Journal Phasis - Greek and Roman Studies

Kamushadze, Maka

Phasis 5-6, 2003 
Maka Kamushadze (Tbilisi) 
IMAGE OF WOMAN IN KARIOTAKIS’ WORKS 
Kostas Kariotakis is a prominent Greek poet, who lived at the outset of XX 
century. His works are considered valuable pieces of the so-called pessimistic 
stream in the Greek literature. His poetic works incorporate many interesting 
phenomena. Our immediate goal is to focus on one aspect of his poetry – the 
image of woman. 
As commonly admitted, Greek literature, likewise the world literature in 
general, comprehensively and diversely presents the image of woman . The 
image arouses various attitudes – starting with adoration of a woman and 
raising the image to the status of a goddess, and ending with obvious charge 
in misogynism. Pessimist writers have created a peculiar image of woman – 
she is either a weighty argument for pessimistic mood or, on the contrary, the 
sole beam of light in the hopeless world.  
The image of woman bears an important role in Kariotakis‟ works. It suf-
fices to mention that twenty-eight of his poems are completely dedicated to a 
woman, and another seventeen have lexical formatives or implications that 
refer to the fair sex. It is also obvious that names rarely serve as a relevant, 
determining feature to create an image of a certain woman. Kariotakis men-
tions only the names of mythological women. No other cases – those sup-
posed to refer to the women from the poet‟s empirical life – have the ladies‟ 
names. As to mythological images, only one poem may be considered com-
pletely dedicated to the goddess of love "Μηά κέξα ειηνζηόιηζηε, κηά 
ιακπεξήλ εκέξα, / απ’ηνλ αθξό ηνπ θύκαηνο επξόβαιεο, ζεά κνπ...".
1
 In fact, 
the poem is a hymn to the beauty of Aphrodite, and is saturated with the 
mythological spirit. In other poems, a mythological name may serve to com-
parison and association. Thus, the name of muse Polymnia expresses the au-
thor‟s attitude to a weak, ailing lady. Kariotakis presents the lady as a muse. 
                                                                 
1
  Κ. Γ. Καξπσηάθεο , «Σα Πνηήκαηα» (1913-1928),  Αζήλα 1992, 223. 
 Maka Kamushadze  
 
130 
Against the background of the false passions of the deceitful world, the poet 
depicts a colorless, lifeless creature and says: "Κάπνηα κεζάλπρηα / ζα ζε 
αγαπήζσ,/ Μνύζα...".
2
 The poet considers Nereid the symbol of a female 
charm that may disappear in the sea, although its beauty rejoices the poet: 
"Θεόηξεινο, ν δύζηπρνο, βνπηέκαη κεο ζην θύκα, / ηα κάηηα ηεο ηα ζετθά κε 
θόβν κε θνηηάδνπλ / θαη ράλεηαη ζηε ζάιαζζα... Ήηαλ λεξάηδα... Κξίκα!"
3
 
Magdalene is presented as a female beauty associated with sensuality. It is 
difficult to say whether the image refers to the biblical character or a real lady 
called Magdalene: "Σελ έβιεπα ζηα πόδηα κνπ κπξνζηά γνλαηηζκέλε: / κνπ 
γύξεπε έλα θίιεκα. Σ’αθξάηα ηεο ηα ζηήζηα / ε πηζπκηά ηα ηξάληαδε…".
4
  
As to the poems of our immediate interest, they can be divided into four 
groups with four different attitudes to woman. To our mind, the most signifi-
cant image of the four is that of a lady pictured as the source of aesthetic 
pleasure. The image stirs in the poet carnal passion, sensuality. It is remark-
able that the poet presents  female beauty according to the principle of pictur-
ing so-called specific, determining features. None of the poems seems to pre-
sent female beauty as a harmony of inner and outer charm. They usually em-
phasize one or two elements that reveal the lady‟s fascination. Thus in the 
poem Smile the poet speaks of the lady‟s beautiful lips, breast and eyes that 
have become the source of his aesthetic pleasure: "΢α δύν θεξάζηα ρώξηζαλ ηα 
ρείιε. / θ’έηζη βαζηά, γηνκάηα σο αλαζαίλεη, / ζην ζηήζνο ηεο αλεβνθαηεβαίλεη / 
ην πιένλ αδξό ηξηαληάθπιιν η’Απξίιε".
5
 The poem Contrasts also mentions 
some parts of female body and renders the lady‟s beauty by expressing the 
aesthetic impression: " Όηαλ ην ζείν γέιην ζνπ ζηα ρείιε ζνπ αλζίδεη / θη 
αζηξάθηεη κεο ζηα κάηηα ζνπ ε θάζε εδνλή, / όηαλ ηελ ώξηα ζνπ κνξθή ηξηειή 
ραξά ζηνιίδεη / θαη μεθσλίδεηο εύζπκα, γιπθηά κνπ θαζηαλή...".
6
 Lady‟s hair, 
cheeks, hands and eyes are mentioned in Of Night: "...Απ’ ηνλ νπξαλό 
μεθεύγνπλε η’αζηέξηα / θαη ζαλ πεηξάδηα αηίκεηα ζηνιίδνπλ ηα καιιηά ζνπ. / Ο 
Γαιαμίαο άζπξν θσο ζηα κάγνπια, ζηα ρέξηα / ζνπ ρύλεη .κεο ζην γάια ηνπ 
βνπηά ηελ νκνξθηά ζνπ. / Νά θαη ηα καύξα κάηηα ζνπ! ".
7
 The elements are a 
source of the poet‟s inspiration. Most of the poems emphasize somatic per-
ception of woman, and the beauty stirs in the poet carnal passions. This is 
illustrated in Remember, Kissed, As I Caress You, The Last Kiss, You Ask 
                                                                 
2
  ibid,  49. 
3
  ibid, 225. 
4
  ibid, 231. 
5
  Κ. Γ. Καξπσηάθεο ,«Σα Πνηήκαηα» (1913-1928), Αζήλα 1992, 26. 
6
  ibid, 217. 
7
  ibid, 232. 
Image of Woman in Kariotakis‟ Works 
 
131 
Me,
8
 etc. Each of the poems expresses the poet‟s fascination for the lady‟s 
beauty, and the carnal passion it stirs: " ...Σα δξνζεξά ζνπ ρείιε ηα θεξάζηλα / 
π’αλνίγνπλ ζε ρακόγειν, / ηη εδνλή όηαλ θνιινύλ ζην ζηόκα κνπ / ζ’έλα θηιί 
αηέιεησην! Ω, δέμνπ κε, γιπθηά κνπ, ζηελ αγθάιε ζνπ / πνπ κνηάδεη κε 
παξάδεηζν...",
9
 or " Καη κ’άθεζεο, αγάπε κνπ, ζηα ζηήζηα ζνπ λα γείξσ. / Έλαο 
ρξπζόο Παξάδεηζνο κνπ ζάκπσζε ηά κάηηα, / ηεο βεινπδέληαο ζάξθαο ζνπ κε 
κέζπζε ην κύξν, / θαη ζην κπαιό κνπ ρηίζηεθαλ νλείξσλε παιάηηα....".
10
 
In certain cases, the poet distances the lady‟s image from the carnal world , 
adds to it some extra touches and fills it with spirituality. Thus the poem De-
dication describes a beautiful creature playing the piano; When Kariotakis 
speaks about woman‟s voice he says: " ...Γε ζπκνύκαη θαιά, πέξαζαλ ρξόληα, / 
πσο είρεο όκσο ιέσ θαη ηξαγνπδήζεη. / εμόλ αλ εθειάδεζαλ αεδόληα.…".
11
 The 
poet, fascinated with the lady‟s voice is unable to hold his admiration in As I 
Caress You: "Καη ηε θσλή π'αξγνθπιά θξπζηάιιηλε / ζαλ κνπζηθή αηζέξα, / 
πνηα κνύζα καγεκέλε ζνπ ηε ράξηζε; / πνηα μσηηθή λεξάηδα;".
12
 Again the poet 
speaks of the aesthetic pleasure derived from the lady‟s voice. However, the 
pleasure is beyond the somatic perception of beauty.  
Especially remarkable is the group of poems in which the source of the 
poet‟s pleasure is an ailing woman. The poet emphasizes not the features that 
arouse carnal pleasure or passions, but the expression of her pale face and 
extinguished, lackluster eyes. The poet admires the faded cheeks, weakened 
hands. This very lady becomes the poet‟s muse: " ...θόξε ρισκόζσξε, / 
καπξνληπκέλε. / Κ’εηλαη ζαλ αίληγκα, / θαη πεξηκέλεη. / Λάκπεη ην βιέκκα ηεο / 
απ’ηελ αζζέλεηα. / ΢άκπσο λα ιηώλνπλε / ρέξηα θεξέληα..."
13
 The poem Al-
mond Tree is also dedicated to an ailing woman. The almond tree that grows 
in the poet‟s garden is so week that is doomed to fading. The tree symbolizes 
the sick creature: "Δρεη ζηόν θήπν κνπ κηά κπγδαιηά θπηξώζεη / θ’είλ ‘ έηζη 
ηξπθεξή πνπ κόιηο αλαζαίλεη. / κα ε θάζε κέξα, ε θάζε απγή ηελε καξαίλεη / 
θαη ηε ραξά ηνπ άλζνπ ηεο δε ζα κνπ ηε  δώζεη….".
14
 
In some poems, Kariotakis‟ attitude to woman is neutral, or just positive 
as to the being that fulfils her biological and social role. Thus in the poem 
Seeing off mother speaks to her child who is intimidated with hardships and 
complexity of life. Mother encourages him and gives him advice: "Βιέπε, 
                                                                 
8
  ibid, 216, 219, 241, 243, 218. 
9
  ibid, 241. 
10
  ibid, 243. 
11
  ibid, 85. 
12
  ibid, 241. 
13
  ibid, 49. 
14
  Κ. Γ. Καξπσηάθεο ,«Σα Πνηήκαηα» (1913-1928),  Αζήλα 1992, 36. 
 Maka Kamushadze  
 
132 
παηδί κνπ, πάληα νκπξόο. Σν ρηεο κε ζε πηθξαίλεη. / Σώξα ε δσή ζαλ άινγν 
ζηελ πόξηα ζε πξνζκέλεη.»
15
 Likewise, notions "sister" or "girls" frequently 
occur in Kariotakis‟ poetic world and render neutral or positive attitude. As 
an example, we shall cite the poem Only: "Σα σξαία θη απιά θνξίηζηα –σ 
αγαπνύιεο!- / ε δσή λα κνπ ηα πάξεη, ρνξνύ γύξνο..."
16
 The poem Solitude 
offers the image of sisters: "Μεζάλπρηα, θαη ιείπεηε, αδειθνύιεο κνπ..."
17
  
The group of poems that may be referred to as misogynic creates a con-
trast in Kariotakis‟ poetry. What has earlier determined the poet‟s more or 
less positive attitude is radically changed. Kariotakis attempts to make up an 
image of a woman whose charm stirs negative emotions and in certain cases 
is even fatal for men. Let us remember the poem Despise, in which the poet 
compares the beautiful sex to Japanese puppets, speaks of their empty heads, 
denounces their lifestyle, compares them to monsters, and considers them 
nonentities: "Φζνλώ ηελ ηύρε ζαο, πξνλνκηνύρα / πιάζκαηα, θνύθιεο 
ηαπσληθέο. / Κνκςά, ξόδηλα κέιε, πιαζηηθέο / γξακκέο, κεηαμσηά, δηαθαλή 
ξνύρα.…"
18
 As to the poem Varium et mutabile, here the poet compares the 
lady‟s beautiful mouth to a snake‟s nest that produces only deception and 
treachery. The desperate poet doubts woman‟s sincerity: "Πάληνηε ςέκα / 
έιεγε ην / ηξηδσηό εθείλν βιέκκα; / Σν ζηόκα κία / θηδνθσιηά / θαη ζηα θηιηά / 
ηη πξνδνζία!"
19
 A weak creature becomes an image of a fatal woman in Ochre 
Spirochaete. Her lips and smile lead the poet to an abyss: " ...Κ’ήηαλ σξαία σο 
ζύλνιν ε αγνξαζκέλε θίιε, / ζην δείιη απηό ηνπ καθξηλνύ πέξα ρεηκώλνο, όηαλ, 
/ γειώληαο αηληγκαηηθά, καο έδηλε ηα ρείιε / θ’έβιεπε ην ελδερόκελν, ηελ 
άβπζζν πνπ εξρόηαλ. "
20
 Remarkably, this type of poems does not prevail in 
Kariotakis‟ poetry. They were, apparently, motivated by episodes from the 
poet‟s life.
21
 
Although what unites all the groups is an image of woman, there is also a 
common formula implied in all of them – death is somewhere nearby: a girl 
of divine beauty lying on the send and expecting death as a rescue: "΢ηελ 
ακκνπδηά κηά ζετθηάθνπέια μαπισκέλε / -ινπινύδη πνπ καξάζεθε πξνηνύ 
                                                                 
15
  ibid, 263. 
16
  ibid, 89. 
17
  ibid, 89. 
18
  ibid, 161. 
19
  ibid, 269. 
20
  ibid, 168. 
21
  As it is known, Kostas Kariotakis was infect ed with an incurable disease, which might have 
been caused by  a woman. This event greatly changed the poet‟s attitude to the fair sex, and 
was reflected in his works. His physical disease and moral torture may be implied in the title of 
the poem Ochre Spirochaete and the image of "a friend for money" that portends the end for 
the poet.      
Image of Woman in Kariotakis‟ Works 
 
133 
λ’αλζίζεη αθόκα -...ηα ζνισκέλα κάηηα ηεο ζηνλ νπξαλό ζεθώλεη / θαη κε 
ηξεκάκελε θσλή παξάπνλν αθήλεη: / "Ο ιπηξσηήο ν ζάλαηνο γηαηί λα κε 
ζηκώλεη;".
22
 The Last Kiss is the poem, which, besides a passion scene, pic-
tures a dying woman: " ... Νά, ζήκεξα πεζαίλεηο! / Σά ρισκηαζκέλα ρείιηα ζνπ 
κνπ δίλεηο λα θηιήζσ / θαη κνπ ιαινπλ ηα κάηηα ζνπ ζηε γιώζζα ηεο ρακέλεο / 
αγάπεο καο: "Πεγαίλσ θεη, από ηνλ ήιην πίζσ".
23
 In the poem Of Night a 
beautiful blue-eyed creature tells the poet about the approach of death: "...Σα 
δαθξπζκέλα κάηηα ζνπ: "Σξαγνπδηζηή", κνπ ιέλε, / "κελ ηξαγνπδάο, θ’είλαη 
θνληά ε κέξα πνπ πεζαίλεηο."
24
 All these poems illustrate how death coexists 
with life and beauty in Kariotakis‟ works.  
All above compels us to conclude that Kariotakis, as a pessimist poet, has 
a peculiar attitude to woman. In the majority of his poems the image can not 
be considered the main source of his pessimistic mood. Moreover, we may 
think that the image is the stimulus that gives the poet pleasure, rejoices him, 
shows him the sense of life. In this respect, interesting is the fact that wom-
an‟s image is associated with the so-called quasi-major mood in most of his 
poems. As mentioned above, the concept of death never leaves the poet, how-
ever, the fair sex is rarely a reason of hopelessness and despair. None of his 
poems imply that aesthetic and carnal pleasure "immortalized with death" 
would be the top of his delight, on the contrary, in some cases the poet em-
phasizes that he is saddened with a woman‟s death as it brings an end to his 
carnal or aesthetic satisfaction. Although some of his poems express mis o-
gynic tendencies, the latter can not be considered dominating mood of his 
works. If we compare Kariotakis‟ works to those by other pessimist writers of 
the world literature, we shall see that his attitude to woman is by no means 
different from the image created by the pessimistic poetry.
25
 
 
  
                                                                 
22
  ibid, 222. 
23
  Κ. Γ. Καξπσηάθεο , «Σα Πνηήκαηα» (1913-1928), Αζήλα 1992, 243. 
24
  ibid, 232. 
25
  If we draw a parallel between Kostas Kariotakis‟ poems and works by a prominent French  
pessimist writer Charles Baudlaire, we shall notice a number of similar traits belonging  to the 
image of woman. Besides the numerous common features found in the poets‟ works, it is r e-
markable that both poets picture a woman as a beam of light in the obscure world: "It was a ray 
…and now is night" – this is the French poet‟s attitude to a lady rendered in "A Lady Passing 
By". Interestingly, the image of woman is quite di fferent in the poetry of Georgian pessimist 
writer Terenti Graneli. Almost none of his works express aesthetic pleasure and passion de-
rived from the lady‟s appearance. However,  what unites the three poets is their "optimistic" at-
titude to woman. We shall cite an extract from the Georgian writer‟s poem "To Ira" ded icated 
to a lady: "To you does the sacred dream aspire,/ there is an abyss, but something rescues me./ 
I wish to live if you are near,/ together with you I await autumn."   


English

Image of Woman in Kariotakis’ Works

Gaprindashvili, Tea

The Problem of Alienation in "The Double Book" by D. Khadzis

J. Clauss, James

Phasis 10 (II), 2007 
 
 
James J. Clauss (Seattle) 
WHEN NATURE BECOMES NATURAL:  
SPIRITUAL CATASTROPHE IN PASOLINI'S MEDEA 
Jonathan Rosenbaum, film critic for the Chicago Reader, in his review of 
Pasolini's Medea stated: "Pier Paolo Pasolini's disappointing 1970 version of 
the Greek tragedy _ shot in Syria, Turkey, and Italy _ offers soprano Maria 
Callas in her only film role, playing the lead part but not singing it. Pasolini's 
Marxist, Catholic, and pagan impulses infuse the film with some life, but it's a 
step backward after Oedipus Rex (1967). It's worth seeing nevertheless." 
I remember the first time I saw Pasolini's Medea. I hated it. I hated it 
because of its poor production (the subtitles are often impossible to read), the 
gory sacrificial scene in Colchis, and what appeared to me at the time as its 
fundamental weirdness, such as the unrealistic combination of disturbing folk 
music, an Argo cast as a raft more suited to Huckleberry Finn than to one of 
the most famous heroic expeditions in Greek mythology, the confusing 
doublets, not to mention its esoteric dialogue. Despite my initial loathing of 
the film, I continued to show it in my "Myth in Film" class out of perversity 
and primarily for its shock value. After numerous viewings, however, I began 
to realize why I hated it initially: First, I did not understand critical points and 
so I blamed my inability to penetrate the film on the director; secondly, it 
pushed buttons below the surface of my consciousness, making me 
unwittingly uncomfortable, much as Pasolini's Edipo Re succeeded in doing. 
So it was the viewer, and not the director, who was the problem here! Medea 
is not a feel good film. But once the various points Pasolini explores in the 
movie emerge from his aggressively impressionistic and in-your-face 
cinematic narrative, you can at least feel good that you were able to comes to 
terms with one of the most remarkable takes on the Medea story of all times. 
James J. Clauss 
 
148 
I would like to begin with the role of the Centaur, Chiron, a liminal figure 
situated somewhere between animal and human, savage and civilized, and in 
Pasolini's version, between myth and science, religion and atheism. Chiron 
guides Jason on a journey even before he meets his uncle Pelias and agrees to 
go in search of the Golden Fleece, an educational journey that brilliantly 
recapitulates Greek intellectual history. 
When we first see Jason, he is a baby, listening to an afternoon bedtime 
story told by his bearded and seemingly equine guardian. Chiron's story, an 
introduction to the Argonautic myth, mentions Ino's plot, the golden fleeced 
ram, the family of the god of the winds to which Jason belongs; in short, "una 
storia complicata." Jason's introduction to his family and the world is 
expressed in folkloric and mythic terms, with talking rams, jealous step-
mothers, wicked uncles, and usurped thrones. In this case, however, Chiron's 
grim fairytale has specific application to Jason. 
As Jason grows older, the centaur adds a new dimension to his tutorial: 
"Tutto è santo, Tutto è santo, Tutto è santo!" "Everything is holy. There is 
nothing natural in nature. When nature seems natural, everything is finished 
... Everywhere you look gods are hidden. But the gods that love at the same 
time hate." At this point in Jason's education, the mythic explanation of life 
has evolved more fully into a supernatural view of reality, wherein the 
uncertainties present in nature are viewed as the work of protecting and 
malevolent gods. With regard to the human response to this religious 
interpretation of the world, Chiron goes on to say, "For ancient man, the 
myths and rituals are concrete experiences which include him even in his 
bodily and daily existence. For him, reality is a unity so perfect that the 
emotion he experiences before the silence of a summer sky is equivalent to 
the most intimate personal experience of a modern man." Myth and ritual, 
then, are an essential part of human existence for the ancient man who 
cherishes a view that nature is not natural but rather infused with the presence 
of the divine. 
As the lesson continues, the older Jason is informed that he will go on a 
journey far from his home, where, paradoxically, life is more realistic because 
the people there are more mythic. At this point, we must ask ourselves: if the 
Colchians are more realistic because they are mythic, what are the Greeks? 
And what is Jason? Less realistic because less mythic? For Pasolini, the 
answer is, paradoxically, yes. 
For Chiron, the definitive lesson comes from the observation of 
agriculture and how seeds lose their form below the earth in order to be 
reborn: "La resurrezione, mio caro." But, he goes on to say, this definitive 
lesson no longer obtains for Jason. "That which you see in the grains, that 
which you understand from the rebirth of the seeds lacks significance for you, 
When Nature Becomes Natural:... 149 
 
like an old memory that no longer concerns you. In fact, there is no God." At 
this point Chiron is no longer a centaur, but a beardless man. And the 
audience seeing this film for the first time wonders at this point: what is real? 
Is Chiron a centaur or a man? This question is precisely the point, as becomes 
clearer later in the film. 
Jason's education took him from myth to religion and ultimately to what 
we might loosely describe as science: the understanding that after all nature is 
natural, that nothing is holy, that man is the measure of all things, and, for 
Jason, that he is the measure of all things pertaining to his success. As F. M. 
Cornford stated in his slender but insightful book Before and After Socrates, 
the birth of science in Greece arises from the assumption that "the whole 
universe is natural and potentially within the reach of knowledge as ordinary 
and rational as our knowledge that fire burns and water drowns ... The 
conception of Nature is extended to incorporate what had been the domain of 
the supernatural. The supernatural, as fashioned by mythology, simply 
disappears; all that really exists is natural." This is precisely the point that 
Chiron makes when he says "When nature seems natural, everything is 
finished." And it is the devastating realization of this lesson, particularly in 
the mind of Medea, that Pasolini explores in the rest of the film. 
The transition from Greece to Colchis in the film is sudden, even jarring, 
but also stunningly germane. As soon as Chiron tells Jason that the rebirth of 
the seeds has no meaning for him, we encounter Medea in Colchis, who, at 
the beginning of a rather disturbing fertility rite, prays "Grant life to the seeds 
and be reborn with the seeds." The contrast between Greece and Colchis, East 
and West, Myth and Nature, religion and atheism, male and female could not 
be more striking. The interaction between these oppositions, as we already 
know from the myth, will prove to be destructive. But in the terms established 
by the film, they can also be annihilating. 
Pasolini's representation of the great Argonautic expedition is, in a word, 
underwhelming. The Argo is a rickety raft, the crew reduced to a handful, and 
the mission depicted more as a piratical raid than a heroic quest. There is no 
sleepless dragon, only an animal relic propped on a cross set within an ancient 
Christian chapel. Medea, without ever seeing the Greek hero face to face 
(although she has a vision of him) and with the aid of her brother Apsyrtus, 
gives the fleece to Jason, kills her brother, and accompanies Jason home. 
Pasolini foregoes the representation of Medea falling in love, so elegantly 
depicted by Apollonius. Budding love is not the point of this version. 
When Medea arrives in Greece, she provides us with a first glimpse of her 
spiritual catastrophe when she expresses her feeling of complete alienation 
from the new world she has come to. "Speak to me Earth, let me hear your 
voice. I don't remember your voice. Speak to me Sun. I can't hear you. I touch 
James J. Clauss 
 
150 
the earth and I don't recognize it; I look for the sun, but I don't recognize it." 
The complete _ or almost complete _ divorce between Medea and her 
mythic, supernatural, and religious core occurs when she is stripped of her 
dark, priestly vestments and dressed by the daughters of Pelias in the lighter 
secular clothes associated with Greece. A nice touch, particularly as the 
donning of Medea's clothing will in time have such disastrous results. That 
Pelias' daughters should take the initiative in making this transformation is 
particularly ironic, given that among the ancient stories, it was Medea who 
tricked them into killing their own father. If you watch Jason's reactions 
during this portion of the film, Medea's critical condition is not totally lost on 
him, though he lacks the ability to understand its full ramifications, 
particularly as it applies to himself. But this will become painfully clear in the 
years ahead. 
Pasolini veers sharply from the ancient myth by having Jason cede his 
throne to Pelias and by not having Medea orchestrate his foul murder. Jason 
states "To tell you the truth, this goat skin has no meaning outside of its 
country." Pelias had said that the fleece was the sign of the eternity of power 
and order. But this can only be the case for those who would grant it that 
significance; that is, those who inhabit a world of myth and religion, which 
Jason had abandoned long ago. 
At this point, the film leaves the Argonautic tale as Jason dismisses the 
Argonauts. He and Medea leave Iolcus and the two head to Corinth, staged 
partly at the base of the ancient acropolis at Aleppo, reminiscent of 
Acrocorinth, and partly at the famous Renaissance cathedral in Pisa, a 
fascinating study of contrasting architecture and time. The director now turns 
to Euripides' Medea. Before the play begins, however, Jason encounters 
Chiron once again, or rather the Chirons: one an unspeaking centaur as we 
first saw him, and the other a beardless man as we last saw him.  
In his vision, the beardless Chiron identifies the two of them as "the holy 
one you knew as a baby, the unholy one you knew as an adult." But he goes 
on to state: "We are still both a part of your understanding." In response to 
Jason's request for clarification, Chiron states: "He does not speak because his 
logic is different from ours. I speak for him. It is under his influence that you, 
beyond your calculations and interpretation, really love Medea. ... Moreover, 
you pity her and understand her spiritual catastrophe, the disorientation of an 
ancient woman in a world that does not understand what she believes in. The 
poor woman was converted to destruction and she never got over it. Why 
have I told you this? Nothing can stop the old centaur from inspiring 
sentiments and nothing can stop me, the new centaur, from expressing them." 
Once we come to see, and for Pasolini seeing here is literal, this 
dichotomy in Jason _ that there resides in him the dim memory of a 
When Nature Becomes Natural:... 151 
 
mythic/religious and sentimental understanding of the world which has been 
replaced by a logical non-mythic conception of life _ we can understand 
much better the duplication of the scenes wherein Glauce and Creon die.  
The first scene represents Medea's mythic understanding of what should 
happen; her power and the dark priestly clothing she wore in Colchis are 
momentarily restored. She gives Jason poisoned garments to present to 
Glauce, who, after putting them on, bursts into flames which consume her 
father Creon as well. The second scene provides the "natural" explanation for 
Glauce's and Creon's deaths: Glauce felt intense pangs of guilt and remorse 
for stealing Medea's husband, as a result of which she commits suicide by 
throwing herself over a cliff, and Creon, overwhelmed at the death of his only 
child, does the same. Should we ask which explanation is the correct one, our 
knowledge of ancient myths will tell us the first; our need for a natural 
explanation will opt for the second. Yet, whether we privilege our mythic or 
our scientific modes of thinking, we are left with the same awful results. 
From this vantage point, we might ask, does it really matter? What I find 
brilliant in the choice to portray two death scenes is that Pasolini has not only 
represented visually the two modes of thinking that lie at the heart of the film, 
but he also prompts the audience in their confusion at seeing two 
contradictory versions of the same scene to wonder: what is real? 
Jason's conversion from a mythic to a natural understanding of human 
existence might appear to be merely a preface to Medea's tragic conversion, 
his two centaurs prefiguring the two death scenes. There is more to it, 
however, much more. In addition to offering a succinct account of Greek 
intellectual history, Pasolini leads us into a part of Jason's soul previously 
unexplored by writers of any age. Buried inside the pragmatist, the man of 
nature, there still lurks the old centaur who has a vague sense of what was 
happening to Medea because he himself had long ago experienced spiritual 
catastrophe. Though suppressed and silent, its continued presence generates 
residual understanding, pity, and even love, albeit expressed, in the film as in 
Euripides' play, superficially. Regardless of the continued presence of the 
sentimental part, however, the pragmatist, the man of nature, wants control 
over understanding, pity, and even love, a situation that has long been his 
normal state. 
Medea, on the other hand, is fully committed to, and emotionally invested 
in, her alienation and spiritual catastrophe. Although she made one last futile 
attempt to resurrect her mythic view of life as seen in her mental projection of 
Glauce's death _ a way of thinking we first saw in the human sacrifice 
celebrated to bring forward new crops that was later perverted into the 
sacrifice of her brother to secure a husband and ultimately children _ she 
ultimately relinquishes any hope of return to her past by way of a horrifying 
James J. Clauss 
 
152 
act of self-destruction as a way of taking vengeance on that husband. Medea 
could never succeed in going back, just as Jason could not, even if he wanted. 
We are left, then, with the sad, but necessary, conclusion that the loss of myth 
and the loss of connection with the supernatural is final and any attempt to 
recapture it is, as Medea states at the very end of the film, "useless", 
concluding that "Nothing is possible any more". Medea's spiritual catastrophe 
happens, as Pasolini demonstrates through his profoundly creative 
interpretation of the Medea myth, when nature becomes natural. As the critic 
Jonathan Rosenbaum noted, this film is worth seeing. 


When Nature Becomes Natural: Spiritual Catastrophe in Pasolini\u27s "Medea"

Asatiani, Valeri

Phasis 10 (II), 2007 
 
 
THE ARGONAUTICA IN POST-ANCIENT EPOCH 
Valeri Asatiani (Tbilisi) 
THE ARGONAUT MYTH IN THE BYZANTINE LITERATURE 
The Argonaut myth was well-known in the Byzantine Greek literature, in 
prose as well as in poetry. The elements of antiquity were still strong in the 
literature of the 4
th
-6
th
 centuries. The motifs and themes of the Hellenistic 
period frequently repeated in poems. Byzantine poets continued to treat 
ancient myths and legends in their epic works (A. Urushadze, The Ancient 
Land of Colchis in the Argonaut Myth, Tbilisi, 1964, 82).  
In the epic poem "Dionysiaca", Nonnos of Panopolis (the 4
th
-6
th
 cc.) 
relates a fantastic legend about Dionysus’ journey to India aimed to 
disseminate the culture of vine. Special attention is paid to Phrixus, who is a 
prominent figure in the story of Jason and the Argonauts. He arrived in 
Colchis on a flying golden ram. The poet also mentions Circe: "I heard that 
the exiled lad, who held the reins of the miraculous ram carrying him through 
the air to the land of Colchis, is still alive" (X, 99-101) (... 
); "Circe – sister of Aietes, having magic power" (
XIII, 331). 
It is worth mentioning that the poet Marianus, known by his metaphrastic 
works (the 5
th
-6
th
 cc.), elaborated and extended the "Argonautica" by 
Apollonius Rhodius (5 608 iambic trimeter).  
Clement of Alexandria (the 2
nd
-3
rd 
cc.), one of the Church fathers, refers to 
the Argonaut myth in the "Stromata" ("Miscellanies"):  
- "Medea, the daughter of Aietes, was the first to use dyes to change the 
colour of hair" ("Georgica", I, 24).  
- "Theseus, a rival of Heracles, lived one generation prior to the Trojan 
War... There was a period of 63 years from Dionysius to Heracles, Jason and 
other heroes of the Argonautic expedition. According to Apollonius’ 
"Argonautica", Asclepius and the Dioscuri also accompanied them."  
Valeri Asatiani 10 
Methodius of Patara writes in his work "Symposium, or on Virginity" (the 
3
rd 
- 4
th 
cc.) that the zodiac of Aries (the Ram) was exactly the ram that carried 
Phrixus and Helle, Athamas’ daughter, away from the Scythians.  
Among other writers who referred to the Argonaut legend were 
rhetoricians Libanius (314-393) and Themistius (317-388)
1
, the sophist 
philosopher Eunapius (345-420) and the historian of the Christian Church, 
Salminius Hermias Sozomenus (400-450). 
Procopius of Caesarea regards the Argonauts’ expedition as a historical 
fact and mentions such names as Aietes, Apsyrtus, Jason and Medea. 
According to Procopius, there was a fortress of Aietes in the ancient land of 
Colchis, Lazica, near the bank of the river Phasis (Rioni). ... 
In the work "On the Reign of Justinian", Agathias Scholasticus (536-582) 
mentions Jason, the ship "Argo", the city of Apsorunt (derived from the name 
of Apsyrtus) and talks about the glorious past of the land of Colchis. "The Laz 
people are a strong and brave tribe, and even dominate over other strong 
tribes. They are proud of their historical glory and are excessively arrogant, 
which, probably, is not groundless. Among the tribes subordinated to another 
state, I can not recall any other tribe thus renowned and splendid owing to the 
profusion of wealth and the multitude of its subjects, to the abundance and 
rich harvest as well as to the loveliness of their character and agility" 
("Georgica", III).  
The kingdom of Aietes is mentioned in the history of Menander Protector 
(5
th
 c.) – "A Truce between the Byzantines and the Persians": "When the 
Midians occupied the disputable territory of Colchis, intending to make them 
subjects of theirs, they failed to achieve anything for a long period, even after 
so many a struggle … 
Thus, if a man does not recall brazen-footed bulls and giants sprung from 
the ground, as well as many other wonders and unbelievable stories included 
in the myth about Aietes, he will be certain that the present state is even 
better" (Agathia, "Georgica", III, 50-51). So, the fragment refers to the well-
known episode of the Argonaut myth. 
Stephanus of Byzantium (the 6
th 
c.) offers several remarkable 
explanations. Here are the notes included in the "Ethnica": 
Aia – the capital of Colchis, built by Aietes, 300 stadia away from the sea; 
with two rivers, Hippus  and Cyaneus , which make it a 
peninsula. In my opinion, it is the opposite, "Aietes" must have been derived 
from it, Aia Aietes in the same way as Asia Asiate. There is also Aia of 
                                                 
1
  According to Themistius, he was educated in rhetoric in the school of Phasis in Colchis (... not 
in a quiet and Hellenic environment, but at the edge of Pontus, near Phasis... Oratio, XXVII). 
The Argonaut Myth in the Byzantine Literature 11 
Thessaly, mentioned by Sophocles. About the first he says "sailed to Aia", 
while about the second he states "There is a certain Aia, the land of the 
Thessalians". Aia was also a spring in Macedonia, according to Antimachus’ 
"Thebais" ("Georgica", III, 274). 
The Amarantes – a Colchian tribe. The Phasis flows from their country 
(cf. Amiranmta – Amirani Mountain – mentioned in M. Chikovani’s work) 
and that is why the Phasis is referred to as "Amarantio". Cf. the Scholiast: 
"Amarantos is a town in Pontus." According to Herodianus, they are the hills 
of Colchis from where the Phasis river flows. "Amarantioi – is a barbarian 
tribe dwelling above the Colchians, on the land – from this point the springs 
of the Phasis stream down, or it is a mountain in Colchis, called Amarantion, 
where the Phasis river has its source" (Apoll. Rh., II, 401; III, 1217; 
"Georgica", III, 275). 
The island of Ares – located in Pontus in the neighborhood of the 
Colchians, as mentioned by Scymnus (΢θπκλφο, the 2
nd
 c. B.C.) in the "Asia". 
Apsyrtides – the islands in the Adriatic Sea, called so after Apsyrtus, the 
son of Aietes, killed by his sister Medea on one of the islands. The inhabitants 
of these islands were called the Apsyrts. In Euxeinus Pontos, there is a place 
Apsar, earlier called Apsyrt. Artemidorus (1
st
 c.) mentions in his "Overview" 
a town and an island called Apsyrt.  
Dioscuria – one of the white islands in Libya. ... There is another 
Dioscuria in Pontus, Sebastopol, previously called Aia according to Nikanor 
(Nikanor of Alexandria, 2
nd
 c.). 
Kytaia – a Colchian town, the birthplace of Medea. There is another one, 
in Scythia. There is also a town "Kytaion" on Crete. 
Phasis – There is a town in the land of the Colchians, on the Phasis river 
("Georgica", III, 274-289). 
The Chronograph of John Malalas includes the stories about the sorceress 
Circe, Circe’s sister, Calypso, and Odysseus. According to John, Circe and 
Calypso were the daughters of Atlas and ruled over two islands. Circe was the 
ruler of Aia and the priestess of Helios. She claimed to be Helios’ daughter 
and treated foreign visitors with food and drinks mixed with mesmerizing 
drugs. Circe bore Odysseus a son, who afterwards killed his father (FGH, I, 
Chron. v.p. 117, 17-119, 23, cf. "Odyssey", X, 135). 
John Malalas refers to two individuals as the sources for this fragment. 
They are Sisyphus, to which the tradition ascribes a work called "Troid", and 
Dictis of Crete. No clear information is available about the latter; however, 
according to an ancient tradition, he presumably accompanied Cretan King 
Idomeneus, the son of Deucalion, and at the behest of the king composed in 
Phoenician "Diaries" describing the war.  
Valeri Asatiani 12 
The "Chronicles" also describe the battle between Amycus, the King of 
the Bebrycians and the Argonauts (see Apoll. Rhod., "Argonautica", II, 1-
136). 
According to Charax of Pergamon, the "History" or "Archeology" by John 
of Antioch (6
th
 c.) offers rationalistic explanation of the myth of the Golden 
Fleece maintaining that it was a book written on leather and containing 
information about how to receive gold through chemistry (δία ρεκείαο). 
Besides, similarly to John Malalas, it gives an account of the battle 
between Amycus, the King of the Bebrycians, and the Argonauts. Byzantine 
writers (George Cedrenus, Nicephorus Callistus and an anonymous author) 
frequently included this episode of the story in their works. The same episode 
was related by Euthymius of Athos (955-1028), who had learned about the 
Argonaut legend from Byzantine sources (The Account of the Miracles of 
Archangel Michael by the Patriarch Germanus). The Georgian version 
includes interpolations. Euthymius, as usual, added to it some new passages, 
biblical and historical information. What captured my attention about 
Euthymius’ interpolations was the story of the Sosten (Susten) temple located 
in the vicinity of Chalcedon. The story includes an episode from the Argonaut 
legend – the Argonauts’ encounter with Amycus, the King of the Bebrycians, 
and the erection of the temple (K. Kekelidze, A. Urushadze). 
Especially interesting are the comments and entries about Colchis and the 
Argonauts included in the Suda (the 10
th
 c): 
Aia – land; Aiaia – islands, Aietes – name, also "An Epic about Aietes", 
Argonauts – sailors of the Argo; The Fleece – A piece of golden-haired 
leather which Jason found in Colchis; a book written on leather containing 
information about how to receive gold through chemistry; (The Iberians and 
Iberia); Circe – a woman who prepared medicines. We call female villains 
"Circes"; Colchis – Lazeti (the land of the Laz); Kytaia – a town. Also 
Kytiisis; Kytaion – a certain place, Medea – Colchian, the daughter of Aietes, 
the greatest sorceress of all women. She made Jason invulnerable so that he 
could yoke the fire-breathing bulls (to a plough) and still the earth. Having 
acquiring the Golden-Haired Fleece, he carried away Medea as well. The 
Greeks used to call natural oil Medea’s oil (see Nikandros, the 2
nd
 c. B.C., 
sch. 249, 35). This note is preserved in the work of Nicandros Colophon (the 
2
nd
 c. B.C.).  
"The Medean or a one-day medicine" – a preparation called Colchian or 
Barbarian, which barbarians also call oil ; if applied (to one’s body) 
or put on the clothes worn over, or something else is dipped in it and then is 
exposed to the sun, all will be destroyed and wiped out as if by fire: because 
of the burning quality of it.  
The Argonaut Myth in the Byzantine Literature 13 
Apparently, Medea discovered the way to prepare it, and that is why it is 
called Colchian (medicine)… (The remedy) grows by the Himan river (in 
ancient sources the name is used to refer to the rivers in Scythia: Dnestr, 
Kuban, Bug), and by the noon it fades away. This may also account for 
calling it "one-day") because those who drink it cannot survive a full day…" 
Joseph Genesius (the 10
th
 c.) in his work "Reigns" 
 refers to the Argonaut myth to state that the Armenians borrowed 
their appellation from Armenus, the inhabitant of Armenion, a town in 
Thessaly  who took part in the campaign to Colchis together 
with Jason ("Georgica", IV, 2, 308).  
George Cedrenus (the 11
th
 c.) in his "Concise History" tells the story of 
the Argonauts’ expedition and of Heracles’ stay in Colchis in the company of 
the Argonauts.  
The work of Eudocia – "Ionia" – is a historical-mythological 
dictionary based on different sources.  
In Eudocia’s work, the Argonaut myth is treated in detail. The following 
themes are presented as separated articles: Athamas (28); Aietes (37); 
Alcimede (45); Argos (197); About the Argo (198); Apsyrtus (214); About 
Phrixus and Helle (342); How many and who the Argonauts were, whom and 
where they originated from (439); Jason (478 a); Genealogy of Jason (478 B); 
Circe (537); The Ram (543); Medea (647); Phrixus (954).  
The above-mentioned extracts attest that Byzantine authors frequently 
referred to the episodes of the Argonaut myth, and presented the epic 
treatment of the events. What captures attention are the characters and place 
names of the myths commented on in the works of historians and 
encyclopaedic collections. It is noteworthy that a great deal of information 
about mythological characters and place names can be found in encyclopedias 
and the works of historians. 
References: 
A. Urushadze, Ancient Colchis in the Argonaut Legend (in Georgian), Tbilisi, 
1964. 
S. Kaukhchishvili, The History of the Byzantine Literature (in Georgian), 
Tbilisi, 1973. 
Georgica, The Notes of Byzantine Writers about Georgia (in Georgian), 
Tbilisi, I (1961), III (1952), IV (1952), V (1963), VII (1967). 
C. Diehl, History of the Byzantine Empire (in Georgian), Tbilisi, 1998. 
K. Kekelidze, A. Baramidze, History of Old Georgian Literature (in 
Georgian), Tbilisi, 1969. 
K. Kekelidze, Sketches from the History of Old Georgian Literature, II (in 
Georgian), Tbilisi, 1945.  


The Argonaut Myth in the Byzantine Literature

Reinsch, Diether Roerich

Der Tod byzantinischer Kaiser in Historiographie und Sage

Darchia, Irine

Phasis 5-6, 2003
Irine Darchia (Tbilisi)
COLOUR PERCEPTION IN PLATO'S PHAEDO AND 
DEMOCRITUS’ TREATISE ABOUT COLOURS
Our conception of Phaedo’s artistic world will not be perfect if we do not 
take into consideration the understanding of colours in the work according to 
the colour perception in antiquity. Here we need to appeal to Democritus’ 
treatise about colours, which is described in detail (and criticized at the same 
time) by Aristotle’s disciple Theophrastus.
Democritus marked out four original, simple colours. They are white, 
black, red, and yellowish green. The rest of colors were considered as various 
combinations of the four elements.
As A. Losev explains, "According to Democritus’ Treatise colour is a 
touchable subject having suitable features and at the same time it consists of 
physical atoms that can be palpated. The method of making the resemblance 
between subjects and colours creates the picture of coexistence and interac-
tion of physically touchable atoms".1
As experts note, the consequent implementation of the atomism principle 
resulted in some striking peculiarities of approaching to colors. It was well 
revealed in Plato’s Timaeus.2 In our opinion, ancient, and namely Democri-
tus’ understanding of colors is clearly seen in Phaedo as well.
This work of Democritus is evaluated quite critically but the logical short-
comings of the doctrine and the wrong interpretation of colour phenomenon 
by Democritus is not so much relevant to us, as it is not the subject of our 
research. We shall simply bring Democritus’ treatise as the evidence of the 
                                                            
1 Лосев А. Ф., Принципы античного цветоведения. История античной эстетики, М. 1963,  
488.
2 op. cit. 488.
Irine Darchia36
subject perception of colours because, to our mind, there is its analogy in 
Phaedo.
When Socrates describes the true earth he notes the variety of colours ex-
isting here but mentions only three of them: leukhv, aJlourgh`, crusoeidh
(Phaedo, 110 c 3-4).
"leukhv" is usually translated as "white". It is quite a conditional transla-
tion because as early as Homer times, with the word Greeks expressed every-
thing that was clear, distinct, transparent, or simply something that is calm, 
healthy, pleasant.3 Democritus associated the white colour with "radiance" 
and "transparency." Theophrastus criticized Democritus for confusing these 
two notions with the white colour. As to Losev, he thinks that this difference 
is not clearly perceived in antiquity either by Democritus or by Plato. 
It is worth mentioning that "radiance," "splendor" was something divine 
for Democritus. The philosopher saw it in all colours – in golden, purple, and 
even in black. 
As regards to the word aJlourgh`, it can be translated as purple, rich red. In 
Democritus’ treatise another word (porfurou`~) is used to denote the given 
colour but it does not bear much importance.
According to Democritus purple most of all contains red, has less white 
and very little black…The radiance and the transparency of the given colour 
shows the presence of white in it.
Democritus thinks that crusoeidhor golden consists of red and white. 
The latter gives some radiance to the golden colour though the red colour is 
more essential for the given one.
Plato notes: w|n kai; ta; ejnqavde liqivdia ei\nai tau`ta ta; ajgapwvmena 
movria, savrdiav te kai; ijavspida~ kai; smaravgdou~ kai; pavnta ta; toiau`-
ta... th;n de; gh`n aujth;n kekosmh`sqai touvtoi~ te a{pasi kai; e[ti crusw`/ 
te kai; ajrguvrw/ kai; toi`~ a[lloi~ au\ toi`~ toiouvtoi~ (it is from these [true 
earth] that the little stones we value, sardian stones, jaspers, emeralds, and all 
such, are pieces… But the true earth is adorned with all these things, and with 
gold and silver also, and with the other things of that kind as well) (Phaedo, 
110 d 7-e 1; 110 e 6-111 a 1).4
It is worth mentioning that sardian stone, jasper and emerald give rich 
range of colours. Sardian stone is red or orange, emerald is green, and jasper 
is a collective name of certain minerals that are characterized by their hard-
ness and variety of colours. Describing various gems Plato shows us a highly 
coloured general picture but mentions only three colours. According to De-
                                                            
3 op. cit. 488-489.
4 We use the English translation of Phaedo made by D. Gallop (see: Plato, Phaedo, Translated 
with notes by David Gallop, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1975). 
Colour Perception in Plato's Phaedo and Democritus’ Treatise About Colours 37
mocritus’ Treatise these colours themselves are broken in white, red and par-
tially black colours (The white colour especially dominates as it is a consti-
tuent element of both purple and golden).
Let us remember the description of the earth. Though Plato mentions that 
on the earth there are the colours similar to the true earth, he never names 
them directly. He does not give their straightforward picture but describes 
them in relation with the range of colours and stresses the preference and 
perfection of the true earth. He is true to his ideas even when choosing the pa-
lette of colours (range of expressions); he doesn’t refuses his concept that the 
earth is the dim reflection or copy of the true earth.5 The earth is described as 
shvragge~ de; kai; a[mmo~ kai; phlo;~ ajmhvcano~ kai; bovrboroi (eroded 
rocks and sand and unimaginable mud and mire) (Phaedo, 110 a 5-6). Al-
though the concrete colours are not mentioned here, the reader sees the pic-
ture painted by black and white gradation and the gray colour gravitating to-
wards black dominates here. If we imagine it visually, the earth is a black and 
white, hazy, dim copy, negative of the true earth.
As we have seen, in the description of the true earth the white colour 
dominates and in the picture of the earth the black one prevails. Let us re-
member how they are perceived in the antiquity. The white colour is associ-
ated with brightness, light, obtuseness, transparency, and the black one with 
duskiness, ruggedness and roughness.6
This kind of interpretation of black and white is distinctly reflected in the 
description of the true earth and the earth in Phaedo. The characteristics of 
white colour are ascribed to the Heaven and the features of the black one are 
ascribed to the Hell (To the Heaven are ascribed the characteristics of white 
colour and to the Hell – of black one).
While giving us the picture of the true earth, Plato notes: 
...kai; au\ ta; o[rh wJsauvtw~ kai; tou;~ livqou~ e[cein ajna; to;n aujto;n 
lovgon th;n te leiovthta kai; th;n diafavneian kai; ta; crwvmata kallivw... 
ejkei`noi oiJ livqoi eijsi; kaqaroi; kai; ouj katedhdesmevnoi oujde; 
diefqarmevnoi w{sper oiJ ejnqavde uJpo; shpedovno~ kai; a{lmh~ uJpo; tw`n 
deu`ro sunerruhkovtwn... w{ste ejkeivnou~ ajnovsou~ ei\nai... kai; tovn ge 
h{lion kai; selhvnhn kai; a[stra oJra`sqai uJp jaujtw`n... (…the mountains 
contain stones likewise, whose smoothness, transparency, and beauty of 
colour are in the same proportion… the stones there are pure, and not 
corroded or corrupted, like those here, by mildew and brine due to the 
elements that have flowed together… [men] are free from sickness… the sun 
                                                            
5 We can see that kind of interrelation of the earth and the true earth in the mythological parts of 
Phaedo.
6 Лосев А. Ф., op. cit. 489
Irine Darchia38
and moon and stars are seen by them as they really are…7) (Phaedo, 110 d 5-
e 5; 111 b 2).
While describing the earth Plato says: a{pa~ oJ tovpo~ oJ ejnqavde 
diefqarmevna ejsti;n kai; katabebrwmevna... ou[te tevleion wJ~ e[po~ eijpei`n 
oujdevn ejsti, shvragge~ de; kai; a[mmo~ kai; phlo;~ ajmhvcano~ kai; bovrboroiv 
eijsin... For this earth of ours, and its stones and all the region here, are corrupted 
and eaten away, as are things in the sea by the brine… and practically nothing 
is perfect, but there are eroded rocks and sand and unimaginable mud and 
mire…) (Phaedo, 110 a 2-6). 
Besides golden and purple, one more colour, kuanov~, is named in 
Phaedo. It is mentioned in the description of Hades. Namely, it is said that the 
Styx, the river coloured bluish-grey all over flows in a very terrible and wild 
region (ejkpivptei eij~ tovpon prw`ton deinovn te kai; a[grion, wJ~ levgetai, 
crw`ma d j e[conta o{lon oi|on oJ kuanov~...) (Phaedo, 113 b 8-c 2).
"kuanov~" is usually translated as bluish-grey (blackish blue), something 
transforming from black to blue. According to A. Losev, it is difficult to 
imagine this colour with its all antiquity peculiarities.8 We meet the word at 
different authors with different shades of its meaning.9 It is assumed that the 
bugs, distinguished by the different shades of black colour with some dark 
blue and blue tints, give us the best idea of the colour.10
According to Democritus, "kuanov~" consists of azure and flame-coloured 
and their combination gives the lilac shade of the bluish-grey colour. For its 
part, azure consists of mainly strong black and only partially of yellowish 
green colours.
The bluish-grey colour together with its consisting black, yellowish green 
and flame-coloured is logically put in the description of Hades. Here, the Hell 
is shown in the above-mentioned colours as hot waters, big fire, and rivers of 
flame and silt are described in Hades. 
In the artistic world of Phaedo, as one can guess, the understanding of 
colours is connected to their subject perception. That is, each colour is men-
tioned in the environment the features of which exactly (or almost exactly) 
coincide with the features, existing in the antiquity and mentioned by De-
mocritus, of the given colour. 
                                                            
7 This is where the real light is.
8 Лосев А. Ф., op. cit. 490.
9 See op. cit. 490-491.
10 op. cit. 491.


Colour Perception in Plato\u27s "Phaedo" and Democritus’ Treatise "About Colours"

Chikovani, Ann

The Interpretation of the Asia Minor Disaster in "The Story of One Captive" by Stratis Doukas

Tabakova, Dorothea

Phasis 10 (II), 2007 
 
 
Dorothea Tabakova (Sofia) 
 MEDEE D’EURIPIDE SUR LES SCENES BULGARES 
"Médée" d’Euripide, cette tragédie modèle qui pousse à l’extrême les 
passions humaines, a toujours représenté une grande tentation pour les 
metteurs en scène. La chance de dépasser la limite même du tragique serait 
attractive pour les meilleures actrices, comme le rôle de Hamlet l’est pour les 
acteurs. Pourtant, pour une période de presque 90 ans, le theâtre bulgare ne 
s’est adressé que trois fois à ce texte. Etant donné que cette tragédie entre 
dans le programme de l’enseignement de belles lettres de l’école secondaire 
bulgare à partir des années 10 jusqu’aux 40 du XXe siècle, elle a connu 9 
traductions en langue bulgare, dont les éditions sont réparties entre 1912 et 
1946, mais le théâtre semble rester de côté dans sa réception.  
La première réalisation scénique bulgare en 1929 sur la scène du Théâtre 
Populaire a son préambule dans une tournée du théâtre russe MHAT en 
Bulgarie. Pour la première fois, la troupe de MHAT complète visite la 
Bulgarie en 1920; ensuite, une partie de cette troupe fait le choix d’une vie 
d’artistes émigrés – pour ne pas dire nomades; ce petit groupe, après un long 
séjour dans différents pays européens, surtout l’Allemagne, débarque en 
Bulgarie en 1924 avec sa "Médée". L’actrice qui joue le rôle de Médée, M. 
Guermanova, est en même temps metteur en scène. Selon la critique de 
certains périodiques culturels bulgares
1
, ce spectacle est fondé sur un pathos 
plutôt lyrique que tragique. Le coloris national russe – au niveau du geste, la 
récitation rythmique et chantante, la mimique et même l’habit rappelant celui 
d’une nonne – fait de Médée de Guermanova une héroîne russe. 
Selon l’opinion du critique Yartsev, cette "Médée" est trop intime, frôlant 
le passage de la tragédie vers le drame, "pas assez crue pour la tragédie 
ancienne, loin des hauteurs du ciel au-delà des étoiles". Mais ce qui 
                                                 
1
  Yartsev P., Médée, in: Zlatorog, 1925, 2, 153-154. 
Medee d’Euripide sur les scenes Bulgares 
 
267 
représente pour nous un intérêt particulier, c’est l’acteur qui joue le rôle 
d’Egée: un certain Nikolaï Massalitinov. 
Au bout de quelques années, le Théâtre Populaire invite cette personne 
même pour la fonction de metteur en scène principal: depuis l’époque de sa 
naissance ce théâtre national a compté jusque là sur des directeurs étrangers 
de différents pays slaves. Or, d’abord refusant, mais ensuite acceptant le 
poste, après avoir créé une école théâtrale et mis en scène quelques pièces 
contemporaines, N. Massalitinov décide de faire sa propre "Médée". Etant 
donné qu’en ce moment le texte d’Euripide a été traduit en langue bulgare 
deux fois, l’une en passant par une langue intermédiaire, l’autre de l’original, 
mais en prose – une traduction volontairement littérale réalisée par Alexandre 
Balabanov – le metteur en scène confie à ce dernier la tâche d’une version 
poétique et scénique. 
A. Balabanov est un des fondateurs de la philologie classique en Bulgarie, 
helléniste de formation allemande, poète et traducteur, bohème, une 
personnalité connue et aimée parmi les intellectuels de l’époque. Il retravaille 
sa traduction prosaïque en vers, puisant, d’après ses propres mots, dans "le 
langage simple qui vient de la vie et non pas des livres, parfois même rude, 
comme l’exige cette pièce qui n’est nullement un drame de salon."
2
 Son 
travail est interactif: il accepte de nombreuses suggestions de la part de N. 
Massalitinov, de l’actrice Teodorina Stoïcheva et du poète D. Panteleev. Le 
résultat est une version bulgare puissante, énergique, passionnée. 
Pour placer cette première mise en scène de "Médée" dans le contexte 
culturel de la Bulgarie en 1929, il faut souligner que le choix d’une tragédie 
ancienne est avant tout un acte relevant le prestige du théâtre national, 
presque indépendamment des qualités du spectacle lui-même. Le département 
de philologie classique est inauguré il y a 8 ans seulement (un des fondateurs 
est ce même Balabanov); le désir de rattraper est énorme. L’idée de 
l’antiquité que se fait la génération de Balabanov est, dans un certain sens, 
anti-historique: d’un côté, le respect Winkelmanien pour les absolus éthiques 
et esthétiques de l’époque classique reste immuable, et de l’autre, la 
spécificité historique est réduite à un certain nombre de realia, alors que la 
pensée et les sentiments des anciens leurs semblent universels et accessibles. 
Cela dit, nous ne sommes pas étonnés de lire dans les notes de 
Massalitinov que "le choeur dans "Médée" personifie l’âme sublime de la 
Grèce antique cultivée"
3
, ni d’apprendre qu’il attribue un comportement 
statique aux femmes corinthiennes qui représentent par les positions de leurs 
                                                 
2
  Euripide, Médée, trad. A. Balabanov, Sofia, 1945 (2), préface d’A. Balabanov, 18. 
3
  Massalitinov N., Euripide, Médée. In: Massalitinov N., Mémoires, articles, correspondance, 
Sofia 1987, 239. 
Dorothea Tabakova 
 
268 
corps des sculptures anciennes. Cette stature a été empruntée au spectacle 
russe où Massalitinov prenait part comme acteur, ainsi que la musique pour le 
spectacle. 
La critique n’est pas unanime sur les qualités de cette "Médée". Même les 
plus favorables avouent que T. Stoycheva n’a pas assez de force et de 
personnalité pour le rôle de Médée;
4
 les moins bienveillants déclarent à ce 
propos qu’ "il n’y a pas de "Médée" sans Médée"
5
 et que, par conséquence, le 
spectacle est un échec. Le désir de fidélité aux realia est la motivation de la 
sévérité de certains d’entre eux; ils critiquent la cape rouge de Médée dont 
elle ne cesse de manipuler non pas par le mauvais goût de cette trouvaille, 
mais par le manque de fidélité historique aux vêtements de l’Antiquité.
6
 
La deuxième réalisation scénique de "Médée" est une oeuvre du metteur 
en scène Lyuben Groys au théâtre dramatique de Plovdiv en 1978, c’est-à-
dire presque un demi-siècle après la première. Elle est présentée aussi sur la 
scène du théâtre antique à Plovdiv, découvert pendant des fouilles 
archéologiques et ensuite reconstruit. Groys, qui en ce moment a une riche 
expérience avec plusieus auteurs bulgares, mais aussi avec Shakespeare et 
Molière, fonde son spectacle sur une analyse psychologique originale. Pour 
lui, Médée n’est pas seulement une femme passionnée abandonnée par son 
mari; fuyant sa Colchide natale, elle a les ambitions de créer un nouveau type 
de rapports humains, un nouveau modèle de famille et d’amour; c’est la 
trahison vis-à-vis de ce modèle qu’elle n’arrive jamais à pardonner a Jason. 
Groys suppose aussi que, par sa médiocrité et par l’incapabilité de rester au 
niveau de ses propres exploits, Jason est en train de corrompre Médée et finit 
par réussir – à sa propre perte. Le paradoxe: Jason, le civilisé, transforme 
Médée, la barbare, en criminelle.
7
 
Comme son prédécesseur, il consacre beaucoup d’efforts au coloris 
ancien, mais, à la revanche, il ne le fait pas au premier degré. Pas de pseudo-
colonnes, pas d’imitation des positions des sculptures anciennes: la scène est 
vide et sombre, l’avant-scène couverte de sable – peut-être le sable où un jour 
Jason ira dormir, anéanti, sous la proue d’Argo; les costumes sont tissés à la 
main, semblables plutôt à des panneaux décoratifs qu’aux chitons grecs, celui 
de la héroïne brun rougeâtre, celui de Jason avec des reflets dorés évoquant la 
toison d’or. Le texte qu’il utilise est toujours la version de Balabanov, mais il 
le retravaille pour en moderniser le langage. Pendant la période de travail sur 
                                                 
4
  Voir p. ex. Mitov D. B., Médée, In: Literaturen glas, 31, le 30 avril 1929; Stefanov G., Médée 
sur notre scène, In: Bulgarska rech, 1929, 4-5, 169-171, etc. 
5
  Skitnik S., Médée, In: Zlatorog, 1929, 5, 263-265. 
6
  Pushkaryova V., Médée, In: Zarya, 3, mai 1929, 118-119. 
7
  Groys L., Médée, ou comment on crée un criminel. In: Groys L., Le théâtre toujours en vie, vol. 
I, Sofia 2002, 163-164. 
Medee d’Euripide sur les scenes Bulgares 
 
269 
la tragédie il étudie les textes de Platon et d’Aristote et la littérature 
secondaire disponible. 
L’actrice qui joue le rôle principal, Tsvetana Maneva, talentueuse, 
imposante, est sans doute un excellent choix. 
La réalisation la plus récente (2006) est celle de Diana Dobreva, actrice de 
talent et de temperament fugueux, participant dans certains spectacles du 
Laboratoire théâtral Sfumato – un lieu devenu traditionnel pour des 
expériences d’avant-guarde et de spectacles pour un public intellectuel plus 
qu’exigeant. Le spectacle porte un titre palindrome: "MEDEAEDEM", 
évoquant la "Medeamaterial" de Mueller. Possédant de par la nature 
l’extérieur et le tempérament convenable pour le role de Médée – silhouette 
majestueuse, cheveux noirs longs, un talent pour le théâtre extatique – elle fait 
sa propre mise en scène, avec la scénographie impressionnante de Marina 
Dodova. C’est une réalisation beaucoup plus du mythe secondaire littéraire 
que du texte d’Euripide. Plusieurs textes différents, celui de "Medeamaterial" 
de Mueller, des fragments de Borges, Ovide, Vasco Popa, ainsi que des 
paroles écrites par Dobreva elle-même s’entremêlent sur scène. Le noir et le 
blanc dominent la scène, le blanc de l’amour de Médée et le noir de son 
désespoir. Au final, c’est le gris qui triomphe: une pluie de cendres grises 
scintillantes tombant sur la tête et le corps de la nourrice, recouvrant les vies 
brisées de Jason et de Médée. L’espace est tordu comme sur un tableau 
d’Escher: on voit Médée disparaître dans le sol et aussitôt descendre du haut – 
la logique même du haut et du bas est annulée. 
Un creux au centre de la scène se transforme tantôt en lit d’amour, tantôt 
en image du bateau Argo, pour finir comme tombeau. La toison d’or 
ressemble à un attribut de guerre, un heaume difforme et majestueux. 
Recouvrant sa tête de cet objet, Jason semble découvrir sa véritable nature. 
Les paroles de passion, d’un érotisme raffiné, que Médée et son bien-aimé 
échangent, sont écrits par Dobreva elle-même. Ce dialogue est doublé par les 
caresses de leurs pieds nus qui évoquent les mâts et les voiles d’Argo. 
J’aimerais mentionner ici une belle trouvaille: des mots tendres que Médée 
prononce dans une langue incompréhensible sont en réalité des mots bulgares 
prononcés à l’envers, marquant à la fois les origines barbares de Médée et son 
désir de retour, de recul qui ne pourra jamais se réaliser. Une Médée au-delà 
du rationnel, secouant ses cheveux noirs dans son désespoir d’amante et de 
mère, tuant son enfant par un geste de tendresse infinie: c’est la Médée de 
Dobreva. Elle reçoit le prix théâtral bulgare le plus renommé, l’ "Askeer", 
pour ce spectacle. 
En conclusion, la première impression que, dans la réception bulgare, la 
fameuse tragédie d’Euripide a représenté un intérêt plutôt littéraire et scolaire 
est démentie par la qualité des spectacles réalisés et par leur reflet puissant 
Dorothea Tabakova 
 
270 
dans les textes de la critique théâtrale. La version poétique de Balabanov est 
préparée pour les besoins du théâtre, créant de cette manière un précédent 
d’interaction entre metteur en scène et traducteur de pièces de théatre ancien 
en Bulgarie qui, depuis lors, sera la chance d’apparition de versions moins 
académiques mais plus convaincantes et de meilleure qualité poétique.  
Les trois Médées bulgares tracent une périodisation de la réception du 
drame ancien au XXe siècle. Commençant par la recherche d’exactitude du 
coloris de l’Antiquité, copmris au niveau de l’extérieur, elle passe par le stade 
où cette fidélité acquiert un aspect plus profond, la recherche d’une 
adéquation à la pensée philosophique et éthique de l’époque. Le stade final 
est le renoncement à l’idée même de lecture historique et le passage vers 
l’intertextualité et un théâtre où le geste et le mouvement l’emportent sur la 
parole. 


"Medee" d\u27Euripide sur les scenes Bulgares

Shamanidi, Sophie

Phasis 10 (II), 2007 
 
 
Sophie Shamanidi (Tbilisi) 
THE ETHNIC ASPECT OF PERCEPTION OF MEDEA AND HELEN 
Medea has been discussed at the conference in many different ways. A 
number of interesting ideas have been expressed about the interpretations of 
her image in different periods and literatures. I will try to analyze the same 
character from a slightly different ethno-social angle. I will also draw a 
parallel with another mythological character – Helen, and with the public 
attitude towards her. 
Medea and Helen are two very popular images, which have always invited 
controversial opinions in European culture.  
It is common knowledge that ancient literature treated two versions of the 
Helen myth. The first one finds Helen guilty, while second one presents her 
as a victim. However, even Helen’s obvious ‘misconduct’ (the first version) 
invites various attitudes: 1. Helen was unfaithful to her husband and followed 
Paris, which means that she behaved inappropriately and deserves censure 
(Hesiod, Aeschylus, Euripides, Ovid, Seneca, Virgil, Alceus), 2. Helen was 
unfaithful to her husband, but it was not her fault (Gorgias, Socrates) and 3. 
Helen was unfaithful to her husband and she did it right (Sappho). In the 
second version, Helen is innocent, naturally, as she has not even been in Troy 
(Euripides, Stesichorus).
1
 The reception of Helen’s images in the 19
th
-20
th
 
century literature is no less diverse. Modern European authors present her in 
many different ways.
2
 Unlike European literature, Modern Greek writing is 
                                                 
1
  For the interpretation of Helen’s image in antiquity see RE, VII, 2, 2824-2835; RML; DNP, 5, 
278-280. 
2
  For the interpretation of Helen’s image in European literature see Frenzel E., Die Stoffe der 
Weltliteratur, Stuttgart, 1981, 301-306. 
The Ethnic Aspect of Perception of Medea and Helen 
 
249 
quite biased towards this character. Greek authors mainly picture Helen in 
light colors and even try to acquit her.
3
 
Modern Greeks regard Helen as the symbol of national pride. Helen 
embodies the absolute worldly beauty and consequently, she renders what is 
the most important in modern times for the perception of Greek civilization – 
beauty and harmony. Unlike their ancient forefathers, the tendency for 
censuring Helen almost equals to a zero point and clearly prevails what, 
unflattering for we may call the idealization of Helen’s image. In Greek 
                                                 
3
  Helen first appeared in Modern Greek writing in 1899. The text belonged to Kostas Palamas, a 
distinguished poet and public figure of those times. The poem is quite small, and is epigraphed 
with a few lines from Euripides’ Helen (33-36), which points to the myth version referred to.  
The poem is a certain ‘autobiographic’ account: a woman tells the story of her genealogy, nar-
rates how the Trojan War started because Paris abducted a shadow created by the gods, etc. The 
ending lines of the poem are devoted to the full rehabilitation of Helen: ‘I am untouchable, pure, 
unattainable. I am Helen.’ 
In about the same period (1956) the famous Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis dwells in his 
Report to Greco on the story of how Stesychorus created ‘Palynodia’. He finds quite convincing 
the second version of the myth and interprets the events in his own way: he ascribes Stesycho-
rus’ taking back his words to his reason. 
Another Greek apology of Helen is the poet Angelos Sikelianos. He frequently refers to her 
image in his poem; however, the mythic character is presented as the symbol of beauty and her 
other aspects are not highlighted. In 1919 Sikelianos published quite a sizeable, 32-line poem 
called A Hymn to Helen, where Helen is in fact presented as the equal of gods. In the poem He-
racles, Sikelianos gives Goethe a good scolding for portraying Helen in a unflattering role: how 
could a German poet dare such a blasphemy!  
Helen reappeared in Greek prose after a 30-year pause. Now she is dedicated a poem by a 
modernist poet, a Nobel Prize winner George Seferis (Helen, 1953). He intended to show the 
absurdity of war rather than rehabilitate Helen’s image. Like his predecessors, Seferis used the 
second version of the myth. Already the epigrammatic part of the poem cites the words from 
Euripides’ Helen pointing out that it was not she who went to Troy but her shadow. 
Helen’s image is widely used in the works of another modernist poet Takis Sinopoulos. In 
1957 he published a poem called Helen. In fact, the whole poem is the confession of a poet in 
love with Helen. The epithets referring to Helen emphasize not only her beauty (beautiful, fair, 
unseen, airy, etc.), but also her purity: untouched, unattainable, uncorrupted, virgin, high, all-
bright, untarnished, etc. This poem is especially remarkable as it is the first occasion in Modern 
Greek writing that Helen is identified with no less than Hellas openly and emphatically. 
Iannis Ritsos offered an altogether different interpretation of Helen’s image. In 1970, Ritsos 
used the devices characteristic of European literature to create play-monologue Helen, where 
the popular mythic character is pictured in an strange, unusual context. This is a monologue of 
an elderly and forgotten once-fair Helen. The acting character, as well as all the characters she 
mentions, is deheroized. Despite the most natural description of old and miserable Helen and 
her being, Ritsos nevertheless puts emphasis on, and I could even say, worships Helen’s past 
beauty. Helen, already fairly old, remembers that all what happened was the divine will: ‘There 
was no use to watch them [Paris and Menelaus]. The gods had predetermined the outcome of 
the war. And after a while, Paris, washed by the goddess and smiling, awaited me lying on my 
bed …’ (see Shamanidi S., Fair Helen, The Cause of the War or an Innocent Victim, Kutaisi, 
2003, 320ff. (in Georgian). 
Sophie Shamanidi 
 
250 
literature, her beauty rendered irrelevant all what could smear her image in 
this way or other. 
As concerns Medea, it is common knowledge that two stages have been 
distinguished in the attitude towards her – pre-Euripidean and post-
Euripidean. There is no instance of negative attitude in pre-Euripidean texts, 
while post-Euripidean literature is dominated by a definitely negative image 
(but for the exceptions where Euripides is accused of taking a bribe and 
inventing a lie).
4
 
European literature is distinguished by a definitely controversial attitude 
to Medea – some authors present her as a character with the most appalling, 
negative functions, while others try to exonerate her: as a rule, such texts are 
based on feminist principles.
5
 
Similarly to Greek writers’ attitude to Helen, modern Georgian literature 
is quite biased when interpreting Medea’s image and does not spare efforts to 
relieve her of the murderous reputation. 
The Medea theme was introduced in Georgian literature by Akaki 
Tsereteli. He wrote a play called Media (Me + Dia meaning I + a female, 
woman), which was at first designed as a trilogy: Media in Colchis, Media in 
Hellas and Media Back in Homeland. However, the initial idea failed to be 
implemented and the poet published in 1875 only the first part of it called 
Media. He referred to Apollonius’ Argonautica as the source for his play; 
however, the title he gave to the plot describing the events in Colchis was the 
same as that of the Euripidean play. This leads to the thought that the poet 
evidently wished to depict already in this poem the events taking place in 
Colchis and on the other hand, to create a certain exposition for a better 
presentation of Medea and in order to prepare the reader to the changes (in the 
mythic plot as well as in Medea’s image) forthcoming in the remaining part 
of the trilogy. We may supposed that the second play was intended to imply 
reference with Euripides’ Medea, while the third play would probably be 
fostered by the poet’s own imagination. Evidently, Medea’s return to her 
homeland aimed at her complete rehabilitation and at neutralizing the 
motivation of her leaving Colchis. The play renders unaltered all key points 
of the Argonauts’ visit to Colchis; however, the motivations are principally 
modified. All acquire a new context. In order to provide ‘grounded’ 
                                                 
4
  For the interpretation of Medea’s image in antiquity, see RE, XV, 1, 28-65; RML; DNP, 7, 
1091-1093; Gordeziani R., Argonauts, Tbilisi, 2007 (in Georgian). 
5
  For the interpretation of Medea’s image in modern European literature, see Frenzel E., Die 
Stoffe der Weltliteratur, Stuttgart, 1981, 482-486; Modern Greek Playwrights’ interest in Medea 
remarkably increased by the end of the 20
th
 century. Around 10 plays were devoted to the Me-
dea theme in the 1990s. For more details, see the following articles in this volume: I. Darchia, 
Bost’s Medea; K. Tsintsadze, Medea in Modern Greek Dramaturgy.  
The Ethnic Aspect of Perception of Medea and Helen 
 
251 
arguments against the Euripidean version, the author had to start the narrative 
from the point when Medea and Jason first met in Colchis. Each scene of 
Medea’s ad Jason’s meeting show that Jason deceives her. The poet tried to 
accentuate Medea’s ‘naivety’ and Jason’s perfidy, thus providing in advance 
for all necessary implications aimed at holding Jason unquestionably 
responsible for all bound to happen in future. 
Another Georgian writer to treat the Medea theme in dramatic terms is 
Levan Sanikidze. Being at the same a historian he was well aware of ancient 
sources regarding the Argonaut legend as well as modern European 
interpretations of it. Levan Sanikidze followed Akaki Tsereteli’s principle of 
rehabilitating Medea, and even went further than his predecessor: he 
presented Medea as the best wife, an extremely caring mother, as a deeply 
Philhellenic person, whose help to the Greek people was not limited to the 
medical sphere, as before each battle she used to give her husband the plans 
for military activities and consequently, was the guarantee for Jason’s ever-
victorious campaigns. However, the ungrateful Greeks treated her in an 
appalling way: they murdered her children and intended to kill her as well. 
Differently from all ancient traditional stories, Sanikidze’s play ends with a 
suicide – Medea sets on fire her house, her garden and is wrapped in flames 
herself. 
Levan Sanikidze’s Medea was performed on the Georgian stage many 
times: between 1962 and 1984 the play was staged in seven theaters of 
Georgia, while in 1997, it was even staged in the Opera House under the 
name The Colchian Daughter (composed by B. Kvernadze, libretto by L. 
Sanikidze).
6
 
The Medea theme reappeared in Georgian literature several times: I can 
mention Aeetes by Valerian Kandelaki (1975). Although it does not even 
feature Medea as a heroine, other characters’ words clearly suggest the 
author’s attitude to Medea. 
Another piece of literature devoted to Medea is Giorgi Kornapeli’s poem 
Medea. It is also aimed at the rehabilitation of her image. The poet refers to 
Medea with the following epithets: tortured, doomed, the victim, bewitched. 
Evidently, the author ascribes her deeds to libido: ‘The spell oozed through 
the belt of the virgin.’ 
                                                 
6
  If we bear in mind that Euripidean Medea was staged in Georgia only once, and involved many 
difficulties, as it became possible only after a serious psychological preparation of the actors 
and public (at first, Veriko Anjaparidze even refused to play Medea’s part), it becomes clear 
why the theme of Medea’s rehabilitation is so relevant to Georgian society. Probably, the out-
standing popularity of Sanikidze’s Medea in Georgia was conditioned by this very fact, rather 
then its dramatic value.    
Sophie Shamanidi 
 
252 
Several years ago Medea again appeared in one of Tbilisi theater halls. 
This time it was staged by a young director Gocha Kapanadze. Although the 
author of this stage version must have been aware not only of the Euripidean 
tragedy, but also of many various modern receptions of it, he nevertheless 
failed to escape the Georgian tradition of interpreting Medea’s image and the 
influence of his immediate predecessors. Already the advertising leaflet 
included the names of the ancient Greek authors who denied Medea’s 
involvement in the appalling murders and ascribed her ill fame to Euripides’ 
fancy. Naturally, this pathos was rendered in the play as well. The 
performance is opened by the Chorus, which functions as the Messenger. We 
learn from the Chorus’s part that the Corinthians not only killed Medea’s 
children, bust also bribed Euripides in order to ‘rescue the image of the 
Hellenes’ and blame Medea for all! 
I can not help pointing to the author’s endeavor to accentuate the foreign 
origin of Medea and Circe (Medea’s aunt and one of Odysseus’ lovers): 
Medea complains that she has forgotten the Colchian language and asks her to 
speak to her in Colchian, which is followed by Circe’s part in the Mengrelian 
language. Apart from this, Medea performs Mengrelian Nana (Lullaby) after 
her dialogue with Jason. 
In the final monologue, Medea tears the books (evidently, Euripides), 
which she believes tell a lie: ‘Miserable Euripides, may you be cursed! Why 
do not you tell the world the true story: how the violent Corinthian mob 
hacked up my children in the Heraion; how you took five golds, how you 
embellished your head with a laurel wreath and went up the pedestal of the 
Olympus, how you became the first tragedian of Hellas. And made me the 
murderer of my children …’, ‘I have not slaughtered my children, haven’t, 
haven’t! ...’ The Mengrelian Nana can again be heard in the finale. It could be 
a logical ending to the prologue but for one point: Medea kills her children 
herself and even provides an explanation for her behavior: ‘I will immediately 
implement the appalling intention. Otherwise, I will leave my children to the 
enemy. It makes no difference; they will not be able to escape death. They 
would better be deprived of life by their own mother.’ I believe that this very 
aspect – the discrepancy between Medea’s deeds and her appreciations – is 
the original finding of the director and even proves innovative as concerns the 
interpretation of Medea’s image. However, the above-mentioned also attests 
that although the director has Medea kill her children with her own hands, he 
nevertheless is unable to resist the temptation of presenting the facts that point 
to the opposite and to exonerate his heroine. 
Quite recently, director Levan Tsuladze staged in the Musical Comedy 
Theater Akaki Khidasheli’s play called The Colchian Sex. The play does not 
The Ethnic Aspect of Perception of Medea and Helen 
 
253 
mention Medea’s children at all, and the main focus is absolutely different, as 
can be expected from the title.  
The above-mentioned attests that if the attitude towards Helen and Medea 
these is more or less balanced in world literature – some finding them guilty, 
and others exonerating them – the literature of those nations who identify 
themselves with the heroines is quite biased. Bearing this in mind, I wanted to 
find out the public attitude towards these characters, especially among such a 
sensitive community as the students. For this purpose, I carried out the 
following experiment: 
For several years, I gave a course of lectures Ancient Tradition and Mod-
ern Literature to Georgian and Greek students. The lectures accentuated the 
reception of Helen’s and Medea’s images in modern literature. Although 
European literature has diverse attitude to them as mentioned above, the 
functions of these two ladies are negative rather than positive. If we attempt 
to define their personalities with a couple of words, we will presumably use 
the definition ‘unfaithful wife’ in the fist case and ‘murderous mother’ in the 
second one. 
The experiment was carried out in the following way: Georgian and 
Greek students were to answer the questions ‘Is Medea guilty or not?’ and ‘Is 
Helen guilty or not’ with just one word, either ‘yes’ or ‘no’. 95% of Georgian 
students gave a negative answer to the first question, and a positive answer to 
the second one. We had the same picture with the Greek students, but in the 
reverse way: 100% percent found Medea guilty, while none of them blamed 
Helen. 
The Greek students tried their best to exonerate Helen and provided many 
different arguments in her favor. The same was true about the Georgian 
students, who advocated Medea. Part of students denied Medea’s killing her 
children, attributing this fact to Euripides’ fancy, while others, although 
admitting the murder, tried to defend her saying that when a person is deeply 
humiliated, they may be do anything. The majority of my students are 
Orthodox Christians, and many of them are church-goers. So, I wanted to find 
out how they appreciated her action in terms of Christian morality. The 
answer was highly surprising: – that’ s all right but Medea was pagan, wasn’t 
she. 
Although both Medea and Helen are mythical characters and our 
contemporary society is no more supposed to identify themselves with a 
particular character, the genetic memory of people proves very lasting. It 
sometimes makes a person experience unconsciously the deeds of their 
ancestors, either heroic or vice versa. And if the deed is unworthy, they may 
try their best to exonerate the character. Recently, a monument was erected to 
Medea in Batumi. The public response was very sharp. People protested in 
Sophie Shamanidi 
 
254 
every possible way: through essays in newspapers, television speeches, 
demonstrations – as they believe that a monument should not be erected to the 
children-murderer. At any lecture and in any program devoted to an ancient 
theme the following question will inevitably come up: Did Medea really kill 
her children? Even the television screening of Pasolini’s Medea provoked 
newspaper essays – not critical, but pathetic – this time, Pasolini was the 
target of contempt, and Medea was again defended. Medea as a character 
went beyond the domain of fiction and art. If we take Georgian example, her 
behavior is discussed in the way as if she were a real historical individual and 
not a mythological or literary character, and her deed is appreciated as 
something blemishing our national consciousness. I can add in the end that 
such circumstances one again speak of Euripides’ genius, whose creation 
excites our souls even 25 centuries later. 
 
 


The Ethnic Aspect of Perception of Medea and Helen

Bibikov, Michael V.

Phasis 10 (II), 2007 
 
 
Michael V. Bibikov (Moscow) 
A LA RECHERCHE… D’ARGONAUTIQUE BYZANTINE PERDUE 
Das Thema der Argonautenabenteuer und deren Aufenthalts bei den 
Kolchern, das Bild Medeas, Iasons Schicksal, obwohl kein Hauptgegenstand 
irgendeines epischen Poems in Byzanz geworden ist (Johannes Tzetzes’ 
"Antehomerica, Homerica und Posthomerica" ist eine Aussnahme und ist 
außer Rechnung, da das Hauptthema des Werkes viel breiter als pure et dûre 
Argonautik ist), hat aber viele Spuren in der byzantinischen Literatur 
hinterlassen. Der auf der Antike sich orientierte Nonnos von Panopolis vom 
5. Jh. erwähnt nicht einmal in den Dionysiaka das Schiff Argo
1
. Der 
Konstantinopolitanische Patriarch zw. 858 und 886 (mit der Pause) Photios 
erzählt in seiner Myriobiblion-Bibliothek u.a. über die Kolcher
2
, Argo
3
, die 
Argonauten und Peleius
4
, Medea
5
 und Iason
6
. Noch mit der heidnischen 
Tradition verbundeter Libanios
7
 hat eine Ekphrase Medeas und in einem Brief  
erwähnt er Iason
8
 mit. Mehrere byzantinische Lexika sind auch mit diesem 
Gegenstand gut bekannt. 
So behauptet man in Etymologikum Magnum (vom ersten Hälfte des 12. 
Jh.), das Schiff Argo habe seinen Eponym von der Stadt wo es konstruiert 
worden war, d.h. Argos, oder von Argos, der das Schiff gemacht hatte
9
. 
Etymologicum Magnum bezieht sich in diesem Zusammenhang auf den 
                                                 
1
  Nonni Panopolitani Dionysiaka, 47. 255; 13. 87. 
2
  Photii Bibliotheca, III. 31. 37; 2: P. 38. 31. 
3
  Ibidem, III. 55. 30. 
4
  Ibidem, VII. P. 33. 43. 
5
  Ibidem, VII. 141. 27 und III. P. 38. 31, 40-41, 62. 39, 63. 41. 
6
  Ibidem, III. 55. 30; 31; p. 31. 31-36; p. 38. 31. 1; p. 62. 22. 
7
  Libanii Opera, VIII. 516. 5-518. 3. 
8
  Libanii Epistolae, ed. Foerster, X. 57. 17.  
9
  Etymologicum Magnum, P. 388-389; 136. 32-36. 
A la recherche… d’Argonautique Byzantine perdue 15 
Historiker Hege[sippos], wenn Tzetzes im Lykophronkommentar
10
 auf Sala-
minier Hegesandros. 
Der letzte heidnische Geschichtsschreiber in Byzanz Zosimos, dessen 
"Neugeschichte" vom 5. Jh. datiert ist, erwähnt Peisandros als Verfasser der 
"Heroischen Theomagien", wo die Beschreibung des Weges der Argonauten 
vom Pontos durch den Ister in Richtung des Norikergebietes über die Stadt 
Emonos
11
 steht. 
In den byzantinischen Beschreibungen der weiteren Reise der Argonauten 
bemerkt man eine Kontamination der heidnischen und christlichen Elemen-
ten. So erzählte Johannes Antiochenus am Anfang des 7. Jh. im Text nach 
dem Cod. Paris. gr. 1630 wie die Argonauten zu Kyzikos angereist waren und 
den dortigen König Kyzik umgebracht hatten, aber danach sie errichteten 
einen Tempel im Namens der Rhea. Darüber erzält auch Zosimos
12
. Später 
aber, nach Johannes, ist dieser Tempel als Mariaskirche benannt geworden. 
Dann passierte der Zug über Bithynien und sie besiegten dort den Barbar 
Amykos, wonach auch ein Tempel errichtet wurde, welchen später der Kaiser 
Konstantin I. im Ehren des Erzengels Michael nannte
13
. Darüber spricht auch 
Johannes Malalas, ergänzend daß es Kaiser Zeno war, der den Rheatempel als 
Gottesmutter-Kirche umbenannt hat
14
. Die Kyzikos-Geschichte ist später, im 
12. Jh. übereinstimmend von Georgios Kedrenus nacherzählt
15
, danach auch 
von Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopulos im 14. Jh.
16
 im Zusammenhang mit 
dem Kaiser Konstantin dem Grossen, der die Argonautengedenkensäule in 
Sosthenion, wo die zwei Kirchen dem Erzengel Michael errichtet hätte, 
gefunden habe
17
. 
Johannes Tzetzes wie in Gedichtsform
18
, so auch im prosaischen Kom-
mentar
19
 erzählt die Entstehungsgeschichte Jasons und dessen Verhältnis in 
Bezug auf Pelias nach. 
Eine Sonderstellung bei den Byzantinern hat der Fahrtteilnehmerkatalog. 
Wenn Tzetzes den aus Apollonios Rhodios ausgeschriebenen Katalog
20
 
wiederholte, Stephan von Byzanz im 6. Jh. den Amyros im Zusammenhang 
                                                 
10
  Joannis Tzetzae Commentarii ad Lycophronen, 833. 
11
  Zosimi … Historia Ecclesiastica, 286. 14-287. 2, Bonn. 
12
  Ibidem, 97. 2-14, Bonn. 
13
  Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, vol. IV. 548. F. 15.1-2. 
14
  Ioannis Malalae Chronographia, ed. Thurn, 54. 68-56. 24.  
15
  Georgii Cedreni… 104. 4-13, Bonn. 
16
  VII. 50. 
17
  PG 145, 1865, coll. 1328C-1329B. 
18
  Ioannis Tzetzae Historiae, ed. P. Leone., Chil. VI. 96: P. 251. 973-984. 
19
  Ioannis Tzetzae Commentarii ad Lykoph., 175. 
20
  Ibidem, 175; cf. 874. 
Michael V. Bibikov 16 
mit dem Stadtname hervorragte
21
, und bei seinem fast Zeitgenossen 
Hesychios ist Azoros spezial erwähnt
22
. 
Um der Namen der Heniochoi bei Dioskurias zu erklären, machte man die 
Wagenlenker der Dioskuren zu Argonauten, Amphistratos und Rhekas (?), 
oder Amphitos und Telchis (?); so bei Eustathios von Thessalonike im 
Kommentar zu Dionysios Periegetes
23
. Auch im 12. Jh. bei Tzetzes sind viele 
geographischen Bezeichnungen des Kolchischen Landes erwähnt
24
, die im 
Westen wieder erschienen.  
Noch einige Bemerkungen zu den byzantinischen Interpretationen. Nach 
dem Etymologicon Magnum solle Paissos von einer Landung der Argonauten 
seinen Namen haben
25
. 
Verschiedene Variationen der Geschichte des Hylaskultes findet man wie 
bei Eustathius’ Kommentaren zu Dionysios Periegetes
26
, so im Lexikon 
"Suda" (10. Jh.)
27
. 
Weitere Beschreibungen des Argonautenzuges befinden sich in verschie-
denen byzantinischen Texten. Von Amykos (darüber als Königsnamen der 
Bebriker in Etymologicum Magnum)
28
 gelangen die Argonauten alsbald zu 
Phineus am Bosporos vor dem Eingang zum Pontos, wohnte nach anderen 
dagegen am Pontos selbst in Paphlagonien (so bei Stephan von Byzanz
29
), 
oder in der Gegend von Salmydessos
30
. Phineussage wiedererzählt Eusta-
thius
31
. Dann wieder, nach Tzetzes
32
, die Boreaden Kalais und Zetes griffen 
die Harpyien an, jagten sie in die Flucht und töteten sie.  
Der Historiker vom Ende 8./Anfang 9. Jh. Georgios Synkellos erwähnt 
zwischen den Argonauten Herakles, die Dioskuriden und Asklepion
33
. 
Wenn man die nördliche Richtung der Fahrt im Pontos betrachten kann, 
ist hier die Stadt Medeia (nach dem Memoirist des 14. Jh. ex-Kaiser Johannes 
Kantakuzenos
34
), das skytische Kytaia (nach Stephan von Byzanz
35
), wie auch 
                                                 
21
  Stephanus Byzantinus, Ethnika, 88. 10. 
22
  Hesychii Alexandrini Lexicon, ed. M. Schmidt, 44. 20-21. 
23
  Eustathii Thessalonicensis Commentarii ad Dionysium Periegetem, 680. 
24
  Ioannis Tzetzae Commentarii ad Lycophr., 1312. 
25
  Etymologicum Magnum, ed. Th. Gaisford, 119. 33-37: P. 338 
26
  Eustathii… ad Dionys. Per. 805. 
27
  Svidae Lexicon, ed. A. Adler, T. IV. S. 638. 16-22, n. 90. 
28
  Etymologicum Magnum, 87, 11-12, 1. 240. 
29
  Stephanus Byz. Ethnika, 562.22-24. Cf. Eustathii Thessalonicensis Commentarii ad Homeri Ili-
adem, 362. 8. 
30
  Stephanus... 551. 21. 
31
  Eustathii… Commentarii ad Homeri Iliadem, XII, 69. 
32
  Ioannis Tzetzae Historiae, Chil. I. 212–230: P. 10-11, n. 7. 
33
  Georgius Syncellus, Ecloga Chronographica, ed. A. A. Mosshammer, 183. 27-28. 
34
  Ioannis Cantacuzeni Historiae, vol. III. P. 62. 22-23; 63. 5-6, Bonn. 
35
  Stephanus Byz., 398. 14-399. 3. 
A la recherche… d’Argonautique Byzantine perdue 17 
die Gründung Pantikapaions durch einen Sohn des Aietes (bei Stephan
36
 und 
bei Eustathios im Kommentar zu Dionysios Periegetes
37
) erwähnt. 
Bei der östlichen Richtung der Fahrt im Pontos, sollte ein Grab den 
Steuermann Tiphys bergen, den plötzlich der Tod überraschte, während die 
Helden noch um Idmon trauerten, wie es bei Tzetzes im Lykophronkom-
mentar
38
 erwähnt ist. 
Nach dem Etymologicum Magnum
39
 hatten die Argonauten dem Eua-
rchosflusse seinen Namen gegeben und Sinopes Pflanzenstadt Kytoros galt 
für eine Gründung des Phrixossohnes Kytoros (wie bei Stephan von 
Byzanz
40
) oder Kytisoros
41
. Nach Eustathius sei auch
42
 Glaukos der Erbauer 
und Steuermann der Argo gewesen und sei bei einem Kampfe der Argonauten 
und Thyrrhener (vermutlich bei Lemnos bzw. bei Kyzikos) allein unverwun-
dert geblieben. 
Was sich um den Drachenkampf handelt, stammten die Drachenzähne, 
welche Iason säen mußte, nicht von einem durch Iason getöteten Drachen, 
sondern von dem Kadmosdrachen: Kadmos nach Tzetzes
43
 habe seiner Zeit 
nur die Hälfte der Zähne verbraucht, die andere Hälfte sei von Ares, Athena 
oder Phrixos nach Kolchis gebracht und dem Aietes geschenkt, der sie nun 
Iason übergab. 
Der verbreiteten antiken Meinungen nach, hat Iason den Drachen getötet. 
Johannes Tzetzes aber im Kommentar zu Lykophron behauptete (nach 
Lykophron selbst, wie auch Apollodor, Ovid u. a.), daß Medea den Drachen 
mit Zaubermitteln verschläfert hat und also Iason die Gelegentheit 
verschaffte, die Goldenen Vliess zu entwenden
44
. 
Die Byzantiner haben die Beschreibungen bzw. Erwähnungen der Städte 
und Orte in Kolchis und den benachbarten Ländern als Beweis, daß die 
Argonauten wirklichin diesen Gebieten geweilt hätten, so die Stadt Aia am 
Phasis
45
, Kytaia, nach welcher Aietes und Medea das Beiwort Kytaeisch 
füren (bei Stephan von Byzanz
46
; Tzetzes
47
; bei Prokop von Kaisareia
48
; und 
                                                 
36
  Ibidem, 501.13-502. 3. 
37
  Eustathii… Commentarii ad Dionys. Per., 311. 
38
  Ioannis Tzetzae. Comm. ad Lycophr., 890. 
39
  Etymologicum Magnum, 388. 45-45: P. 1115. 
40
  Stephanus Byz., 399. 12-14. 
41
  Eustathii... Commentarii ad Homeri Iliadem, P. 361. 41. 
42
  Ibidem, 271. 24. 
43
  Ioannis Tzetzae Comment. ad Lykophr., 175. 
44
  Ibidem, 175. 
45
  Eustathii… Commentarii ad Homeri Odysseam, I. P. 321. 1614. 5-6. 
46
  Ethnika. 398.14-399.3. 
47
  Ioannis Tzetzae Commentarii ad Lykophr., 174. 
48
  DeBello Gothico, // Procopii Caesariensis, Bella, ed. Haury, vol. IV. 14. 49: II. 565. 7-10. 
Michael V. Bibikov 18 
Agathias aus Myrina (Kleinasien), 6. Jh.
49
). Dioskurias, nach Nikanor bei 
Stephan von Byzanz
50
, sei das alte Aia, für eine Gründung der Dioskuren als 
Argonauten oder ihrer Wagenlenker Amphistratos und Rhekas oder Amphitos 
und Telchis, welche auch dem Stamme der Heniocher seinen Namen gegeben 
haben sollten
51
. Die Achaioi, von denen es sonst hieß, sie seien nach dem 
troianischen Kriege von Askalon und Ialmenos oder von Achilleus (wie bei 
Eustathius zu Dionysios Periegetes
52
) an die Pontosküste geführt, sollten nach 
anderen von den Genossen Iasons stammen; ebenso die Albaner und Iberer 
und die nach Iasons Begleiter Armenos genannten Armenier (Eustathius im 
zu Dionysios Periegetes Kommentar
53
 und in den Parekbolen zu Ilias
54
, wo 
doch steht Ormenion). 
Bei der Heimatfahrt der Argonauten, sowohl nach dem heidnischen 
Histotiker Zosimos (V. 29), als auch dem kirchlichen Geschichtsschreiber 
Sozomen
55
, sei die Argo zwar den Isros und die Sau hinaufgefahren, dann 
aber auf den Schultern der Helden oder auf Walzen zu einem in das 
Adriatische Meer mündenden Fluß hinübergetragen. 
Andere Einzelheiten verstanden die byzantinischen Autoren wie-
dersprüchlich im Zusammenhang mit der angenommenen Tradition. So ist die 
Apsyrtosaffäre in der Stadt Apsaros (ehemalige Apsyrtos) nach Prokop
56
 
stattgefunden, nach Stephan von Byzanz
57
 aber bei Tomoi
58
. 
Nach der byzantinischen Tradition, die die Argonauten verfolgenden 
Kolcher selbst kehrten aus Furcht vor Aietes nicht wieder in ihr Vaterland 
zurück, sondern sind in verschiedenen Orten an der adriatischen Küste 
angesiedelt, so in Istrien, Illyrien, Epeiros, in Polai (nach Tzetzes
59
), am 
Dizeros, nach dem Suchen der Medea benannten (ebenda und bei Stephan 
von Byzanz
60
), wie auch auf den Apsyrtosinseln (Eustathius zu Dionysios 
Periegetes
61
. 
Nicht nur in der früh- und mittebyzantinischen Literatur kann man das ar-
gonautische Sujet treffen. Die spätbyzantinischen Sriftsteller wie Theodoros 
                                                 
49
  Agathiae Myrinensis Historia, ed. Keydell, 65. 15-17.  
50
  Stephanus Byz., Ethnika, 233. 15-19. 
51
  Eustathii… Commentarii ad Dionys., Perieget., 687. 
52
  Ibidem, 680, 685. 
53
  Ibidem, 694. 
54
  Eustathii… Commentarii ad Homeri Iliadem, 332. 2: I, P. 269. 9-15. 
55
  Sozomeni Historia Ecclesiastica, I. 6. 
56
  Procopii Caesariensis… Bellum Gothicum, IV. 2: II. 492. 9-14. 
57
  Stephanus Byz., 628. 6-8. 
58
  Cf. Ioannis Tzetzae Comm. ad Lykophr., 175. 
59
  Ibidem, Scholia, 1022. 
60
  Stephanus Byz., 230. 10-12. 
61
  Eustathii… Comm. Dionys. Per., 488. 
A la recherche… d’Argonautique Byzantine perdue 19 
Metochites oder Johannes Kantakuzenos im 14. Jh. demonstrieren ihre 
Kenntniß dieses Themas. 
Sogar in der nachbyzantinischen Dichtung gibt es interessante Bearbei-
tung des Medea-Iason-Stoffes. K. Krumbacher hat nach einer handschriftli-
chen Kopie des 16. Jh. ein Poem "Synaxarien der Vornehmen Männer und 
Frauen" veröffentlicht
62
, wo Medea und Iason ihre unbestreitbaren Platz 
emfangen.   
                                                 
62
  Krumbacher K., Ein vulgärgriechischer Weiberspiegel, München, 1905, 335-433. 


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