Vocabulary in Medea

Moved swiftly through the air or water, like a bird in flight. Here it describes the ship Argo traveling at great speed across the sea.

The legendary Clashing Rocks at the entrance to the Black Sea, said to crash together and crush ships that tried to pass between them.

Impossible to take back or undo once it has been done. The Nurse fears Medea will commit an act whose consequences can never be reversed.

A passionate expression of grief or sorrow, often spoken or sung aloud. In this play it refers to Medea's cries of anguish heard from inside the house.

Another name for the Symplegades, the mythical moving rocks that smashed together to destroy ships sailing into the Black Sea.

The capacity to reason, form opinions, and make decisions. Medea uses it to argue that women, as thinking beings, are the most unfortunate of all creatures.

To soften or disguise what one really means by choosing polite, gentle language instead of speaking plainly and directly.

So badly damaged or destroyed that it cannot be fixed or made right again. Creon fears Medea will do harm to his daughter that can never be undone.

Lacking courage or inner strength; cowardly and easily defeated. Medea insists she is the opposite of this — someone capable of fierce action.

A person who is passive and confined to the domestic sphere, taking no bold or independent action in the wider world.

Malicious, false, and insulting speech meant to damage someone's reputation. The Chorus celebrates that women will no longer be subjected to such verbal attacks.

Skilled and experienced in the practice of magic, sorcery, or other dark and harmful knowledge. Jason uses it as a backhanded acknowledgment of Medea's power.

The Greek god of love and desire, whose arrows were said to cause people to fall passionately in love, sometimes with destructive consequences.

An overwhelming romantic or sexual desire so powerful that a person cannot resist or control it, often leading to ruin.

Forced removal from one's home city or country, often as a legal punishment, leaving the person without a homeland or community to return to.

A jeweled crown or headband worn as a symbol of royal status. In the play, Medea sends a golden diadem as one of her poisoned gifts to the princess.

Expensive, showy clothing and jewelry worn for display. Here it refers to the poisoned robe and crown Medea sends as gifts to the princess.

In ancient Greek belief, a spiritual contamination or curse that a person carries after committing a terrible act, especially murder, which can spread harm to those around them.

Supernatural beings from the underworld believed to pursue and punish those who commit terrible crimes, especially against their own family.

A small decorative crown, less grand than a full royal crown, worn as an ornament on the head. Medea's poisoned gift to the princess takes this form.

Woven from very thin, delicate threads, producing a light and beautiful fabric. The robe Medea sends is described this way, making its deadly nature all the more horrifying.

Completely destroyed or devoured, as fire burns something entirely away until nothing remains. The poisoned robe burns Glauce's body in this way.

A reflection in a mirror, which has no life of its own but merely copies the person looking into it. Glauce smiles at her own reflection just before the poison takes effect.

Brutally fierce and cruel, beyond what any civilized or even natural creature would do. Jason uses it to condemn Medea's killing of her own children as monstrous.