Medea by Euripedes?

Question

In the book Medea is the hero, which is crazy because most Greek heroes were male, but Medea is a barbarian. What would you say about her actions in terms of her gender, and the Greek attitude towards non-Greeks?

Answer 1

Although Euripides has a lot of sympathy for Medea, his depiction of her clearly relies on stereotypes about women--that they were passionate, dangerous, and vain (she is angry that she was rejected)--and about "barbarians," who were presumed to be unreasonable and (in the case of Medea's people) prone to use witchcraft.