Corinthians: Paus. 2.3.6
• Corinthian children formerly polled their hair and wore black in honour of Medea's children: Paus. 2.3.7
• tomb of Medea's children: Paus. 2.4.1
• married to Aegeus: Apollod. 1.9.28, Apollod. 2.1.3; Paus. 2.3.8
• plots against Theseus and is expelled by Aegeus: Apollod. 1.9.28, Apollod. 2.1.3, Apollod. 2.1.3
• returns to Colchis and restores the kingdom to her father: Apollod. 1.9.28
• consorts with Achilles in the Isles of the Blest: Apollod. E.5.5
• her abduction by Iason: Hdt. 1.2
• Media called after her: Hdt. 7.62