Medes

thumb|upright|Artistic representation of a Median man

In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished pharmakís, a worker in pharmakeía (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high priestess of the goddess Hecate. She is a mythical granddaughter of the sun god Helios and a niece of Circe, an enchantress goddess. Her mother may have been Idyia.

Ecbatana () was an ancient city, the capital of the Median kingdom, and the first capital in Iranian history. It later became the summer capital of the Achaemenid and Parthian empires. It was also an important city during the Seleucid and Sasanian empires. Ecbatana was located in the Zagros Mountains, the east of central Mesopotamia, on Hagmatana Hill (Tappe-ye Hagmatāna). Its strategic location and resources probably made it a popular site even before the 1st millennium BC. It is identified with the current city of Hamadan.

Ancient region of north-western Iran

thumb|Zoroastrian priests (Magi) carrying barsoms. Statuettes from the [[Oxus Treasure of the Achaemenid Empire, 4th century BC]]

Old Iranian language

thumb Madai (, ; , ) is a son of Japheth and one of the 16 grandsons of Noah in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible.

Mazdaism (Armenian: Մազդէականութիւն; Persian: آیین مزدایی) It is a pre-Zoroastrian Iranian religion, believed to be the ancestor of Zoroastrianism, from which later religions would derive, unlike Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda is one of the gods in Mazdaism, considered to be equal to Mithra.

ancient Iranian state (700–550 BC)

wall built to the north of Babylon

ancient royal dynasty

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castle in Ray, Iranian national heritage site

gold cup from 1200 years BC

thumb|Tomb relief thumb|Tomb relief The rock-cut tombs of Qyzqapan or Qizqapan (), is a rock-cut tomb lying near the Palaeolithic cave of Zarzi in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Hyrba, a Median city, was one of only a few large Median cities known to exist. Probably built before the beginning of Median accession to power, it was likely a royal city of the kings. Even though it has not been found to this day, it is still considered to have existed. Hyrba appears as a Persian town on the borders of Media in a fragment of Nicolaus of Damascus. Though in Nicolaus's account he comments on its location being in Media, therefore it is still considered a mystery.