Jason and Medea in Corinth. Death of Jason.

After killing Peliyo, Jason and Medea settled with the king Creon in Corinth. Two sons were born to Medea. It seemed that Jason and Medea should have been happy even in a foreign land. But fate did not judge the happiness of either Jason or Medea. Jason, captivated by the beauty of Creon's daughter Glavki, betrayed the oaths given in Colchis to Medea even when he received a magic ointment from her; he betrayed the one with which he accomplished a great feat. He decided to marry Glaucus, and King Creon agreed to give his daughter as a wife to the famous hero.

When Medea found out about Jason's betrayal, despair took possession of her. She still loved Medea Jason. As if turned into a soulless stone, Medea sat, immersed in sadness. She did not eat, did not drink, did not listen to words of consolation. Little by little, violent anger took possession of Medea. The indomitable spirit of Medea cannot be reconciled. How can she, the daughter of the king of Colchis, the son of the radiant Helios, be demolished so that her enemies triumph over her, so that they mock her! No, Medea is terrible in anger, her revenge must be terrible in its cruelty. O! Medea will take revenge on Jason, and Glauca, and her father Creon!

Everyone curses Medea in a violent rage. She curses her children, curses Jason. Medea suffers and prays to the gods that they immediately take away her life with a lightning strike. What, besides revenge, is left for her in life? Death calls Medea, this will be the end of her torment, death will free her from grief. Why did Jason treat her so cruelly, with her, who saved him, helped, by lulling the dragon, to get the golden fleece, who, for the sake of his salvation, ambushed her brother and killed for the sake of Jason Pelias? Calls Medea Zeus and the goddess of justice Themis to be witnesses of how Jason treated her unfairly. The decision of Medea to take revenge on Jason is getting stronger and stronger.

But here comes Creon. He announces to Medea that she must immediately leave Corinth. Creon is afraid of Medea, he knows how terrible Medea is in anger, knows how powerful her charms are; because she can destroy both his daughter and himself.

Medea, in order to gain time for revenge, pretends to obey Creon, which recognizes his right to expel her, but asks him only one thing - to allow her to stay one more day in Corinth. Creon agreed, not suspecting that by doing so he condemned himself to death; but he threatens Medea that he will put to death both her and her sons if the rays of the rising sun catch Medea in Corinth. Medea knows that she has nothing to fear from execution. Rather, Creon will die, not without reason she swore by the pale-faced goddess Selena and her patroness Hecate to destroy their enemies. No, not she, but they will not escape execution. Will she, the granddaughter of the god Helios, become a laughingstock of the descendants of Sisyphus and Jason's bride!

In vain Jason tells Medea that for her good and for the good of his children he will marry Glaucus, that his sons will find support in their future brothers if the gods send him children from a new marriage. Medea cannot believe the sincerity of Jason's words, she reproaches Jason for treason and threatens him with the wrath of the gods, she does not want to listen to him. Now she hates Jason, whom she once loved so much, for whom she forgot her father, mother, brother and homeland. Angry, Jason leaves, and Medea's mockery and threats follow him.

At this time comes to Corinth, on the way from Delphi to Troisena, Aegeus, king of Athens. He greets Medea in a friendly manner and asks her why she is saddened. Medea talks about her grief and prays to the king of Athens to give her, an exile forgotten by her husband, shelter in Athens. She promises Aegeus to help with her charms, promises that he will have numerous offspring, will not remain childless, as before, if only he would give her shelter. Aegeus swears to give shelter to Medea. He swears by the goddess of the earth Gaea, Helios, Medea's grandfather, all the gods of Olympus - not to betray Medea to her enemies. He sets only one condition for Medea: she herself must come to Athens without his help, since Ege does not wantand quarrel with the king of Corinth.

Having secured a shelter, Medea begins to carry out her planned revenge. She decides not only to destroy Creon and his daughter Glauca, but also to kill her children, the children of Jason. She sends her maid for Jason. Jason arrives. Medea pretends to be submissive, she pretends to have come to terms with her fate and with the decision of Jason, and asks him for only one thing, so that he convinces Creon to leave her sons in Corinth. Children also come. Seeing them, Medea cries, she hugs and kisses her sons, she loves them, but the thirst for revenge is stronger than love for children.

But how to destroy Glaucus and Creon? And so, under the pretext that she is trying to persuade Glauca to leave her children in Jason's new house, Medea sends precious clothes and a golden crown as a gift to Glauca. It is this gift that brings death with it. As soon as Glauca put on the clothes and the crown sent by Medea, the poison with which they were saturated entered her body; as a copper hoop compresses her head a crown. Clothes burn her body with fire. Glauca dies in terrible agony. Her father hurries to help her, he hugs the unfortunate daughter, but the clothes stick to him too. He tries to tear this garment from his body, but with it he also tears off pieces of his body. And Creon died from the gift of Medea.

With triumph, Medea hears, standing at her palace, about the death of Creon and Glauca, but their death did not quench Medea's thirst for revenge: after all, she decided to kill her children in order to make Jason suffer even more. Now it encourages Medea to decide on this murder and the fact that she knows what fate threatens her sons when the relatives of Creon will avenge them for the crimes of their mother. Medea hastily left for the palace, and immediately the cries and groans of her sons were heard there. Their own mother killed them. Jason, when Creon and his daughter Glauca died at the hands of his wife Medea, in fear that Creon's relatives would kill his sons out of revenge, hurries to his palace. The door to the palace is locked, Jason wants to break it open. Suddenly, in the air, on a chariot drawn by dragons, sent by the god Helios, Medea appears: at her feet lie the sons she killed. Jason is horrified. He begs Medea to leave him at least the bodies of his sons so that he himself can bury them. But even this consolation does not give him Medea, who is quickly carried away on a wonderful chariot.

Jason's entire later life was bleak. Nowhere did he find a place for himself for a long time. One day he passed through the Isthm, past the place where the ship "Argo" was pulled ashore, dedicated to the Argonauts and the god of the sea, Poseidon. Tired Jason lay down in the shade of the Argo under her stern to rest and fell asleep. When Jason was sleeping peacefully, the stern of the Argo, which had fallen into disrepair, collapsed and buried the sleeping Jason under its debris.