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Medea: Queen of Witches
Medea
Witch. Poisonner. Child Murdererer. No woman in myth is as infamous as the killer queen from Colchis. She has been the star of plays, books and operas and many of the tales from Greek mythology. Here, for the first time, all the details of her lurid life are gathered into a single biography that takes you from her birthplace in remote Colchis on a deadly rampage across the Black Sea, through Thessaly, Corinth, Athens and beyond.
Who was Medea? What drove her to kill and kill again? In Greece during the heroic age, where encounters with gods, centaurs and sorcery are regular events, Medea had to survive in a world filled with intrigue, violence and betrayal. She does so with cunning and unflinching ruthlessness - yet somehow remains a woman, not a monster.
Whether sailing with Jason and the Argonauts, crossing paths with Hercules or trying to kill Theseus, Medea is at the heart of many ancient legends, yet her character has remained a mystery. Here, her secrets are revealed and her world explained.
Witch. Poisonner. Child Murdererer. No woman in myth is as infamous as the killer queen from Colchis. She has been the star of plays, books and operas and many of the tales from Greek mythology. Here, for the first time, all the details of her lurid life are gathered into a single biography that takes you from her birthplace in remote Colchis on a deadly rampage across the Black Sea, through Thessaly, Corinth, Athens and beyond.
Who was Medea? What drove her to kill and kill again? In Greece during the heroic age, where encounters with gods, centaurs and sorcery are regular events, Medea had to survive in a world filled with intrigue, violence and betrayal. She does so with cunning and unflinching ruthlessness - yet somehow remains a woman, not a monster.
Whether sailing with Jason and the Argonauts, crossing paths with Hercules or trying to kill Theseus, Medea is at the heart of many ancient legends, yet her character has remained a mystery. Here, her secrets are revealed and her world explained.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 30, 2024
3 people are currently reading
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About the author
Philip Matyszak
62 books281 followersPhilip Matyszak is a British nonfiction author, primarily of historical works relating to ancient Rome. Matyszak has a doctorate in Roman history from St. John's College, Oxford. In addition to being a professional author, he also teaches ancient history for Madingley Hall Institute of Continuing Education, Cambridge University.
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July 14, 2025
I really enjoyed this! I read it following a read of The Argonautica, and this went so beyond the version of Medea we get in both The Argonautica and of Euripides play. While it did recount a lot of The Argonautica, we also got versions (sometimes conflicting) from a variety of sources that take Medea right up to her eventually end in the afterlife where she's taken Achilles as a lover (no, I'd never read that one before). I now have numerous other sources to read on Medea, including Hygenis (who I'd also never heard of before).
Displaying 1 of 1 review