The Greek Play Project | Civilization: A Cosmic Tragedy

Συγγραφέας: Dimitris Dimitriadis

“There is no God” says Aegeus to Medea upon his return from the ravaged Oracle of Delphi. This is Dimitriadis’ first inversion, induced by the playwright to fundamentally deconstruct the archetypal myth. Medea loses her magical powers, is unable to kill her love rival and never murders her children. An unnatural causality prevails. Nothing follows the ancient myth, although equally horrific events take place: Glauce is killed by her father, while her children, Jason and the tutor are devoured by a dragon. Medea is broken; without her powers and “deorum ex machina” to save her, she strives to maintain her identity and realize what has been foreshadowed. We come face to face with a Medea who is different than she appears to be, who backs down out of love for her children and spares them, one who is wounded and beyond salvation. The characters of the play find themselves at a point in human history where nothing can protect them from exposure and the cruelty of a foreshadowed fate; disarmed and alone, in a barren and lonely universe.