Medea: A Novel

The witch Medea is one of the most well-known women in Greek mythology. Famous for being the wife of Jason the Argonaut as well as for killing her own children and her husband’s new bride, this is the story from Medea’s point of view. The daughter of a sea nymph and the granddaughter of Helios, the Titan, Medea was always destined for sorrow. She learns the ways of her sorcerer father at a young age and fights her destiny by leaving her home with Jason, along with her brother. But tragedy comes in many forms, and Medea will find herself becoming the very monster she was afraid she always would.

What Medea does is horrible, but the author does a wonderful job of painting the picture from her side and getting the reader to understand why she does what she does. Greek mythology tends to downplay the sins of heroes as mere flaws, but for the women they become evil witches capable of unspeakable horrors. It was refreshing to see Medea as simply human, although semidivine, who makes mistakes albeit some pretty terrible ones. This is a great addition to your collection if you’ve read Circe or Clytemnestra.