Medea (,
Medeia) is an
ancient Greek tragedy written by
Euripides, based upon the myth of
Jason and
Medea and first produced in 431 BCE. The
plot centers on the actions of Medea, a
barbarian and the wife of Jason; she finds her position in the Greek world threatened as Jason leaves her for a Greek princess of Corinth. Medea takes vengeance on Jason by killing Jason's new wife as well as her own children with him, after which she escapes to Athens to start a new life.