Homer, Medea and Bhagavad-Gita
Throughout history, violence has been a matter of public fascination. Humans were determined to discover when the use of violence is appropriate by looking at the nature of the violence and the context in which it occurs. In the epic poem, Iliad, Homer uses the Achaean warrior, Achilles, to show the destructiveness of injured pride that, led by the self-centered need for glory, produces unimaginable rage. Euripides, in his tragedy, Medea, presents suppressed rage of a submissive woman motivated by revenge and selfish need to alleviate her pain through violence. However, the Hindu epic, The Bhagavad-Gita, introduces Arjuna, the warrior and the king, that refuses to fight a civil war because of his religious believes, but is forced into the pursuit of violence as the only way to preserve social order and fulfill his secret duty. While Achilles and Medea choose to use the violence because their ego obliged them to take actions that promote their self-interest, Arjuna is forced to use the violence for the benefit of his society and religion. Therefore, from these examples the violence emerges as a dangerous tool that should be used free from selfishness to be classified as acceptable by the society.
Once he does that, Krishna continues, he will be able to protect his society and the people from disorder and harm. Since violence is inevitable, humans should try to use it as little as possible for their selfish desires so that the society can survive. By using basic human psychology and the claim that women are the victims of society's expectation to sacrifice them on the altar of social acceptability we can explain Medea's indecision to pursue violence. Violence is an everlasting phenomenon that is an inevitable companion of human development. Moreover, it vividly illustrates how sadistic violence of a submissive woman, driven so hard by her egotism, can be. How consumed he is by his self-importance his words testify in the scene where Achilles says, "the same honor waits for the coward and the brave. As a result, her violence carried her beyond common sense. By "saying this in the time of war," as a king, and as a warrior, Arjuna seriously jeopardizes his secret warrior duty and social order of his society (The Bhagavad-Gita 1. This Medeas's final action represents the most inhumane form of punishing Jason and the most unnatural crime that an ignored passion can unleash.
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