Ancient Woman Thunderdome 2023
Round 2 Match 12: Medea vs. Circe!
The rules: Vote based on who would win in a fight, NOT who you like more. Consider factors such as physical prowess, intelligence or cunning, and magical ability.
If the character has multiple non-godly forms, consider the one you believe to be more powerful. If the character is a goddess for a portion of their life, please only consider their mortal or non-godly form.
Fighter: Medea
Source(s): Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica, Euripides’ Medea, various other mythological sources
Bio: Medea was a sorceress from Colchis, where the golden fleece was housed. When Jason arrived in pursuit of the fleece, Hera wanted to help him, so she got Aphrodite to make Medea fall in love with him because she knew Medea had skills that would be useful. Medea did help, in exchange for Jason’s hand in marriage: she used her magic and knowledge to protect him through the tasks the king had him complete to get the golden fleece, and then when it turned out the king didn’t plan to give Jason the fleece, Medea put the dragon guarding the fleece to sleep while Jason stole it. She then joined Jason and the Argonauts in flight. When the Argo was caught by Medea’s half-brother, Apsyrtus, Medea tricked him into a trap so Jason could kill him. When they returned from their voyage, Jason was meant to trade the golden fleece for the king Pelias’s throne, but he wouldn’t give up the throne; Medea then tricked his daughters into killing him by telling them that if they cut him into pieces, she could bring him back to life. From there, she and Jason fled to Corinth, where they lived for some time before Jason decided he wanted to marry another woman, Glauce, the daughter of the king (Creon). Creon exiled her, and so Medea went to Athens and got Aegeus, the king there, to let her stay. She then called Jason to her, apologized for her reaction to his desire to marry someone else, and asked if her children could give Glauce gifts as an apology. The gifts, a robe and crown, were poisoned, and killed not only Glauce but also Creon when he tried to save her. She then killed both her children in an attempt to hurt Jason.
Fighter: Circe
Source(s): Homer’s Odyssey, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, various other mythological sources
Bio: Circe is known for living on an island and turning men to pigs. According to Ovid, she was responsible for Scylla’s transformation into a monster; in the Odyssey, Odysseus landed on her island, and she turned most of his sailors into pigs before Hermes gave him protection from her magic and told him that before they had sex, he had to make her swear on the gods not to hurt him. Odysseus did so, and Circe turned his men back into men. Odysseus and his crew stayed on her island for a year before continuing on their journey.