Medea, the Embodiment of the New Female in Greek Society

In Euripides’ Medea, the protagonist, portrayed as the main character, abandoned the gender roles of ancient Greek society. As a result of this, Euripides invented a new version of the gender "female." Medea defied perceptions of gender by exhibiting "male" characteristics while existing in the bounds of the “female" mentality. Medea brings a sense of manly courage to woman's gender by slaying Creon and Creusa. She brings power and hubris, decidedly male characteristics, to a woman's role by slaying her own children, in a society where women’s identity was dependent on having a husband and bearing children. Finally, Medea does not commit suicide, as do the other Greek "heroines" of the time but she takes on male behavioral characteristics as she exhibits intelligence and an ability to control herself emotionally as she designs her plot for retribution. Medea is determined not to let herself become the traditional female victim in a Greek tragedy. She insists on her right to do wh...