The Best Translation of Medea
Medea was written in Ancient Greek. 2 recommended editions, ranked — with Gröblé’s verdict on which to read first.
Robin Robertson
Free Press · 2008
Robertson is a Scottish poet, and his Medea reads like one. The rage is dramatic, percussive, built for performance. Looser than the scholarly versions but the one that makes you understand why this play still gets staged constantly.
Every recommended edition, compared
Kovacs in the Loeb, facing-page Greek. The version you reach for when you want to know what Euripides wrote, not what a poet has done with it. Dry where Robertson is hot, and useful for that exact reason.
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Reading Medea in translation
Medea was written in Ancient Greek, so unless you read Ancient Greek, the translator decides the book you actually experience — its register, its pace, how it sounds read aloud. Two editions of the same work can feel like different books.
The ranking above is Gröblé’s: one reader’s verdict on which English gets you closest, not a publisher’s blurb. Start with the top pick; reach for the others when you want a different angle on the original.