Medea, as introduced by Euripides, is known for her violent actions and domestic violations. Motivated by Jason's infidelity and faltering heart, Medea loses her sanity and ultimately commits infanticide. Medea's story is representative of many Greek works in which dysfunction and violence are used as a mechanism to illustrate different points of view on family and marriage. Euripides compares female and male perceptions of marriage through Medea's decision to kill her family and Jason's actions as an unfaithful husband. While Medea sees marriage as a sacred vow, Jason dismisses the importance of marriage and reduces it to a means to rise in society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At the beginning of the show, Medea falls in love with Jason, a man not of her kind. To be with Jason, Medea betrays her father, abandons her home, kills Pelias and, out of kindness towards 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 family and her fortune because her heart was "inflamed with passionate love for Jason" (line 7) and she is committed to keeping "the vows they made to each other, the righteous hands clasped in eternal promise" (line 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 she discovers Jason's infidelity, Medea realizes how senselessly she has been treated by Jason and decides that the only way to punish him for breaking his promise is murder with her own hands, the fruit of her womb (line 1282). Although the pain of killing her children is no small task, Medea refuses to succumb to her motherly love. Motivated by Jason's “insolence and [her] virgin marriage” (lines 1367), Medea willingly takes on double the pain just to get revenge on Jason for leaving her (lines 1046-1047). Euripides uses Medea's reckless actions as a way to show that in female eyes, marriage is viewed with great importance. Furthermore, marriage is not only perceived as an oath between two mortals, but is also seen as an oath to the gods. When Medea kills her children, Jason threatens her by telling her that "the children...will bring curses down" on Medea. However, instead of being "detested by the gods and...by all the human race" (lines 1323), Medea "appears above the house in a chariot drawn by dragons" (lines 1317-1318). Although he commits a sinful act against his own family, "the gods know who was the author of [the] pain" (line 1372). Instead of punishing Medea, the gods forgive her for 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 seen as a sacred vow. Furthermore, breaking the promise of marriage is the worst of sins, more punishable than murdering one's own blood. Although Medea and the gods place great importance on marriage, marriage is trivialized by Jason's actions. From the beginning, 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, companionship, and, above all, success in his missions. Furthermore, Jason never explicitly states that he married Medea for love. Instead, Jason marries Medea only because it is "fate that has made [him] an illustrious man" (line 544). In exchange, instead of living among the barbarians, Medea lives.