Euripides' Medea Int. and Trans. by Marianne McDonald Copyright ...

AEGEUS
Whatever happens to those who have no respect for the gods.
MEDEA
Go and enjoy good fortune! Everything is fine now.
I shall come to your city as soon as possible,
after I finish a few things here.
Exit AEGEUS.
CHORUS
May Hermes give you fair escort,
and bring you safely home.
May you soon get all that you wish, 760
because you have shown yourself to be a generous man.
MEDEA
By Zeus, Justice sanctioned by Zeus, and Light of the Sun,
now I shall be victorious over my enemies.
I have begun my journey and
I hope to pay back my enemies.
This man has appeared as my saviour,
when I was at my lowest point.
I’ll moor my boat in his harbor 770
when I reach the city of Pallas Athena.
Now I shall tell you my plans, but I know you won’t approve.
I shall send a servant to get Jason
to come and see me. I’ll use winning words
to tell him that I agree with his decision to
marry into the royal family, even if it meant betraying me.
It’s all for the best, and I see how it benefits us.
I shall beg that my children stay. 780
But don’t think I’ll leave them for my enemies to harm;
I’ll only use them to kill the princess by my craft.
I shall send them to her bearing persuasive gifts:
a dress of fine weave and delicate crown of gold.
If she puts these on, she will die a terrible death,
and so will anyone who touches her.
Such are the poisons that I have smeared on these gifts.
[Medea becomes pensive.]
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