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SENECA'S Medea 'franslated by Elizabeth C. Evans INTRODUCTION THE THBIE of the quest of the Golden Fleece and the Argonautic expedition is popular in both Greek and Latin literature. Pindar's use of it in Greek lyric poetry, that of Apollonius Rhodius in late Greek epic, and of Valerius Flaccus in Roman epic of the first century of our era, are familiar examples in the more majestic forms. In ancient drama it is the Medea story that attracted the interest of Euripides, and of Ennius and Ovid as well as of Seneca. The brilliant success of Robinson Jeffers' version on Broadway, adapted from Euripides' play, with Judith Anderson playing the title role, bespeaks an intense modern interest in the portrayal of the desertion and suffering of the Colchian woman. If the quest of the fleece is a recurrent theme in ancient literature, the story of the Argonautic expedition in search of it is likewise one of the oldest in Greek legend.l It was probably based on some real adventure that may have had its origin in or around Miletus in Asia Minor, which engaged in the Black Sea trade as far east as Colchis. The heroic leader of the expedition was Jason, son of Aeson, who sought to regain from his stepunele, Pelias, the throne rightfully belonging to Aeson. To achieve this end he is sent by Pelias on the almost impossible task of finding the fleece. In tbe voyage be is accompanied by a band of glorious heroes like himself, fifty all told, who pass through a series of breathless adventures in unknown lands until they reach their goal in Colchi•. There Jason is in turn confronted by the demand of the king Aeetes that he perform certain terrible feats before he is permitted to receive the fleece. Medea, daughter of the king, captivated by the marvelous appearance of the leader of the Argonauts, secretly aids him by her power of magic in carrying out the command of the king. Her name, Hthe scheming one," indicates her true nature, and her capacity for wizardry makes her a dread figure in Greek mythology. She is, furthermore, the grand. daughter of Helios (the Sun), and the niece of the enchantress Circe, and thus belongs to a family given to the practice of strange magic. Her overwhelming love for Jason compels her to abandon her home and family and to flee with the Arg&naut. The return to Iolcus in Thessaly is filled with horror, for Medea, determined to divert the Colehians from pursuit, kills her brother, whom she has taken with her as a hostage, and scalters his dismembered body on the sea. At Ioleus she continues to exercise her magic powers: she persuades the daughters of Pelias to boil their father in a vat which :\Icdea pretends contains a drug to restore his youth, so that she and Jason are forced to lice to Corinth, where they live in happiness for some years, and where their two sons are born. Jason, however, in looking for the betterment of his own position, deserts Medea in favor of an advantageous marriage with the daughter of Creon, king of Corinth. It is at this point that Seneca's play, Mcdca, opens. "Our Seneca"-Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 B.C.-A.n. 65) -belongs to that group of Roman literary figures born in Spain. His father was a wealthy merchant at Corduba and a writer himself of considerable importance in the field of rhetoric. He was, furthermore, the father of Gallio, provincial governor of Achaea, whose connections with SI. Paul we know from the Book oi Acts, and of ]lIela, whose son in turn was the epic poet Lucan, author of the Pharsalia and staunch defender of republican ideals in Roman government. In this distinguished family, the Seneca who composed the Medea pursued the usual Roman course of education and "as soon launched on a successful career of Roman public service as well as of writing. His early essays gave promise of the growth in. tellectually and spiritually of a great adherent of the Stoic view of life." During the reign of Claudius he suffered , through complicity in intrigue at court, a period of exile on the island of Corsica that lasted some eight years. It is possible that during this time of banishment he wrote the tragedies which have formed such vital connecting material betwen the work of the Greek tragedians and that of the Elizabethan theater. After he was recalled to Rome...

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