On December 17 at 4:00 PM, as part of the Conversations at Libraria series, Caucasus University Bookstore Libraria will host a public discussion titled “Medea’s Journey — From Greek Myth to Georgian Taboo.”

Medea, daughter of the King of Colchis, is one of the most significant figures in Greek mythology and literature. Her mythopoetic image has generated profoundly different interpretations within Greek and Georgian cultural contexts.

The Georgian presence in the history of world civilization begins with ancient Colchis and the myth of the Argonauts. Greek mythology preserves the ambivalent image of the first Colchian woman—Medea—who became the archetype of a powerful, knowledgeable, and all-capable yet simultaneously dangerous woman. In Greek perception, Medea is a descendant of the sun god Helios, the high priestess of Hecate, and the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis; yet she is nevertheless portrayed as a “barbarian.” By disrupting the existing model of civilization, she introduces her own order into what appears to be a well-structured Greek legal and moral system. The great Greek tragedian Euripides transformed Medea from a mythological figure into a tragic heroine, elevating her to an archetypal character of world civilization. Greek interpretations of Medea gave rise to numerous reimagining of her character and inspired many major works of world literature and art. In Greek cultural consciousness, Medea remains the archetype of a powerful yet dangerous woman—a perception that persists across both early and later versions of the myth.

In contrast, Georgian cultural consciousness offers a fundamentally different understanding of Medea’s mythological image—one that often transcends the boundaries of myth and literature and enters a historical dimension. In the Georgian narrative, Medea is portrayed as an oppressed Georgian woman, abducted by the Greek hero Jason along with the Golden Fleece, deceived, betrayed, and ultimately driven to seek revenge. Particularly prominent in Georgian discourse is the persistent effort to absolve Medea of the murder of her children, a crime attributed to her by Euripides—allegedly in exchange for a “bribe” from the Corinthians. Even today, not only speaking ill of Medea, but recounting the full myth or its various versions, often causes unease among Georgians and is accompanied by continual attempts to rehabilitate her image in Georgian literature and art. Originating in Greek myth and literature, Medea thus remains a national trauma and a cultural taboo within Georgian consciousness.

And yet, several essential questions remain:

• What do we, as Georgians, truly know about our mythological ancestor—the first “Georgian literary heroine,” Medea?
• What do Greek mythology and literature reveal about Medea?
• Why has Medea become a national trauma?
• Where does the Greek myth end, and where does the Georgian taboo surrounding Medea begin?

To explore these and other questions, we invite you to a public lecture by Hellenist and translator Tatia Mtvarelidze, Assistant Professor at Caucasus University, titled “Medea’s Journey: From Greek Myth to Georgian Taboo.”

Those wishing to attend are kindly requested to register via the provided link.