In the city of
Iolcus in Greece, King
Aeson is removed from power by his half-brother
Pelias who becomes a cruel tyrant mad with power.
Giasone, Aeson's son, is sent to the
centaur Chirone to be hidden away where Pelias cannot get him. Chirone teaches Giasone about the world and tells him about the voyage he will one day take to
Colchis, where the
Golden Fleece of
Ares is kept. Colchis is home to many bizarre rituals, like human sacrifice, which are presided over by the priestess
Medea. Giasone grows up, travels to Iolcus, and challenges Pelias to the throne. Pelias says he can have the kingdom if he retrieves the Golden Fleece from Colchis on the other side of the world. Giasone agrees. Meanwhile, Medea has a vision of Giasone and is so enraptured with him that she asks her brother,
Apsirto, to help her steal the fleece in preparation for his arrival. They travel far into the wilderness, where they eventually join the
Argonauts who have been marching to Colchis. The King and the Colchians realize that the fleece has been stolen from under them. They pursue Medea and intend to retrieve the fleece. Medea realizes the Colchians are chasing them, so she kills her brother and dismembers his body so that they are forced to stop and collect his remains. This delay allows Giasone and Medea to escape. Once she arrives in Greece, Medea has a spiritual crisis after realizing how alien Greek practices are to her. In this new place, she cannot connect with the earth and its magic. When they return to Iolcus, they deliver the fleece to Pelias, who reneges on his promise. Deciding the fleece has little power, Giasone accepts this decision. Medea assumes the clothing and duties of a traditional Greek wife, but Giasone soon tires of her. He travels to
Corinth, where he sees a vision of two Chirones; one is in the form of a centaur, while the other is completely human. The centaur remains silent while the human Chirone tells Giasone that Medea is torn between her past ritualistic self, the self that performed the human rituals in Colchis, and the new less spiritual Greek self. Though Medea bears him
two sons, Giasone grows more and more distant from her. He decides to pursue a political marriage to a Corinthian princess,
Glauce. Glauce's father,
Creonte, is afraid of Medea's wrath and magic and banishes her. Upon her request, and against his better judgment, he gives her a day to prepare for her journey. The enraged Medea uses this delay to plot revenge against Giasone and his new bride. She pretends to be happy and accepting of their marriage, claiming that her only wish is that the King not banish the children she shares with Giasone. Giasone goes to Creonte with Medea's request. Medea then sends Glauce a poisoned robe and crown with a message of peace, and has a vision in which Glauce tries them on and bursts into flames. Later Glauce puts on Medea's dress and, burning with poison, runs along the ramparts and throws herself from the city walls. Poisoned from her embrace, Creonte jumps after her to his death. That night, Medea bathes each of her sons in turn, rocks them lovingly to sleep, and stabs them to death. The deaths occur offscreen; we only see the bloody knife. She lays them out on separate beds. Completing her revenge, Medea sets fire to the house with the corpses of her sons inside. Held back by the fire, Giasone pleads with Medea to let him bury their children. She refuses from the flames, shouting, "It is useless! Nothing is possible anymore!" ==Cast==