Passions In Medea - 1295 Words

In the ancient world, passions had a wider connotation than they do in the modern age. Passion in the ancient world tended to have a negative connotation. Often, ancient passions led to sins or unhappiness. In Greek mythology, divine beings could not control their passions as Euripides wrote about in Medea. However, Buddhists see passions as undesirable, and they take steps to suppress their passions to achieve enlightenment. Christianity instructs followers to control their passions, however they do not restrict them to the extent that Buddhists do. Passions in the ancient religions were urges which led people to commit sins, but some religions teach people methods to control their passions. In Ancient Greek mythology, the gods and†¦show more content†¦She begins by killing his new wife and indirectly killing her father. The next step of her plan is killing her children. At one point, she hesitated and decided â€Å"I shall take my children with me,† but her passion was too strong for her to overcome. She went forward with her plan, and she refuses to allow him to bury their children. As Medea had hoped, the loss of his children devastated Jason. The plan worked the way Medea had intended, so she was understandably pleased. Medea’s love for Jason turned to heartbreak which led her to commit each of her murderous acts. She clearly understood the magnitude of her actions as she revealed when she stated, â€Å"I understand what evil I am about to do but my wrath is stronger even than my thoughts.† Her ability to recognize her wrongs, yet still not stop herself shows that people could not expect the divine beings of Ancient Greek mythology to control their passions. Unlike Medea, Augustine’s confessions provides directions for controlling passions as well as explanations of ancient passions. During puberty, Augustine â€Å"was unable to distinguish pure affection from unholy desire† but he later learns how to control his passions. He later explained an act of theft which he committed out of desire to be disobedient. His friends and he â€Å"carried off a huge load of pears. But they were not for our feasts but merely to throw to pigs† because they wanted to feel theShow MoreRelatedA Dream Of Passion By Euripides Medea And Apollonius s Argonautika1287 Words   |  6 PagesThe character Medea is a well known character throughout Greek culture due to Euripides’s Medea and Apollonius’s Argonautika. Jules Dassin’s A Dream of Passion presents the story of Medea in a modern way, allowing myth and reality to intertwine. Because the film is based on the myth, the two main characters in the film, Maya and Brend a, share many qualities to Medea, such as killing of their children. Common themes, such as the position of women in society, are also presented in both mediums. 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