Myth Clash II: Ovid versus Euripides for Medea, a sadness of loveAs one of the best-known ancient Roman love poets, Ovid demonstrated many talents in his writing. Reading the myths in his book Metamorphoses gives you an illuminating insight into how he viewed mythology. For Ovid, love was at the origin of everything. It is therefore not surprising that most of his poems relate to the theme of love. However, not all poets are the same and each retelling of a myth has its own perspective. In this article I will compare the myth of Medea in Euripides' Medea and book 7 of Ovid's Metamorphoses. I will then explain how Ovid's approach to love and loss correlates with his general approach to myth as a whole. I will support my belief with the evidence from book 14 of Ovid's Metamorphoses. To begin comparing Euripides' Medea and Book 7 of Ovid's Metamorphoses, we need to look at three things: context, characters, and themes. Both Euripides and Ovid tell the story of Jason abandoning Medea for another woman; however, they do not always share a perspective on the female protagonist's traits, behavior, and purpose. Euripides depicts a woman who responds to discrimination by beginning a battle to seek revenge on all those who have wronged her, a battle she is willing to fight even if it means resorting to the most despicable methods. Ovid, on the other hand, speaks of a much less severe character whose modest goal is solely to persuade Jason to return. Despite these written differences, both of their Medes create problems by acting with emotions rather than reason and, as a result, put themselves in undesirable situations. Euripides and Ovid present two different sets of motivations for Medea's behavior which...... middle of paper ...... is an example of how he used a poem to write about what power love can do to someone, that is, lead someone to their demise. This type of approach to the telling of myths is also important in another myth written by Ovid, which can be found in book 14. This is the story of Dido and Aeneas. In this instinct, Dido is tricked and deceived by Aeneas, when he gains the advantage over her and uses her. Dido therefore finds herself alone and as her love passion towards Aeneas was so great, she then finds herself depressed and commits suicide. This action is invoked by the power of love and by committing suicide she has also deceived others. It's not exactly the same comparison as the story of Medea, but it describes what those who have fallen deeply in love see. Good reasoning and justice take a back seat when it comes to women's emotions of passion and persuasion..