Happy Mother’s Day! Meet the Worst Mothers in History
Today is Mother’s Day, a day when people remember the myriad ways in which their mothers fed, watered, clothed, nursed, supported, tolerated, and (generally) raised them. It’s time to spring for some overpriced pastel-colored flowers, organize a brunch, select a candle or spa package, cobble together a breakfast in bed, and give thanks to the person that tradition and patriarchy has designated as the parent who does the majority of childrearing and household labor (with my apologies to those fathers who do their part and/or solo parent). Some people, however, don’t have the kind of mother who inspires warm feelings and they’re not alone.
Medea
Arguably the poster girl for bad mothers is Medea, the antihero of the Greek playwright Euripides’ eponymous play. According to Greek mythology, Medea was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. She features in the story of Jason and the Gold Fleece in which she plays a central role in Jason’s success. In Apollonius of Rhodes’s Argonautica Medea promises to help Jason reclaim his inheritance and throne if he agrees to marry her afterwards. It is largely thanks to Medea that Jason is able to complete the otherwise-impossible tasks that her father sets for him. Subsequently, Medea and Jason marry and (if this was a different kind of story) should have lived happily ever after.