Q 01/05

Whom does Medea kill at the climax of the tragedy by Euripides, as the act that will hurt Jason most?

A) Jason's aged father

B) Their two sons

C) Her own brother

D) The king's guards

Answer · why

B) Their two sons

Their two sons die by her own hand, a twist Euripides seems to have invented. In one older version of the myth the townspeople killed them.

Q 02/05

Where did Euripides finish in the tragedy contest at which his Medea was first performed?

A) First place

B) Second place

C) Third and last

D) He was disqualified

Answer · why

C) Third and last

Third and last was the judges' verdict on what became the most performed Greek tragedy of the 20th century. Sophocles came second that year.

Q 03/05

Which opera soprano played Medea in Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1969 film, the only film role of her career?

A) Maria Callas

B) Renata Tebaldi

C) Joan Sutherland

D) Montserrat Caballé

Answer · why

A) Maria Callas

Maria Callas filmed the part on location in Cappadocia in Turkey and at the citadel of Aleppo in Syria.

Q 04/05

The stage crane that lifts Medea out of reach in the final scene gave rise to which Latin phrase?

A) In medias res

B) Exeunt omnes

C) Dramatis personae

D) Deus ex machina

Answer · why

D) Deus ex machina

Deus ex machina means god from the machine, because the crane normally flew in a deity. Euripides gave the ride to a mortal woman instead.

Q 05/05

Which prize did Medea's magic help Jason win from her father, before the events of Euripides' play?

A) The Golden Fleece

B) The Belt of Hippolyta

C) The Cattle of Geryon

D) The Apples of the Hesperides

Answer · why

A) The Golden Fleece

The Golden Fleece hung in a sacred grove, watched by a serpent that never slept. Medea named one price for her help: Jason had to marry her.