MEDEA MYTH IN MODERN TURKISH THEATRE
MODERN TÜRK TİYATROSUNDA MEDEA MİTİ

Author : Sena KÜÇÜK
Number of pages : 415-440

Abstract

The Medea myth, which constitutes the most striking example of male-female conflict in mythology, has been dealt with numerous times in the Turkish theater. Medea is left by Iason, for whom he sacrificed everything he owned and who he helped ascend in position, when she finds a new step to help her; moreover, he is exiled from the country. In order to take his revenge, Medea seizes from her whatever she holds dear. Among them are his own children, too. Euripides tops the list of those who have dealt with the myth of Medea. Subsequent ones took, to a large extent, his work as an example. Munis Faik Ozansoy and Kemal Kocatürk, who turned Medea into a play in the Turkish theater, were also based their plays on Euripides. Güngör Dilmen and Yüksel Pazarkaya, on the other hand, placed the events and people in a modern setting although they borrowed the main plot from Euripides. While Kurban (Victim) is set in an Anatolian village, Mediha’s setting is Germany. The plays are based on the theme of women’s suffering persecution. Altın Post (Golden Fleece) presents an intersection of the lives of Medea and Iason and differs from other works in terms of its genre. Our study is aimed at revealing comparatively the reflections of the Medea myth in Turkish theater. Identifying what conditions in Turkish theater surround the character Medea, which has been fed by the most ancient roots of humanity and occupies a significant place in the world literature and theater, and what appearance it has assumed is important in demonstrating ways of benefiting from mythology and what an effective point of view mythology offers in reaching modern man. In this context, Kurban and Mediha found a way from the Medea myth to unique tragic heroes stuck within the social order and reinforced the connection between mythology and theater.

Keywords

Turkish Theatre, Medea Myth, Eurip

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