Medea and Eros    Clas. 4110 Wed. Oct. 21

1.1 The Golden Fleece myth (background): the stepmother of Helle and Phrixus wanted to sacrifice them to Zeus. The two escaped on a golden ram, a gift of Hermes. Helle fell off (into the Hellespont, named for her) and Phrixus reached Colchis, where he married Aeetes' daughter Chalciope and gave the fleece to Aeetes. Chalciope and Medea are sisters in the Argonautica.

2.1 Medea as a girl. Developing an obscure part of the Medea myth, making the mythical 'human'. Combination: young girl and witch. Some incongruities.
2.2 Homeric allusions: Medea as Nausicaa: daughter of a king (cf. description of Aeetes' palace pp. 115-16 and Alcinous', in Od. 7); the dream; trip out of the city, with maids; Artemis simile (p. 131); encounter with the stranger. Discrepancies between Medea and Nausicaa, and their respective attendants.
2.3 Martial language of an erotic encounter. Jason as Sirius, the Dog Star (simile, p. 134, cf. Iliad 22.25-32).

3.1 Medea's passion. Extremely physical (p. 135), in the traditions of Greek lyric poetry (e.g. Sappho 31), not epic.
3.2 Eros in Apollonius. Opening invocation of book III (Erato, muse of love poetry). Divine intrigue scene (Apollonius includes 'one' of each type scene in Homer). Carryovers from Homer (Hera/Athena-Aphrodite quarrel, the traditionally problematic Aphrodite-Hephaistos marriage).
3.3 Further 'anthropomorphism' (trivializing?): Aphrodite as frustrated parent. Threatened by her son (with precedent, in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite). Eros as spoiled child. Description of Eros. His modus operandi. Bribing Eros (implications?). Human parallels for Eros and Ganymede.

4.1 Classical Greek eros. Not 'cute' ("Cupid"). Specifically sexual passion, usually intense, of short duration. Eros has a narrower range that Eng. 'love'. Disruptive, potentially violent, compared to disease/madness. Typical subject male. Hellenistic Greek poets (Apollonius is one) focused on female eros. Medea is an example. Her deliberation speech and dream.

5.1 Review of contents, Book IV.
5.2 The Medea-Jason relationship. Foreshadowing the better known part of the story (e.g. from Euripides' play, Medea). Similes: p. 117, p. 148, p. 176 (Medea alone). Incompatibility of the couple (quarrel, p. 157). Negative examples of marriage (Chalciope and Phrixus, Ariadne and Theseus). Society's disapproval (Circe).
5.3 The ominous wedding. *Read pp. 177-9. Context (on Corfu = Phaeacia, 'fantastic geography' in Book IV). A shotgun wedding. Traditional features of Greek weddings: sacrifice, fancy dress, banquet (bride's father's house), procession by torchlight ('best man' and many people), putting the couple to bed, epithalamium (wedding song). Importance of the dowry, father's approval. Contrast Medea-Jason wedding.