Precision, Cleverness and Allies Are Key to Success
What is being strategic? What is being a tactician? Is everyone capable of these skills or is it just a few who are? Who has these skills and/or qualities? Is it just for heroes in society or can others have these traits? Medea, a barbarian in the city of Corinth, is a character from the play “Medea and Other Plays” written by Euripides, is a decisive planner, who knows how to manage her cleverness in her surroundings, and how to build allies to get out of a sticky situation; thus, she should be apart of the “Strategist Club,” which consist of honorable Greeks and non-Greeks in society, because she consists of the qualities which make a strategist.
Control is key to obtain one’s end goal. Every strategist needs to have some sense of control or management in his/her cleverness to make sure his/her plans are executed in a precise manner. Medea is able to control others with her cleverness, in her surroundings to maneuver her plan. She knows peoples weaknesses and plays on that. For example, in regards to Creon, the king of Corinth, he does not want to become a tyrant. Thus, when he’s kicking Medea out of the city, she convinces him to let her stay one more day there for the sake of her children. Creon accepts her pleads, because he is “no tyrant.” That was Creon’s weakness and Medea decided to pursue it to get what she wants, to kill the princess and to make her husband, Jason, suffer. Medea accomplishes such an action, in a matter of a day. Medea has the trait of cleverness and control, which strategist must endure to be effective.
People, who aren’t precise about their life’s desires, are like rocks traveling down a rushing river. Their lives’ aren’t easy flowing, like those wh...
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...eople in Greek and Non-Greek society. Why is Odysseus admirable? Odysseus is admirable because of his strategic-ness. He maintains control and manages his cleverness in any situation, he is precise in organizing plans and he develops allies amongst people. Medea consists of the same traits. If Medea did not have these strategic skills, she wouldn’t have been able to make Jason, her husband, suffer by murdering his loved ones and get away with it. If the “Strategist Club” only consists of strategic people, Medea should be allowed to join because she clearly exemplifies the qualities and traits of a strategist. If one isn’t allowed into a club that only contains strategists and he/she clearly shows these traits, when acting parallel to one of Greek’s most infamous tacticians, then who is allowed to join? What are the traits of a strategist? Do strategists even exist?
While some people may believe that Medea crossed the line when she had killed four people, including her children, in order to get revenge, others view this killing as justifiable because it was the only way to truly hurt Jason. Yet, because of how emotional Medea was and where she came from, readers believe her to be demented and barbaric. However, readers will have to take into factor the actions that Medea took before this story took place and is told throughout the story in Medea’s own confession, “Love for you was greater than my wisdom. Then I killed Pelias in the most agonizing way, at the hands of his own daughters, and demolished his household, all of it. Now, after I’ve done all this to help you, you brute, you betray me and help
She gave the children the dress she made and the diadem, submerged with poison and instructed her to give these gifts to the princess under the false impression that she wants to please her so she may convince her father to allow the children to stay in Corinth. After the death of the king and the princess, Medea kills her two children. The only time the children have spoken and they plead to live. There is no future for the children, to escape their mother’s wrath and anger and her drive to hurt and destroy everything and everyone that Jason loves and cares about. Medea contributes to the work as a whole because we see her side of the story and understand the motives behind her action and the consequences as the result of her madness. Medea is the rising action and the climax of the play. We also see Jason side of the story from his conversations with Medea and his explanation was awful. He is the reason for the conflict and issues for Medea but Jason does not take care of the problems he created nor does he take the responsibility for the consequences of his actions. He married a sorceress and not a normal Greek
Imagine a general of immense wealth, integrity, and great perverseness. This description fits a certain person well: Pericles. Pericles was a brave man, and he did things to the best of his abilities. He was born a wealthy child, and of course used this to his advantage. He honestly thought that he could have a big impact on the city of Athens and maybe even the entire world. He have thought this way because, “His father Xanthippus had himself been a military commander for Athens at the battle of Mycale in 479 B.C. Pericles name in Greek means 'Surrounded by Glory' and as is evident that was certainly to come true for Pericles was he became an influential statesman for Athens during The Peloponnesian War until his death in 429B.C.” (Rodney) From this, people assume that Pericles was a commander at heart and a fantastic man in general. Pericles was a great man because he was a risk-taker, a leader, and possessed extreme intelligence in battle. These are all incredible attributes to being an marvelous person and Pericles definitely fit all of them, making him a prodigious general to have in a city.
J. Boone Bartholomees, Jr. gives us the definition of strategic art, stating “it is the skillful formulation, coordination, and application of ends (objectives), ways (courses of action) and means (supporting resources) to promote and defend the national interests.”1 During the Peloponnesian War we see Sparta and Athens following and discarding the first words of the definition with sometimes skillful formulation of strategy, and at times anything but skillful strategy - completely ill-informed, unimaginative, and incomplete. We also see how well each city-state adapts to strategic realities through the first phase of the war. There are lessons in Thucydides history of the Peloponnesian War for strategists today on how a country develops a
In Medea, the ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, the main character Medea is shown as a double personality character in this tragedy. Upon reading Medea, one finds that Medea has many untraditional characteristics for a woman. Medea started her marriage as the perfect loving wife who gave and sacrificed so much for her husband. After Medea’s husband betrays her by marrying another woman, Medea accumulate so much hatred against Jason and every one involved with him. Half-way into the reading Medea becomes a villainous murderer that demands respect and sympathy even after all she has done. By the end of the play, Medea has killed every one that has crossed her
Medea’s trial begins in Corinth as she stands in front of the civilians who plan to testify against her due to the royal deaths. The citizens plead Medea culpable of slaughtering her children and sending poisoned gifts to the royals. The nurse testifies against Medea portraying her as a dreadful person before the court stating Medea “hates her children” (l.43). Moreover, the nurse describes Medea as a “terror” which reflects that “there’s no way to be her enemy and come out as a victor” (ll.50-51). The judge considers that the nurse recalls Medea’s words “I’ve suffered so much” and “O children, accursed, may you die” which reflects Medea’s intention to get revenge on Jason by killing their children (ll.118-119). In the meantime, Medea defends herself by stating that she killed in order to protect her children against the royal family. Medea’s lawyer states she was not mentally stable ever since her husband’s betrayal. However, the audience notices that Medea plans the pros and cons of her violent actions towards the King and princess carefully that way she does not
In both Antigone and Medea, three leading characters—Creon of Thebes, Medea, and Jason—hold dominant authority in their own way. Jason, married to Megareus—daughter of another King Creon, receives a small recognition of power because of this marriage. He “is lying on a royal wedding bed.” (Medea 24). However, Creon of Thebes holds greater power as king. Born in Colchis, a “country of barbarians,” Medea’s power in no way compares to the power in a reigning, royal sense of King Creon (Medea 637). Her power lies in her wicked actions of selfishly doing whatever she wants, deceivingly poisoning Megareus and Creon, and angrily murdering her own children. Creon, newly reigning king of Thebes, immediately demonstrates his position of authority in his address to the people of his country. His opening speech to the people sets the tone for Creon’s character—powerful, pleasing to his people, and full of confidence. These qualities are...
At the very least, she is able to make most people feel sorry for her right away, and recognize her as a pitiful character. Another thing that proves that Medea has a strange way of thinking is how she rationalizes the murder of Jason’s new wife. Most people, regardless of where they live, feel that murder is wrong. Maybe evoke revenge in the way of ruining a reputation or something along those lines, but never kill. In Medea’s mind, there was nothing else she could do at this point to make Jason suffer like she had suffered.
Euripides shows his views on female power through Medea. As a writer of the marginalized in society, Medea is the prime example of minorities of the age. She is a single mother, with 2 illegitimate children, in a foreign place. Despite all these disadvantages, Medea is the cleverest character in the story. Medea is a warning to the consequences that follow when society underestimates the
Euripedes tugs and pulls at our emotions from every angle throughout The Medea. He compels us to feel sympathy for the characters abused by Medea, yet still feel sympathy for Medea as well. These conflicting feelings build a sense of confusion and anxiety about the unfolding plot. In the beginning, the Nurse reveals the recent background events that have caused Medea so much torment: "She herself helped Jason in every way" (13) and now he "has taken a royal wife to his bed" (18). Right away we are angry with Jason for breaking his wedding vows, and we are building up sympathy for Medea as the Nurse describes her acts of suffering. When we first see Medea, she speaks passionately to the women of Corinth and convinces them to side with her. She evokes their sympathy by drawing further attention to her suffering and speaking in terms that bring them all to common ground. Aegeus becomes Medea’s first victim when he, unknowingly, provides the final building block in her plan for revenge against Jason. We sympathize for Aegeus in his ignorance. Medea now has confidence in her plan, so she reveals it to the women of Corinth. She is going to send her children to Jason’s bride with a poisoned dress that will make her die in agony. We are still compelled to sympathize with Medea at this point because she has justified her reasons for seeking revenge. However, the princess is oblivious to Medea’s plot; she will accept the gift for its beauty then meet an unexpected, agonized death. The image of pain and agony elicits our sympathy as well. Medea presents her most perverse speech when she explains how she will kill her own children then flee Corinth. Alone, these acts provoke pure disgust, but Euripides has developed Medea’s character as a coercive force; we still sympathize with her for her plight, yet we also hate her for her decisions. The women of Corinth try to persuade her away from this morbid choice, but their arguments are ineffective. Euripides employs stichomythia in the exchange between the women and Medea to show Medea breaking down boundaries between self and other, which prevent sympathy (811-819). Euripedes focuses on suffering, ignorance, and rhetoric to leave us torn in our sympathy for every character.
Aside from providing a time frame that initiates a sense of urgency to the play (Medea only has a day to complete her plans), the exchange between Creon and Medea introduces the theme of her cleverness.
Odysseus has shown the qualities of a hero in The Odyssey. Odysseus can be described in many words, and among those is confident. Odysseus was able to overcome the wildest of challenges that the army faced and overcame adversity through perseverance and a strong will to keep fighting along with the gift of strength and intelligence in war. Odysseus was able to fight of creatures such as the Cyclopes and spend long days and nights out on sea for months and maybe years at a time while Poseidon was angry with Odysseus and sent the dangerous of waters to Odysseus. And when Odysseus finally returns home he unleashes his fury on the suitors that tried to replace the throne of Ithaca with one of their own and take all of the belongings which Odysseus had owned. Odysseus the strategist is what Odysseus is called and so he absolutely is a mastermind at strategy. After all, he did come up with the idea of the Trojan Horse, perhaps one of the greatest war stories ever told.
Medea has been exiled for three times: from her home country near the Black Sea, from Jason's homeland Iolchos, and now from the city of Corinth. We would naturally think that a woman like Medea, being exiled for many times, is the most vulnerable and most powerless woman. She has got no friend and no citizenship. At the time of Euripides, being an exile is not an interesting position that a person wants to be in. It is like a suicide. Most people at that time in Greece view strangers as barbarians with no intelligence at all. In addition, Medea is going to be an exile with two children. She is supposed to be in lots of trouble. On the other hand, Jason has won the princess of Corinth's love. He is going to be Creon's son-in-law. Jason abandon's Medea after all she has done for him. Jason doesn't fear Medea at all because he has support from Creon, king of Corinth. Jason is supposed to be more powerful than Medea. Jason is the son-in-law of the king and Medea is an exile. But, as Euripides suggests, what the audience expects doesn't come true at all.
...built with brute strength the Greek civilization shows us that being able to rationalize problems is often a better solution than using just brute strength. In Homer’s The Odyssey there are several examples of the characters proving that cunningness is often a better choice that strength alone. Odysseus freed him and his men from the barbarous Polyphemus by using his cunning mind to devise a plan. He was able to realize that his strength lone could save him from this terrible creature. Also his cunning to use beeswax and tie himself to there ship rather than jeopardizing his crew to the seductive voices of the Sirens. Odysseus’ wife Penelope cunning ability while deceiving the suitors by making them thing she is creating something that she really isn’t. The ability to use cunning over strength is still evident in society centuries after the Greek civilization.
Medea’s illegitimate marriage and the betrayal of Jason drive Medea to extreme revenge. Medea chooses to act with her immortal self and commit inhumane acts of murder rather than rationalize the outcomes of her actions. Medea see’s this option as her only resort as she has been banished and has nowhere to go, “stripped of her place”. To create sympathy for Medea, Euripides plays down Medea’s supernatural powers until the end of the play. Throughout the play Medea represents all characteristics found in individual women put together, including; love, passion, betrayal and revenge. Medea’s portrayal of human flaws creates empathetic emotions from the audience. The audience commiserates with Medea’s human flaws as they recognize them in themselves. Medea plays the major role in this play as she demonstrates many behavioral and psychological patterns unlike any of the other Greek women in the play; this draws the audience’s attention to Medea for sympathy and respect.