“.. wild fury goads her on. Into the house without delay, come not near her eye, approach her not, beware her savage mood, the fell tempest of her reckless heart. In, in with what speed ye may.”
~ ‘Medea’ by Euripides (Edward P. Coleridge translation. GB5 - p. 213)
The play opens with a Nurse talking about Medea’s sad state of being betrayed by her husband Jason, who has married King Creon’s daughter. Knowing of Medea’s vengeful nature, the nurse is afraid of what she might do in revenge. The Nurse and the Chorus wish Medea would listen to their counsel and not do anything rash. Creon comes in and says Medea and her children are banished from Corinth since their presence is a threat to his family’s safety. Medea pleads with Creon not to exile her, but he does not relent. She then asks for just one day to plan for the exile, and he relents.
A while after Creon goes, Jason comes in. He says he married the princess not out of love but that it was a strategy to secure their and their children’s safety and life of luxury. He says her words and fame as a sorceress got her exiled. He says he will support her even when she is in exile. Medea rejects the explanations and his offer of support. She says she made enemies of her family due to her love for him and has nowhere to go.