Medea and other women in Jules Dassin’s Never on Sunday

Abstract

In Jules Dassin’s 1960’s film Never on Sunday, Ilia is a Greek prostitute at the port of Piraeus, who is very fond of Greek tragedy. Yet, while she has seen Euripides’ Medea fifteen times, she keeps denying that, at the end of the play, Medea kills her children. This article explores the reasons why Ilia insists on seeing the play again and again, while also insisting on recasting a revenge plot into a love story with a happy ending. Furthermore, it discusses gender dynamics in the film, focusing on Ilia’s firm opposition to all female oppression. Finally, it argues that, through Ilia’s misinterpretation of Medea, Never on Sunday invites discussion of the various disguises of human vulnerability and of an all too common fear—the fear of love.