Books of Titans
Books of Titans Podcast
Medea by Euripides Podcast
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Medea by Euripides Podcast

Episode 224: You Can't Kill Someone
Medea on her golden chariot, by Germán Hernández Amores

Medea kicks off right at the end of Jason and the Golden Fleece by Apollonius of Rhodes. Medea has just assisted Jason in subduing the dragon so that he can take the Golden Fleece. As thanks, Jason promises to marry Medea but then takes a second wife (the King’s daughter) to try to smooth things over in their new home.

Unsurprisingly, Medea doesn’t take kindly to being scorned and she plots her revenge. But this isn’t Clytemnestra type revenge of killing the perpetrator. This is much darker. Her revenge will take away all things dear to Jason while leaving him to live in the aftermath. It’s next step cruelty.

Medea kills wife #2, the king, and then stabs her two sons (shown above in a chariot pulled by dragons (or snakes depending on the translation). Medea tells Jason “your sons are dead.” He responds:

“Dead? No! They live to haunt your life with vengeance”

It’s a powerful line. And it begs the question—can you kill someone? Physically, yes. But what about mentally, morally, spiritually? It’s a question Dostoevsky explores in Crime and Punishment. Raskolnikov knows he can physically kill someone and get legally get away with it due to his superior intelligence. But the question is whether or not he can get away with it on another level. Can he look at himself in the mirror at night? Will he have Furies chasing after him? Paranoia? Depression? Mental degradation?

Can you truly kill someone?

Discussion about this podcast

Books of Titans
Books of Titans Podcast
Welcome to the Books of Titans Podcast where I (Erik Rostad) seek truth in the world’s great books. My goal is to read 200 of The Great Books over the next 10 years and share what I’m learning. I’ll talk a bit about each book, tie ideas together from a variety of genres, and share the one thing I always hope to remember from each of the Great Books.
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Erik Rostad