Medea, as presented by Euripides, is known for her violent actions and domestic violations. Motivated by Jason's infidelity and faltering heart, Medea loses her mind and ends up committing infanticide. The story of Medea is representative of many Greek works in which dysfunction and violence are used as a mechanism to illustrate different views of family and marriage. Euripides contrasts female and male perceptions of marriage through Medea's decision to kill her family and Jason's actions as an unfaithful husband. While Medea considers marriage a sacred vow, Jason rejects its importance and reduces it to a means of rising in society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay At the beginning of the play, Medea falls in love with Jason, a man who is not of her kind. In order to be with Jason, Medea betrays her father, abandons her home, murders Pelias, and, out of kindness to Jason, makes enemies of others whom it was not necessary to hurt (lines 483-508). She then runs away with Jason and lives as a refugee for the rest of her life. Medea is willing to sacrifice her own family and fortune because her heart was "on fire with passionate love for Jason" (line 7) and she agrees to respect "the vows they made to each other to the other, right hands joined in eternal promise” (lines 7). 21-22). Medea places marriage on the highest pedestal and sees it as the ultimate promise between two individuals. So when she discovers that Jason has left her for another woman, Medea is devastated. Once exposed to Jason's infidelity, Medea realizes how callously she has been treated by Jason and decides that the only way to punish him for breaking his promise is murder by her own hands. entrails (line 1282). Even though the pain of killing her children is no small matter, Medea refuses to succumb to her maternal love. Motivated by Jason's "insolence and [his] virgin marriage" (lines 1367), Medea willingly agreed to double the pain just to get revenge on Jason for leaving her (lines 1046-1047). Euripides uses Medea's reckless actions to show that, in the eyes of women, marriage is of great importance. Furthermore, marriage is not only seen as an oath between two mortals, but also as an oath to the gods. When Medea kills her children, Jason threatens her that "the children...will bring curses" on Medea. However, instead of being "hated by the gods and... by the whole human race" (c. 1323), Medea "appears above the house in a chariot drawn by dragons" (c. 1317-1318) . Even though she commits a sinful act against her own family, the “gods know who is the author of [the] pain” (line 1372). Instead of punishing Medea, the gods forgive her sins and she ascends to heaven. Through Medea's actions and fate, it is clear that in the eyes of women and gods, marriage is considered a sacred vow. Moreover, breaking the promise of marriage is the worst sin, more punishable than killing one's own blood. Although Medea and the gods place great importance on marriage, marriage is trivialized by Jason's actions. From the start, it's clear that in Jason's eyes, marriage is more of a business transaction than an emotional commitment. Jason marries Medea for his own gain and pleasure, for companionship, and, most importantly, for the success of his missions. Additionally, Jason never explicitly states that he married Medea for love. Instead, Jason marries Medea only because it was "fate that made him a distinguished man.