What Would the Abandoned Woman Do?

Previously we were introduced to Calypso, the lonely sea nymph who fell in love with Odysseus and hoped that he would stay with her. She was tragically left behind. She bargained a little after receiving the final decree from Hermes, of course. She had to let go and couldn't do anything to revenge. And still she got called names, got blamed for seducing the hero.

Similarly, theres another woman who got abandoned cold-heartedly with even worse consequences. Queen of Carthage, Dido, took Aeneas under her care when the Trojan Prince was in a desolate state. She heard all of his stories and felt compassion towards him, which gradually turned into love, yet, what did she got in the end? The guy who would later start the ancient Rome civilization left the woman who pretty much offered her everything. She burnt everything that could remind her of Aeneas, and then killed herself with his sword. Virgil gave her a comparatively nice ending where her soul was brought to heaven by Iris, and when she met Aeneas in the underworld, she refused to forgive him.

Some say that Aeneas and Dido's story was to some extent inspired by the legend of Jason and Medea. In the story of Jason and the Argonauts, Medea was the one who possessed the mythical power, the one who essentially helped Jason retrieving the golden fleece hence ensuring his throne at Iolcus. She murdered her own brother and did everything one could possibly imagine, or one COULDN'T possibly imagine, to win Jason's heart, as the man's taking all measures to win his title. Euripides told us that later on Jason fell in love with Glauce, King Creon's daughter, and left Medea on the island of Crete. Medea was engulfed in the fire of jealousy and set off to take revenge. She killed the princess and the king as well as her own two children with Jason! Today Medea's name is usually associated with an evil woman, heartless and remorseless, who would even kill innocent babies. (And don't forget, they are her own babies!)

Of course people couldn't care less about Jason's wrongs. Look, he was definitely a hero and a man of integrity, but also a cheater and a jerk. Medea happened to be a resourceful and powerful woman who wouldn't swallow her humiliation and acted on her emotion. What she had done was unforgivable, but I'd say it's mostly Jason's own fault.

The clip you saw is from Medea, a modern dance show created by Greek avant garde stage director Dimitris Papaioannou. It's a mesmerizing and unique rendition of the ancient story. Papaioannou utilizes human bodies and their contortions to create incredible shapes. His composition and design of the stage is just out of the world. The director is also known for his excellent work for the 2004 Athens Olympics opening and closing ceremonies.    

Dimitris Papaioannou

In this short excerpt, you can see the marching of the Argonauts, although in modern military attire; the majestic forms of a powerful woman, although full of anger and sorrow; Medea's killing of her own children in desperation, etc. It's very hard to appreciate the whole scale of what's going on in this extraordinary production, but I highly suggest you see it in fullscreen, which slightly helps enhancing the visual experience.