The mythological story of Jason is synonymous with adventure and great feats of heroism. This tapestry belongs to a cycle of seven works relating the story of Jason's voyage with the Argonauts; their quest to capture the golden fleece, and their subsequent return to Greece. Particular emphasis is placed on one aspect of the story that is seldom explored: Jason and Medea.The cycle was woven in the celebrated Gobelins workshop to cartoons by François de Troy.
The cycle closes with this climactic scene of Medea's flight from the city of Corinth. Having learnt of Jason's betrayal, Medea avenged herself by murdering his wife, Creusa, and Creusa's father, the King of Corinth. In her despair she also murdered her children by Jason and set fire to Corinth. The tapestry shows Medea fleeing Jason's wrath in a chariot drawn by dragons. The bodies of her sons lie in a heap at her feet, while the smoke billowing from Corinth on the right suggests the devastation Medea has wrought. Jason reaches for his sword but is restrained by one of the Argonauts.
De Troy depicts Medea as remorseless and unrelenting; she gestures towards the bodies of her sons, conveying to Jason that the children were murdered by her own hand, as a deliberate act of revenge.