The lore in this case can refer to the Medea’s knowledge of potions, herbs, and magic.

Evil is a term used many times throughout the play to describe Medea.

In the 1906 translation of the play, Creon described Medea as “full of lore in unknown ways of evil” (Euripides, 1906, p.17.21-22). In Euripides’ Medea, Medea is described throughout the play very negatively, both by men and by herself. For Medusa I will also be using Polygnotos’ terracotta pelike (45.11.1) and the terracotta painted gorgoneion antefix (39.11.9), artist unknown. I will be specifically using Poliocorco’s The Flight of Medea 1991.1 krater as a primary source of art for Medea. I will also be incorporating primary sources of art. In addition, I will also be using Euripides’ Medea, one translation from 1906 and one from 2013. For the sake of looking at how language depicting women has changed, I will be using two different translations, one from 1922 and one from 1998 for Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Therefore, because they refused to conform to the patriarchal society they existed in, they were villainized. Both of these women were powerful forces of nature and this directly violated how society thought they should behave. Medusa suffered because a man felt entitled to her body, and after her transformation she became hunted and classified as a monster simply for defending herself. In comparison, Medusa becomes a literal monster after being cursed by Athena, her transformation occurs because she was raped and violated by a God. Medea became a villain after betraying Jason and killing their children but like Medusa, her villainization has more to do with her being a powerful woman in a patriarchal society. Their actions however, strayed from the expectations society had of them, and as a result they were villainized. Medea and Medusa, prior to their villainization, were described as great beauties. Women who strayed from the standard in ancient Greece were often depicted as monsters and villains in both art and literature.

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