Editing Medea (section)

{{Short description|Daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis in Greek mythology}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{about|the Greek mythological figure|the play by Euripides|Medea (play){{!}}''Medea'' (play)|other uses|Medea (disambiguation)}}
{{For|the 21st-century comedy film character created by Tyler Perry|Madea}}{{Refimprove|date=May 2025}}{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Medea
| image = Medea, con los hijos muertos, huye de Corinto en un carro tirado por dragones (Museo del Prado).jpg
| alt = 
| caption = [[Germán Hernández Amores]]' painting of Medea in [[Helios]]' golden chariot, fleeing with the corpses of her children to the sacred forest of [[Hera]] in Athens.
| god_of = Princess and sorceress of [[Colchis]]
| abode = 
| symbol = 
| consort = [[Jason]], [[Aegeus]], [[Achilles]] (in the [[Elysium|Elysian Fields]])
| parents = [[Aeëtes]] and [[Idyia]]
| siblings = [[Absyrtus]], [[Chalciope]]
| children = Vary according to tradition (names include [[Alcimenes]], [[Thessalus]], [[Tisander]], [[Mermeros and Pheres|Mermeros]], [[Mermeros and Pheres|Pheres]], [[Eriopis]], [[Medus]])
| mount = 
| Roman_equivalent = 
}}
In [[Greek mythology]], '''Medea''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ᵻ|ˈ|d|iː|ə}}; {{langx|grc|Μήδεια|translit=Mḗdeia}}; {{lit|planner, schemer}})<ref>{{Cite book |last=Room |first=Adrian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hl1fkMszwZgC&q=Medea |title=Who's who in Classical Mythology |date=2003 |publisher=Gramercy Books |isbn=978-0-517-22256-0 |language=en}}</ref> is the daughter of [[Aeëtes|King Aeëtes]] of [[Colchis]]. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "[[wiktionary:φαρμακεία|pharmakeía]]" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high-priestess of the goddess, [[Hecate]]. She is a mythical granddaughter of the sun god [[Helios]] and a niece of [[Circe]], an enchantress goddess. Her mother may have been [[Idyia]].<ref>[[Apollonius Rhodius]], ''[[Argonautica]]'' [https://archive.org/stream/argonautica00apoluoft#page/210/mode/2up 3.241–244], [https://archive.org/stream/argonautica00apoluoft#page/212/mode/2up 269]</ref>

She first appears in [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' around 700 BC,<ref>[[Hesiod]] ''Theogony'' 993–1002</ref> but is best known from [[Euripides]]'s 5th-century BC tragedy ''[[Medea (play)|Medea]]'' and [[Apollonius of Rhodes]]'s 3rd-century BC epic ''[[Argonautica]]''. In the myth of the [[Argonauts]], she aids [[Jason]] in his search for the [[Golden Fleece]]. Medea later marries him, but eventually kills their children and his other bride according to some versions of her story. 

In the ''Argonautica'', Medea plays the archetypal role of helper-maiden, aiding Jason in his search for the Golden Fleece, using her magic to save his life and kills her brother to allow Jason to escape. Once he finishes his quest, she abandons her native home of Colchis and flees westwards with Jason, where they eventually settle in [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]] and marry. 

''Medea'' depicts the ending of her union with Jason, when after ten years of marriage, Jason intends to abandon her to wed King [[Creon of Corinth|Creon]]'s daughter [[Creusa of Corinth|Creusa]]. Medea is exiled from Corinth by Creon, and is offered refuge in [[Classical Athens|Athens]] by King [[Aegeus]] after she offers to help him get an heir with her magic. In revenge against Jason, Medea murders her own sons and Jason's new bride with a poisoned crown and robes, so that Jason will be without heir and legacy for the rest of his life. 

What happens afterwards varies according to several accounts. [[Herodotus]] in his ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'' mentions that she ended up leaving Athens and settling in the [[Iranian plateau]] among the [[Aryans]], who subsequently changed their name to the [[Medes]].<ref name="ReferenceA">[[Herodotus]] ''Histories'' VII.62i</ref>