The Female Alexander

"Let no one think me weak, contemptible, untroublesome. No, quite the opposite, hurtful to foes, to friends unkindly. Such persons live a life of greatest glory."
-Medea

While reading the excerpt from Medea again, I stumbled across this quote that Medea speaks in justification of her actions. I thought it related nicely to my last post about Alexander the Great's method of achieving "greatness", following the principle outlined by Medea above. Obviously the two share the idea that the greatest glory can only be achieved through actions that will frighten and deter others.
It is interesting to compare how this mindset affected both Alexander and Medea. Alexander, through bloody conquests, achieved the title of "Great" and lives on in history books as a legend. Medea, on the otherhand, is deemed a "wretched woman", living on in literature as a villainess. The reason for the discrepancy is simple: Alexander was a man, and Medea was a woman. For Medea, there was no glory to be won in war, no way to avenge Jason's betrayal. Therefore, she had to make do with manipulating her own situation to carry out her vengeance. This transition from woman's world to man's world was ineffective, proving that Medea was still pinned to society's views of the duties of women, duties that came with much more restrictions and judgement than those of men.

Medea: The Classic Greek Woman

"I shall kill my children...When i have confounded the whole house of Jason, I shall flee the land..."
~Medea

I find the entire idea of Medea's plan to be incredibly stereotypical to the point of sexism.This woman's entire life revolved around her husband Jason. She is willing to kill her own children, and ruin her life just to ruin the house of Jason, or in other words to get back at her husband. Revenge is one thing, but ruining your life merely because your husband has left you is a ridiculous idea. Even though, in a way, the story of Medea does break stereotypes (having her go off by herself, and plot to ruin her husband), it cements the idea that a woman has no life without a man to love and take care of.