Medea

The tale of Medea is a harrowing one even by the standards of Greek mythology; of its various elements it is the Corinthian episode that has lingered most vividly in the appalled imagination.

Medea, a princess of Colchis, to the east of the Euxine (Black) Sea, was an enchantress and priestess of the moon-goddess Hecate. When Jason came to Colchis in his quest for the Golden Fleece, Medea fell in love with him, employed her magic arts to help him win the Fleece, then sailed with him as he made his escape from the enraged King of Colchis, her father. Their flight to Corinth was accompanied by horrid demonstrations both of her magical powers and of her ruthlessness, notably the murder and dismembering of her brother and the jettisoning of him overboard piece by piece to delay the pursuit of her father's ship (which out of religious duty was bound to gather up the floating limbs to givethem proper burial).

Medea bore Jason two sons, but once he was back in civilized Greece, he could not – despite all his vows – be happy to remain the husband of a murderous Asiatic enchantress, and entered into a contract of marriage with Glauce, daughter of the King of Corinth. Maddened with jealousy and contempt for Jason, Medea sent Glauce a poisoned coronet and robe, which killed her by burning away her flesh.