Chapter 5 Summary: The Casting of Medea

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Gelon and Lampo arrive at Laurium quarry early for the first casting session. Lampo, despite a hangover, shares Gelon’s conviction that staging a play matters—comparing it to how Euripides' Hippolytus was performed during the Athenian plague. They select a shaded, limestone-jutted spot as their rehearsal space. Lampo seeks out Paches, a skeletal Athenian prisoner, and offers him the role of Jason with the promise of proper food. Paches accepts, weeping as he eats. Lampo insists the prisoner be called only “Jason.” Together they search for a real actor, finding Numa hiding in a tunnel after a near-fatal encounter with Biton. Numa auditions for Medea, delivering a passionate monologue that moves Lampo to curse Paches for his character’s betrayal. Back with Gelon, a full chorus of fifteen Athenians assembles, and Numa’s performance convinces both directors. The chapter ends with the chorus affirming Paches as Jason.

Key Events

Gelon and Lampo arrive early, and Gelon explains the historical precedent of performing tragedy during Athens’ plague.
The team selects a rehearsal spot in the quarry’s shade and lays out food to attract prisoners.
Lampo approaches Paches, names him Jason, and gives him bread and wine; the other Athenians watch in awe.
Lampo and Paches tour the quarry, revealing its crescent shape and many tunnels; Lampo reflects on watching the prisoners from high rocks.
They find Numa, a frightened Athenian who claims to have acted in rural theatres, and audition him for Medea on the spot.
Numa performs Medea’s grievances against Jason so vividly that Lampo momentarily believes Paches is the real Jason and curses him.
Back with Gelon, a full chorus of fifteen is formed; Numa repeats his audition, impressing Gelon, who embraces him.
The chorus members are instructed to call Paches “Jason,” and Paches continues to receive food.

Character Development

Lampo: Shows growing commitment and empathy; his anger at Paches during Numa’s audition reveals his immersion in the story. He also demonstrates authority by renaming Paches as Jason and leading the search.
Gelon: Acts as the ideological anchor, using the plague-era performance to justify the venture. His physical embrace of Numa signals genuine emotional investment.
Paches (renamed Jason): Physical restoration begins as he eats; his weeping and obedience show vulnerability and a spark of hope. He becomes a guide through the quarry.
Numa: Emerges from a terrified, mole-like existence into a confident actor, capable of transforming his posture and voice. His performance bridges the gap between starving prisoner and legendary character.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Theatre as defiance: Gelon’s analogy to plague-era Athens frames the production as an act of resilience against death and despair.
Transformation through naming: Lampo’s insistence on calling Paches “Jason” and the chorus’s repetition suggest that identity can be reshaped by language and performance.
The quarry as a stage: The description of the crescent shape with branching tunnels mirrors an amphitheatre, turning a site of suffering into a potential venue for art.
Empathy across enemy lines: Lampo’s involuntary curse against Paches shows how drama can dissolve the barrier between captor and captive, creating momentary identification.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter marks the shift from abstract idea to concrete action. The casting process establishes the play’s key performers and demonstrates the practical challenges—finding a trained actor, securing a chorus, feeding the cast. It also deepens the reader’s understanding of Lampo’s character: his earlier detachment gives way to genuine involvement, as seen when he loses himself in Numa’s performance. By locating the rehearsal space within the quarry’s geography and linking it to classical precedent, the chapter grounds the project in both physical and historical reality. The moment when Lampo feels like a god watching from the rocks hints at the power he believes theatre can wield—an ability to elevate both performer and observer above their circumstances.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Gelon refer to the performance of Hippolytus during the Athenian plague?
Gelon uses the historical example to justify staging Medea in the quarry despite the prisoners’ desperate condition. He argues that, just as dying actors gave a remarkable performance in plague-ravaged Athens, these starving Athenians might produce something extraordinary. The reference transforms the project from reckless entertainment into a continuation of tragic tradition.
How does Lampo’s reaction to Numa’s audition show his changing attitude toward the prisoners?
When Numa portrays Medea’s betrayal, Lampo momentarily forgets that Paches is a fellow Syracusan and an actor, and instead curses him as if he were the real Jason. This visceral reaction—his voice shaking—reveals that Lampo is no longer treating the prisoners as tools; he has begun to empathize with them as characters and, by extension, as human beings.
What symbolic function does the quarry’s shape serve in this chapter?
The quarry is described as a crescent with branching tunnels like roots. Lampo compares it to an enormous amphitheatre, suggesting that the natural landscape can be repurposed for art. The tunnels also represent hidden spaces where prisoners escape the sun and evade violence, making the quarry both a stage and a refuge—a dual space of suffering and potential creation.