All language subtitles for 14-lg-MEDEIA, O AMOR ASSASSINO

(dramatic symphonic music)

(ocean waves and brooding music)

- [Narrator] Finally, land was in sight.

Jason glanced around at his crew,

the sailors of the Argo, the Argonauts,

the most courageous
princes in all of Greece.

Among them the twins Castor, and Pollux.

Heracles himself,

and Orpheus, the great musician.

Like their leader, they are excited,

and yet also relieved,

to have finally reached their destination.

Their voyage has been a
long and perilous one.

As the shores of Colchis
drew closer and closer,

so did the object of their quest.

The famous Golden Fleece.

The Golden Fleece was the
fleece of a winged ram,

sacrificed to Zeus.

If Jason could bring it back,

he would ascend to the throne
of his kingdom, Iolcos,

currently occupied by his
uncle, the perfidious Pelias.

Pelias made a deal with his nephew;

"This throne belongs to you.

"But first, you must prove you are worthy,

"by bringing back the Golden Fleece."

And Jason took up the challenge.

Surrounded by his faithful companions,

the hero clambered up the dunes.

Beyond lay the sacred wood,

in which the fleece hung from an oak tree.

But before taking it down,

Jason had first to seek the permission of

Aeetes, King of Colchis,

and guardian of the mythical object.

Aeetes had posted a formidable dragon

at the foot of the oak,

to guard the fleece.

With a single spurt of flame,

it could reduce anyone who
ventured near to a cinder.

In this way, Aeetes, a
cunning and heartless soul,

took gleeful pleasure
in killing any strangers

who dared set foot on his land.

Jason entered the palace.

Beside Aeetes stood his daughter,

the beautiful Medea.

She was a sorceress,

perhaps the greatest of them all.

Even greater than her aunt, Circe,

herself an expert in
transformations and magic spells.

Aeetes listened attentively
to the request of his visitor;

"If you're able to
complete the three tasks

"I'm going to give you,

"the Golden Fleece shall be yours."

Three very formidable tasks.

First, you must yoke
two fire-breathing oxen,

with feet and horns of bronze to a plow.

Next, clear four arpents of a field,

and sow the soil with
the teeth of a dragon.

Bearing in mind that once in the Earth,

from these extraordinary teeth will sprout

an army of warriors
that must be vanquished.

Jason was astounded,

it was impossible to do what Aeetes asked.

Besides, where to find
the teeth of a dragon?

Aeetes smiled, he held
out his hand and opened it

to reveal teeth of a monstrous size.

Here they are, now it's
up to you to sow them.

Jason departed the throne
room a tormented spirit.

Up on Olympus, the
goddesses Hera and Athena,

wife and daughter of Zeus,

had witnessed the whole scene.

And as Jason departed,

they excitedly discussed
ways they could help him.

They had an idea.

Turning to Eros, the God of Love,

they asked him to ensure that
the King's daughter, Medea,

be consumed with a
burning passion for Jason.

Eros acquiesced, promising the goddesses

that he would even
prolong Medea's passion.

Just as Jason was preparing
to return to his companions,

Medea appeared in front of him.

In a voice quivering with the passion

with which Eros had filled her heart,

the Princess sorceress
announced to him that

she was willing to help
him complete his tasks.

She would protect him.

On one condition.

Jason must take her far
away from her father

whom she did not love,

and promise to marry her.

Jason pondered, Medea was
beautiful and her proposal

more than he could have hoped for.

He swore by all the gods of Olympus

that not only would he marry her,

but he would remain faithful
to her all his life.

Medea then handed him a flask

containing a liquid the color of blood.

This unguent she assured him,

would protect him from the fire

of the creatures he must confront.

She then handed him a rock,

what appeared to be an
ordinary, commonplace rock.

She explained to Jason that
once the dragon's teeth

had been sown and transformed
into fearsome warriors,

he must throw the rock among them.

Although mighty, the
exceedingly stupid soldiers,

born of the teeth of the dragon,

would fight each other over the rock.

Jason took the flask, and the rock,

his spear, and his shield,

and set off to confront
the fire-breathing bulls.

He managed to yoke them and
forced them to furrow the soil.

Then once the field had been plowed,

as King Aeetes had demanded,

he sowed the dragon's teeth.

A horde of armed and helmeted warriors

immediately sprang from the earth.

"Mighty, but exceedingly stupid."

Medea had said.

Jason acted quickly.

He hurled the rock the
sorceress had given him

towards his foes.

What happened next was
exactly as she had predicted.

(enemies fighting amongst each other)

(Jason spears his final enemy)

It was time for Jason to return to Aeetes,

and claim his prize.

He and Medea set off for the palace.

The sorceress kept her distance,

so as not to attract the
suspicions of her father.

She knew full well that
he would quickly grasp

that if Jason had succeeded,

somebody must have helped him.

And that his assistant had to be gifted

in the arts of magic.

His own daughter.

"No."

The King's response to
Jason was unequivocal.

Not only had he never intended

to part with the Golden Fleece,

he was furious that his scheme had failed,

and threatened to burn the
Argo and slaughter its crew.

Distraught, Jason left the palace.

Medea was waiting for him.

What to do?

"Steal the fleece.",

the sorceress declared firmly.

It was guarded by a fearsome dragon.

Medea told Jason not to be afraid.

Jason followed the sorceress
to the sacred wood.

The Golden Fleece was
indeed hanging there.

The dragon was very close by,

it was a fearsome sight.

Bigger than the Argo itself.

Its body was circled with 1000
rings and more importantly,

it was invincible, immortal.

Medea approached it, slowly.

Murmuring mysterious incantations,

she grabbed the branches
of a juniper tree,

extracting from it the sap
know for its narcotic effects,

spraying it into the eyes of the dragon.

The monstrous creature immediately
fell into a deep sleep.

The way ahead was free.

Jason took down the Golden
Fleece from the oak.

It was time to make their escape, quick.

Double quick, as Aeetes was onto them,

and had sent his soldiers after them.

Medea then made a strange decision.

She grabbed her half-brother, Apsyrtos,

and took him hostage.

After a mad dash the trio
boarded the Argo and cast off.

The Argo moved away from the shore,

but Aeetes galley had already
slipped into its wake.

The Argonauts did their
level best to speed up,

but the King's crew was rapid
and was gaining on them.

Medea was thrown into a panic.

The prospect of falling back
into the clutches of her father

was more than she could bear.

She knew Aeetes would
seize and execute Jason,

the man she had fallen madly in love with.

So, she committed an unthinkable act.

Grabbing a sword,

she seized her half-brother,

and without a moment's hesitation,

ran it through his heart.

Then, with the same determination,

she sliced off his head,

cut his body into pieces,

and as the horrified Argonauts looked on,

tossed them overboard one after the other.

A paralyzed King Aeetes
almost fainted with shock,

as he saw the head of his
son drifting by on the tide.

He immediately stopped his galley,

and ordered the crew to gather up

the pieces of Apsyrtos' body,

so that he might be given a worthy burial.

Meanwhile the Argo sailed
off into the open sea,

the crew was saved.

Just then, a terrible voice rang out.

It was Zeus.

The King of gods, appalled
by Medea's actions,

proclaimed that the two
lovers would pay for

this frightful murder with their lives,

unless they managed to cleanse themselves.

Medea knew that only one person

could carry out this cleansing.

Her aunt, the powerful sorceress, Circe.

A thousand legends abounded about Circe,

each more terrifying than the last.

The Argo changed course.

The voyage to the island where Circe lived

was a long and perilous one,

and a thousand tempests
had to be navigated.

After 30 days at sea,

Jason and Medea reached the
great sorceress' palace.

They mingled with the crowd of supplicants

that had come in search of cleansing.

Draped in a scarlet tunic,

Circe stepped forth.

In an impressive silence,

she approached the couple,

and held above them a young ewe.

Then, cutting its throat,

as blood poured onto the
hands of Jason and Medea,

she invoked Zeus.

Once the ritual was done,

Circe stared callously at her niece.

She told her;

"I have cleansed you.

"I shall contemplate no
further misfortune against you.

"But know this,

"I approve neither of your designs

"nor your shameful actions.

"Now leave."

Medea burst into tears.

Jason, increasingly
flustered by the misfortunes

suffered by the young woman,

was given to wonder whether he
and his crew had been cursed.

The voyage resumed.

As the Argo sailed alongside the coast

of the island of Corfu,

a powerful, heavily armed
ship sent by Aeetes,

heaved into view.

The King of Colchis had
not abandoned his pursuit.

Jason realized that the
hunt would never cease.

Wherever he went, whatever it took,

Aeetes would be on his tail.

There was only one thing to do.

Marry Medea.

Not so much to honor his promise,

more because he knew very well that

the King would cease trying
to recover his daughter,

once she had lost her virginity.

Jason ordered the crew to berth.

The moment they stepped ashore,

they were married,

with the Argonauts acting as witnesses.

The Golden Fleece was then
laid out as a wedding bed.

By the time their pursuers
arrived, it was too late.

The marriage had been consummated,

the couple was saved.

(melodic symphonic music)

Back in Iolcos, terrible
news awaited Jason.

He discovered that his uncle Pelias,

who had promised to relinquish the throne

if he brought back the Golden Fleece,

had not only killed his father,

but slaughtered his entire family.

Jason and the Argonauts,

outraged by this shameful act,

were of the opinion that Pelias must die.

But the city was much
too powerfully armed,

to be stormed by so few attackers.

Medea rose to speak.

Once again, she was inspired by

her overwhelming love for Jason.

She instructed the Argonauts
to hide on a beach.

When they saw a torch lit
on the roof of the palace,

it would be the signal
that Pelias was dead,

that the doors were open.

They would be free to take the city.

Medea set off for Iolcos, alone.

Like a shadow she
skipped through the city,

entering the palace and slipping unnoticed

into the bed chamber of
Pelias' four daughters.

She announced to them
that she was an envoy

sent by the goddess, Artemis,

who had decided to reinvigorate
their aging father,

and make him youthful again.

The girls guffawed, they did
not believe a word of it.

So to convince them,

Medea boiled some water
in a huge cauldron,

pouring magic herbs into it,

she asked them to send for an old ram.

She then cut its throat before plunging it

into the steaming liquid.

A few moments later,

an adorable little lamb
emerged from the concoction.

Captivated, Pelias' daughters
immediately decided that

their father must be
similarly reinvigorated.

They pleaded with Medea to give them

some of the magic herbs.

The sorceress willingly complied.

The girls then went to
Pelias to tell him of

the will of the goddess Artemis,

confirmed by the incredible
scene they had just witnessed.

They tried to persuade him
to submit to the same ritual,

Pelias refused, were
they out of their minds?

His daughters insisted,

recounting again with amazement how

the ram had rediscovered its youth.

Pelias, irritated by such naivety,

dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

But the girls were not
so easily dissuaded.

And with big grins on their faces,

they surrounded their
father and shoved him

into the cauldron of boiling water.

But there was no charm in the magic herbs,

and Medea had disappeared.

Pelias' howls still resound
in the sky of Iolcos.

(symphonic music)

Would Jason finally ascend to the throne?

No, because the people blamed him

for the death of their king.

They hounded him out of
the kingdom and instead,

crowned Acasti, the son of Pelias.

Jason and Medea were
banished from the kingdom,

forced to seek refuge elsewhere.

They were eventually welcomed in Corinth,

by King Creon.

Over a period of ten
peaceful and happy years,

Medea gave Jason two
sons, Mermeros and Pheres.

Medea, a Princess of a thousand
powers, seemed appeased.

She imagined herself
ending her life beside

the man she still loved above all else.

But one morning, the aging
King Creon summoned Jason

and confided to him that before he died,

he was anxious to find a noble husband

for his daughter, Creusa.

A man who could be an heir to his kingdom.

He thought of Jason.

Was he already married?

Too bad.

He had only to renounce Medea,

in any case said Creon,

Medea was a foreigner and under Greek law,

she was not recognized as Jason's wife.

Creusa was beautiful.

Creusa was young.

Jason didn't take too much persuading.

The throne of Iolcos had escaped him,

but here was his chance
to become King of Corinth.

A shame about Medea but, never mind.

That same day Creon banished
the sorceress from his kingdom,

Medea was aghast.

Everything she held dear had
suddenly been taken from her.

She quickly pulled herself together.

She asked the King to allow
her one more day in the city.

Creon acquiesced.

Not for a moment did he
imagine the terrible revenge

the humiliated sorceress
was planning to wreak.

Medea conjured up a gown, a sublime dress,

a robe worthy of the
most beautiful goddesses,

the most noble Queens.

Pretending it to be a
token of her friendship,

she dispatched it to her rival.

Creusa was dazzled, she
hastened to try it on,

with terrifying results.

The moment she slipped on the dress,

she burst into flames, Creusa burned.

Engulfed in a terrible blaze,

she burned to death in agonizing pain.

Meanwhile, Medea was making
her way to Hera's temple.

She was not alone.

Her children, Jason's
children, accompanied her.

It was dark.

A heavy silence filled the air.

Medea had Mermeros and
Pheres sit at her side.

She then took them in her arms,

holding them tenderly against her.

Her eyes revealed neither anger,
nor jealousy, nor despair.

Suddenly, letting out a terrible scream,

Medea produced a dagger,

and plunged it into the
hearts of her children.

(dramatic orchestral music)

Jason, conqueror of the Golden Fleece,

was now a mere shadow of himself.

Nothing much mattered to him anymore,

neither power nor glory.

He lived in his memories,
alone and unhappy.

With only the memory of
his slaughtered sons,

his bygone exploits,
and his long-lost loves.

One day, while he was lying
eyes closed beneath a tree,

in the shadow of his old
rotting ship, the Argo,

the worm-eaten stern broke off,

and landed on him with a crash.

Jason was killed immediately as he slept.

What became of Medea?

We know nothing of her fate.

Some legends have it
that she left for Athens,

where she bewitched the old King Aegeus,

before being banished again.

Others claim that the
gods in their magnanimity,

took life from her but
forgave her awful crime.

She was thus transported
up to the Elysian Fields,

where she married the hero Achilles,

after he was killed outside
the ramparts of Troy.

Medea, she is the errant
woman, the outsider.

Medea, she is also the
humiliated and betrayed woman,

prepared to do anything,

even kill her own children.

Outrageous and possessive,

her love became murderous.

(symphonic theme music)