Medea
A powerful sorceress and princess of Colchis who betrayed her family to help Jason win the Golden Fleece, only to be abandoned by him and take catastrophic revenge.
The Legend of Medea
Princess of Colchis and granddaughter of Helios, Medea was a powerful sorceress whom Aphrodite caused to fall in love with Jason when he arrived seeking the Golden Fleece. She charmed the fire-breathing bulls, drugged the dragon guardian, and murdered her own brother to aid Jason's escape. In Corinth, she rejuvenated Jason's father Aeson through sorcery. When Jason abandoned her for a Corinthian princess, Medea killed her rival, slaughtered her own children, and fled to Athens in a chariot of Helios. She later married Aegeus — Theseus's father. Hera had orchestrated the entire affair to punish Pelias.
Parents
Aeetes and Idyia
Children
Medus (by Aegeus)
Symbols
Fun Fact
Euripides' play Medea (431 BCE) was controversial even in its time — audiences were shocked that a mother would be portrayed killing her own children.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Medea
🗡 heroSorceress princess of Colchis
Medea was a granddaughter of Helios and priestess of Hecate whose sorcery saved Jason — and whose revenge destroyed him.
Aeetes
🗡 herosorcery
King of Colchis, son of Helios, father of Medea, and guardian of the Golden Fleece who set impossible tasks for Jason.
Anaxibia
🗡 heroMarriage, royalty
Mycenaean princess who married Strophius of Phocis and raised the young Orestes in secret
Electra
🗡 heroAvenger of Agamemnon
Daughter of Agamemnon who plotted with her brother Orestes to avenge their father's murder by killing their mother Clytemnestra.
Jason
🗡 heroLeader of the Argonauts, seeker of the Golden Fleece
The hero who assembled the Argonauts and sailed to Colchis in quest of the Golden Fleece. Jason's story is one of ambition, adventure, and tragic betrayal.
Jason
🗡 heroLeader of the Argonauts
The hero who assembled the Argonauts and sailed to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece, aided by Medea's sorcery.
Aerope
🗡 heroAdultery, royalty
Queen of Mycenae whose adultery with Thyestes caused the devastating curse upon the House of Atreus
Phaedra
🗡 heroQueen consumed by forbidden love
Phaedra was the wife of Theseus who was cursed by Aphrodite to fall hopelessly in love with her stepson Hippolytus — her suicide and false accusation destroyed him.
Anchises
🗡 heroLove, royalty, Troy
Trojan prince beloved by Aphrodite and father of Aeneas, the legendary founder of Rome
Arsinoe
🗡 heroNursing, protection
Nurse or foster-mother of Orestes who saved the prince from Clytemnestra's murderous designs
Psyche
🗡 heroMortal whose love conquered a god
Psyche was a princess so beautiful that Aphrodite was jealous — she married Eros in darkness and lost him when she looked, then won him back through impossible labours.
Aeson
🗡 heroFather of Jason, rejuvenated by Medea
Aeson was Jason's aged father whom Medea rejuvenated through sorcery — cutting his throat, draining his blood, and filling him with a magical potion.