The story ofand her
dangerous passion for Jason, and the extreme actions she commits as a result, represent a
warning to the original audience of Euripedes. One of the central themes is that of passion
which can overwhelm our common sense and reason. In ancient Greece, passion was thought to be a
very dangerous emotion, and theat various stages of the play makes reference to this idea. Note
what they say after Medea refuses Jason's offer of financial aid:
Love with too much passion
brings with it no fine
reputation,brings nothing virtuous to men.
But if
Aphrodite comes in smaller does,no other god is so desirable.
To love "in moderation," as the Chorus continue, is the
ideal. However, an excess of love is precisely Medea's central issue. She has abandoned her home
and family, even killing her brother, showing that she loves Jason with a dangerous excess of
emotion. It is this excess of emotion that is shown to curdle and sour, and lead to Medea's
slaughter of her own children out of anger and grief. The character of Medea therefore
represents the danger of extremes of passion and how it can lead humans to commit acts that are
beyond the pale of acceptable actions.
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