" This centuries old saying has justified numerous actions of revenge. The mentality of "do unto other as they have done unto you", dates back thousands of years to the writing of the Old Testament and the culture of ancient Greece. Medea, protagonist of Euripides' drama of the same name and a woman wronged by her husband, used this idea and evened the score by murdering four innocent individuals; a princess, a king, and her two young sons. In Medea's eyes, the deaths of four still were not adequate to equal the pain begotten to her. One must examine, however, if the ideals of revenge are suitable or if grief blinded this women, causing her to forget reason, as I believe happened.
Medea, like so many others who practiced the ideal of revenge, justified her unthinkable doings with her actions of the past and the recent doings of her husband, Jason of the Argonauts". It is true, Medea gave and lost everything to the man she loved. She "willingly deceived my [her] father, left my [her] home.put King Pelias to the most horrible of deaths by his own daughter's hand and ruined his house. (Medea 31)." It is also true, after all her sacrifice, Jason left Medea, alone in a foreign country, to marry the princess of Corinth. This story of abdication and betrayal, an age-old tale, is still seen today in the common instances of marriage, affair, and divorce. Yes, the pain felt in a broken heart must be almost unbearable, however, the distress of one does not justify the murder of another, especially of those not directly involved.
Using one person to hurt another, as Medea did in this ancient drama, shows the horrible and unmoral nature some will attempt to reach in instances of betrayal and agony. The innocent bystander is nothing but a pawn in a wicked game of revenge. It is ironic that one will hurt another to alleviate the pain afflicted upon themselves. This cycle of receiving and giving pain continues to grow until someone looks upon the situation with a clear mind and ends it.
