Why Do Mortals Thank The Gods In Medea

Men were able to divorce their wives when they desired. By having Medea kill her children, Euripides challenged society’s views that women are the givers of

Euripides used the character, Jason, to show how atrocious women were treated. At the beginning of the play, Medea was shot by cupid's arrow which made her fall in love with Jason. Her falling in love with Jason was not her fault so she didn’t

Further on, Medea talks about the rules of marriage, about how women have no choice in their own marriage, but if “the husband lives with us and lightly bears his yoke, then life is enviable” (9). According to Medea, the only important thing in a woman’s life is marriage and children, and if women

Medea accomplished that by giving birth to two children for Jason. As the play slowly unraveled, it plainly displayed that she was faithful towards her husband, but being an ideal Greek wife was not her factual nature. She was independent and her qualities made her different from the Corinth women. In the opening sequence, the nurse introduced Medea as a frightening woman when someone wronged her. “Her temperaments are dangerous and will not tolerate bad treatment. For she is fearsome. No one who joins in conflict with her will celebrate an easy victory”, the nurse presented (page 2, line). From this, the reader can envision how ordinary other Greek women were. How they didn’t have a mind of their own and were defenseless towards those shabby treatments from men. These women were submissive and didn’t have any control over their lives. However, the protagonist Medea did. She took matters in her own hands when her husband betrayed her.

As Hercules contemplates the idea to commit suicide after he had killed his wife and kids, his friend Theseus advice Hercules that “rather than suffer ill, fate exempts no man; all humans experience… Do not the gods commit adultery? …yet all the same, despite their crime, they live upon Olympus.” Theseus reminded Hercules that, although he was a human who suffered, he was also a god; therefore, he had the choice to choose his emotions. Both gods and humans committed adultery; however, gods were not faced by their mistakes and moved on with their lives.

is hereditary in Athenian times “INSERT QUOTE”. In her acquisition of dominance, the children are used as a leverage in the vengeance against her perpetrator, Jason. Unable to identify with her offspring of a perceived patriarchal continuance, Medea struggles to see worth in them, keeping them alive would force her to continue her role as a mother, hence maintaining the clichéd Grecian wife which she previously upheld. Jason also seeks to narrow the debate about Medea’s lamenting, focussing on her personal grievances and sexual jealousy, in attempt to try and characterize Medea [presumably to the Grecian audience] as a nuisance and nothing more than a part of the inferior gender. Whereas Medea has appealed to the women of Corinth on matters associated to the intolerable status of women. Downplaying the enormity of Medea’s pain Jason claims “you thought that reason enough to murder them, that

The roles of women have changed in history. Women have been a centered discussion and powerful components on men in history and literature. Women were seen in many ways, but mainly in a bad light with less to do with their mind, but more so with their bodies. The women in Gilgamesh have a strong presence in the story, some good and some bad. One stand point that is broad is that they have a voice.

Furthermore, the disputed topic of the chorus supporting her, illustrates the ‘justice’ a society has. When the gods are pleaded to and do not take action against Medea’s acts of infanticide, it questions our morals on what we powerless humans can do to change a difficult situation. This concept portrays a system which lacks in authority which leads to doubt that surrounds the idea of ‘wild justice.’ The gods have a small role which plays in the part of revenge as a wild justice. It was always the goddess of love who obtained Medea’s help on Jason’s behalf. The Chorus had always believed that her actions were due her nature for loving Jason and sympathised her emotions as she was only a woman. “We were born women – useless for honest purposes, But in all kinds of evil skilled practitioners.” This ideally would have additionally been a reason for Medea to pursue a reason of right for women, which could have been a valid reason for a wild justice.

Then she was transferred to the home of her husband where she was to fulfill her principal function, the bearing and rearing children. Medea shows the inequality of women in Greek society. The betrayal of Medea by Jason through his marriage to another woman enrages Medea. She begins to question the role and position of women in a patriarchal society. "Are we women not the wretchedness? We scratch and save a dowry to buy a man?Our lives depends on how his lordship feels. For better for worse we can?t divorce him."(p.8, Medea). However, "a husband tired of domesticity, Goes out sees friends and enjoys himself?."(p.8and 9, Medea). Medea compares the virtual slavery of women to the absolute freedom of men, showing the inequality and disempowerment of women in society at that time.

this way because of how Jason lacked respect for her and drove her to do the horrendous actions. Medea lashing out on Jason further proves the fact that she is her own woman, and becomes the first symbol of feminism in the Greek culture. Another example of Medea’s

Moreover, Euripides incorporates Medea into the relationship to convey the idea that females also possess a dominant role in the struggle over dominance, but their power form is different compared to males. Medea elucidates that even in the arduous times, she assisted Jason and supported their union. In a direct conversation with Jason, she tells him, “…after I’ve done all this to help you, you brute, you betray me…” (27). She explains that although she took care of Jason and supported him whenever he needed her help, he used his massive quantity of power to overpower her and abandon her. Even after Jason abandons Medea, she thinks day and night of him. Medea demonstrates that the power females possess is not physical and totalitarian like the males, but is emotional and mental. She tries to keep the family together and in trying to do so, she does whatever Jason asks her to do. She is the important woman behind every successful man. Without her command, Jason would not be the person he is. Therefore, she can destroy Jason whenever he desires with her power. She can be a femme fatale and reduce Jason’s life into rubble. Similarly, after Medea finds out she was being cheated on, she quickly creates and evil plan and destroys Jason. She murders his new

The concept of fate and the influence of gods on mortals’ lives are prominent aspects of Greek mythology. While the gods of Olympus are commonly presented as the primary manipulators of human lives, the Fates are the true creators of destiny. Gods may be able to affect human lives in monumental ways, but predetermined destiny and the Fates’ intentions ultimately reign. The gods have respect for this authority, as well, as they’re aware that a limit on their ability to intervene is necessary to maintain the order of the universe. This leaves one to question the amount of knowledge that the gods themselves have of fate, and whether they have their own free will to refrain from intervening or if they truly must submit to the authority of the Fates and their plans. The gods do have some knowledge of the Fates’ plan, but they are also wise enough to avoid too much interference and therefore don’t necessarily need to be commanded; they sometimes help guide mortals by sending them messages and symbols—and sometimes even influencing them for their own advantage—but ultimate fate cannot be avoided.

There are three ways in which Medea defies the social conventions of motherhood. Firstly, she does this by not being a stay-at-home mother. Secondly, she demonstrates that she can be powerful as a woman. Thirdly, she is unkind and gets angry. I will elaborate on each of these ways in the paragraphs that follow.

In “Stereotype and Reversal in Euripides’ Medea,” Shirley A. Barlow argues that the protagonist refuses to play the customary role of an ancient Greek woman, except when it benefits her, which shows that Medea is a reversed stereotype (158). This is further shown when the Tutor states, “Take heart! You too, will, journey back with children’s help” (1015). In this circumstance, the Tutor is declaring how the children will be able to help their mother come back home, yet this is an example of dramatic irony because Medea ultimately kills her children at the end for revenge. Euripides uses dramatic irony to convey Medea’s strength and power. The characters mistakenly assume that Medea is weak, yet her will-power and desire for revenge is shown when she kills her sons. Next, Jason is expected to be strong and powerful, yet is weaker than any female. Rabinowitz also speculates that Jason’s role has feminine aspects: “Jason would seem to be the perfect example of a woman with a man” (152). For example, Jason exclaims, “I have come, however, to save my children’s lives, to keep the king’s family from making them pay for the foul murder committed by their mother” (1303-5). Jason hastily runs back to the house to save his children from a masculine

Contrary to the suggestion by Telemachus that, “Zeus is who gives what he wants to every man on earth” (1.368-369); the extent of the role of gods is not unqualified. Even though Zeus is observed to possess’ power, his explanation of how individuals meet their fate is correctly depicted in the narrative. Zeus appropriately pointed out that, “Mortals! They are always blaming the gods for their troubles when their own witlessness causes them more than they were destined for!” (1.37-39). In this case, many of the said mortals aggravate the ill fate by ignoring the warnings of gods and making rash decisions. The gods often aid humans in need and are also not always disrupting mortal lives. More often than not, mortals who benefit greatly are those who effectively court the favor of the gods. No one god’s power is insurmountable while the god’s strengths are not questionable. The wrath of the gods can be escaped as they can be outsmarted. In correspondence with the statement by Zeus, the Odyssey eventually portrayed human freedom as limited though