About the work
Das goldene Vlies (The Golden Fleece) is a dramatic trilogy by Franz Grillparzer comprising 'Der Gastfreund', 'Die Argonauten' and 'Medea'. He worked on it from 1818 until January 1820; it premiered on 26 and 27 March 1821, on two consecutive evenings, at Vienna's Burgtheater.
Plot
The Greek Phryxus brings the golden fleece to Colchis and is killed there by King Aietes. Years later Jason arrives with the Argonauts to retrieve it; Aietes's daughter Medea uses her sorcery to help him succeed and flees with him to Greece. In Corinth, Jason casts off Medea, who is shunned as a foreigner, for the native princess Kreusa; in revenge, Medea kills their children and returns the fleece to Apollo's temple at Delphi.
Cultural significance
With its three-part structure, Das goldene Vlies is Grillparzer's most extensive stage work, and the Medea plot doubles as a study of foreignness and exclusion. A Burgtheater production of the material received four nominations at the 2004 Nestroy Theatre Awards and won two of them.