Medea evokes the gods frequently, as if she has a personal relationship with them. Jason, on the other hand, appears to have a more formal relationship with them. They are similar in that they both evoke them during times of despair.
Medea often calls on Themis and Artemis, goddess of justice and the guardian of women, respectively, in her chants of despair. "O mighty Themis and Artemis, Queen,[...]How dare they do to me what they have done!"(Euripides 38). Medea is disraught because her husband has left her. In her pain, she speaks to these goddesses. In addition to paying respect to their power, this repeated reference to these powerful female figures establishes the important role of women by giving them such roles of power.
Medea also calls on Zeus as the "keeper of vows"(Euripides 38) in many instances. For one, Medea cries to Zeus, wondering "O Zeus, what made you give us [...] but when we need to know the base metal of a man/no stamp upon his flesh for telling counterfeit?"(Euripides 49). Medea talks to Zeus as a means of support-in all instances, including this one, she appears to have infinite trust in him, believing that he does everything for a reason, even if she doesn't understand it.
The other main god that Medea evokes is Helios the Sun. He is her grandfather, and that aspect of having such a powerful person as her family member gives her a sense of security in the midst of unhappiness and insecurity. "[...]the sun/-my father's father-gave me/to keep me safe against my enemies"(Euripides 74). Medea says this as she carries her dead sons away from Jason in vindictive triumph. This sense of power is Medea's way of covering up her insecurities and guilt over killing her sons.
Jason, on the other hand, evokes the gods far less often. His main references to the gods are only for support when he truly needs it, as opposed to in his conversation.
The first reference Jason makes is to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. "[...]as far as I am concerned/it was Aphrodite and no one else in heaven or earth/who saved me on my voyage"(Euripides 50). Jason defends himself from Medea's wrath by telling her, much to her anger, that he does not give her any credit for saving him and sacrificing things that were dear to her. Medea has been hurling abuse at him. Jason knows that Medea has a right to be angry, but because he does not want to admit he is wrong, so he attempts to defend himself by dispelling her reasons for being angry. He feels that by telling her that she does not have as much influence on his life as she thought, she cannot feel as entitled to her wrath as she does then.
The other time Jason evokes a god is at the end of the play as Medea takes the bodies of their sons away in her chariot. Jason cries out to Zeus, the keeper of vows. "Zeus, do you hear how I'm at bay,/So I mourn and call on the gods while I may,/On the powers to witness how you have slain/My children[...]I'd rather they'd never been born to me/Than have lived to see you destroy them this day"(Euripides 77). In this situation, Jason at first calls out to the gods in despair, as if asking for support. However, Jason goes on to blame the gods for allowing his sons to die. Jason sets such store by the gods that he believes that they have the power to control anything. Only after experiencing the worst possible thing does Jason truly turn to evoking the gods. Only after this experience does Jason truly feel passion in the play, which drives him to call on the gods.
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