Medea is an ancient Greek play written by Euripides that narrates the story of a woman named Medea, who’s married to Jason, the hero of the Golden Fleece. After Jason leaves Medea for another woman, she seeks revenge against him. Medea uses her quick thinking and intelligence to manipulate those around her, including Jason and King Aegeus, to achieve her goal. In Euripides’ play, Medea, Medea seeks revenge against her unfaithful husband, Jason, for abandoning her for another woman by manipulating those around her, particularly Jason and King Aegeus.
Medea realizes that she is “raging and resenting those who show good foresight,” and that Jason is “only taking the most advantageous course,” so, Medea asks herself out loud “what is wrong with [her]” and, finally, reassures Jason by stating that “[she’s]
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Medea asks Aegeua to “grant [her] asylum in [his] land and in [his] house; and then,” if he does as she asks, “may [his] desire for children meet success; end [his] days content; [she] shall end [his] barrenness” (Medea, page 35, lines 713, 714, 715, and 717). Aubrey Daniels states that “the fastest way to change individual behavior is to set small goals, reinforce the effort, and celebrate or reward any successes along the way in a manner employees find meaningful” and in this sense, the “employees” would be Aegeus, who finds Medea’s offer to help him have children meaningful (MOTIVATING THE MASSES, page 13, McGraw Hill Inc., 1994). These two pieces of evidence highlight the importance of persuasion and positive reinforcement in achieving one’s goals. Medea uses her ability to persuade people to manipulate Aegeus into granting her asylum, while her promise to help him have children is a for of positive reinforcement that motivates him to support her. This scene illustrates how Medea is able to use her intelligence and cunning to achieve her