The major characters in Euripides' tragedy "Medea" are:
1. Medea - The protagonist of the play, a powerful sorceress and former princess of Colchis who has been abandoned by her husband Jason.
2. Jason - A Greek hero who has betrayed Medea by leaving her for a younger woman and seeking to advance his own interests.
3. Creon - The king of Corinth, who banishes Medea from the city after he becomes afraid of her power and her plans for revenge.
4. Glauce - The daughter of Creon and Jason's new bride, who becomes a victim of Medea's revenge.
5. Aegeus - The king of Athens, who offers to give Medea sanctuary in his city in exchange for her help in having a child.
6. Medea's Children - The two sons of Medea and Jason, whom Medea murders in order to exact her revenge upon Jason.
"Medea" is a tragedy written by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides, first performed in Athens in 431 BCE. The play tells the story of Medea, a powerful sorceress and former princess of Colchis, who has been abandoned by her husband Jason in favor of a younger woman. Furious and betrayed, Medea seeks revenge by using her magical powers to murder Jason's new bride and their own children. The play explores themes of love, betrayal, revenge, and the position of women in society.
Medea's actions challenge the traditional roles of women and the balance of power between genders. Her use of witchcraft to take revenge on Jason and the murder of her own children highlight the consequences of patriarchal society and the ways women can be pushed to the edge. The play's intense emotional power and psychological complexity have made it a timeless masterpiece of world literature, and it continues to be studied and performed to this day.