Euripides' Medea is one of the greatest and most influential Greek tragedies. This book outlines the development of the Medea myth before Euripides and explores his uniquely powerful version from various angles. There are chapters on the play's relationship to the gender politics of fifth-century Athens, Medea's status as a barbarian, and the complex moral and emotional impact of her revenge. Particular attention is paid to the tragic effect of Medea's great monologue and the significance of her role as a divine avenger. The book ends by considering the varied and fascinating reception of Euripides' play from antiquity to the present day.

William Allan is the McConnell Laing Fellow and Tutor in Greek and Latin Languages and Literature at University College, Oxford, and Lecturer at the Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford, UK. He is the author of The Andromache and Euripidean Tragedy (2000) and Euripides: The Children of Heracles (2001), and Homer: The Iliad (Bloomsbury 2012).