Theatrical space in four ancient versions of Medea (Euripides, Carcinus, P.Oxy. 5093, Seneca)

The paper explores the conception of space in three ancient plays about Medea: the first one, the Medea by Euripides, staged in 431 BCE, is one of the most famous plays ever written. Fragments of two new versions of Medea have been discovered very recently: a fragment, published in 2006, comes from the Medea by Carcinus, staged in the fourth century BCE. Another fragment, published in 2011, comes from a prose text of the first century AD. Its author claims that in Euripides’ original version of Medea, Medea killed her children on stage. This is probably a fiction, but gives a very interesting insight into the reception of Euripides’ play. This imperial pseudo-Euripides is in fact following Seneca’s version of the staging. In these three versions of Medea, the handling of theatrical space and visibility is radically different: in Euripides the infanticide takes place inside the house; the children are visible just before the murder and at the end of the play, on the mechane (the theatrical flying machine that carries away Medea). In Carcinus, the very fact that the children are not visible is used as evidence to convict Medea of their murder. In Seneca (and in the version falsely attributed to Euripides), Medea kills the children in full view of the audience.