Medea vs. Jesus: Social Commentaries in Dramatic Fiction and in Gospel Narratives

Both Euripides' ancient Greek tragedy "Medea" and the chronicled gospel "Sermon on the Mount of Jesus" in "The Gospel According to St. Matthew" give the perspectives of outsiders critiquing the morals of their respective societies. Medea is a strange, witch of a woman, brought from a strange and alien land to marry Jason. Her alienation for Euripides becomes proof that people should not mingle with one another, across different city-states in Greece. Thus, although the play is sympathetic to Medea's plight to some degree, ultimately it acts as a validation of common Greek social values. In contrast, Jesus' social commentary instead validates the words of the speaker, rather than critiques them. The play is written from a sympathetic chronicler of Jesus' social mission and validates Jesus' words and Jesus' critique of common societal wisdom on the subjects of...
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