ABSTRACT
Heroides 12 is written just as Medea is starting to utter the threats that lead to the decree of banishment from Corinth and before she has finalized her plans for revenge. Medea was a very popular subject for ancient poetry, and interesting accounts of different parts of the myth were produced by famous authors like Pindar, Euripides, Apollonius of Rhodes, Seneca and Valerius Flaccus. Medea has remained a very popular subject in all artistic media to this day. The 1836-38 painting of Medea by the French artist Eugene Delacroix is a magnificent example of the continuing fascination with the heroine, her unnatural act of child-murder and her iconoclasm. Delacroix's decision to capture her on the point of slaying her sons illustrates this continued interest in her deviation from female norms. The artist's own brief comments on the painting indicate that Medea is being pursued, as does her backward glance and lengthy stride.
