This is my depiction of Medea, a mythical princess and enchantress from the kingdom of Colchis in the western Caucasus (where there now lies the modern country of Georgia). Gifted with prophetic abilitiy, Medea helped the Greek hero Jason of the Argonauts obtain the Golden Fleece and became his wife.
However, a later tragic drama by the playwright Euripides portray Medea and Jason’s relationship as ending unhappily, with her murdering their two sons after Jason abandoned her for the princess of Corinth (whom Medea murders as well, along with her father). Taking refuge in Athens, Medea marries their ruler Aegeus, but he then has her cast out after she tried to poison his son Theseus.
Despite Colchis’s Caucasian location, the Greek historian Herodotus proposed that its people came from Egypt on account of their relatively dark skin and some shared cultural practices (e.g. weaving techniques and ritual circumcision). I am not aware of any harder evidence for a connection between the Colchians and Egypt or any other African country, but his conjecture did inspire me to give Medea a rich honey-brown complexion. However, just to be safe, I have also produced an alternate version where she has lighter skin more in line with most Caucasian peoples (e.g. Georgians, Armenians, and Azerbaijanis).
