The invocation of Gods
The characters in the play all invoke the Gods for one reason or another. Medea for example frequently calls upon the gods to give her strength to get revenge against her husband while the King asks the gods to bless his daughter's marriage with Jason. This invocation is a common motif in the play and it also representative of the vast majority of the writings from that time period. This motif remains present until the end of the play when Jason addresses the gods and blames them for everything he had suffered.
Women must be virgins
Another common motif in the play is the idea that women have to be virgins. Wherever a future bride is discussed, the supporting characters mention her virginity and how this makes her extremely valuable and precious. Men expected their brides to be virgins when they married them and to remain faithful to their husbands for the rest of their lives. This idea is mentioned in the play, time and time again, making it a common motif.
Ultimate power
The position of king is used in this play as a symbol for absolute power. Creon acknowledges the power he has over his subjects and at the same time the fact he is seen by the rest of the people as being equal to a God. The position of king is often associated with power but in this context, it is a symbol of absolute power especially when compared with the position held by the working class.
Torches
When Medea talks about revenge, she often compares it with extinguishing a torch held by another person. Medea envisions this in great detail and she believes she will find happiness only when the torch representing her former husband will be extinguished completely. The lit torch is used here as a symbol, representing a person's life. When Medea claims she wants to extinguish the torch representing her husband, she is talking about killing him.
My sons
In the first act of the play, Medea laments the fact she was betrayed by her husband even though she offered him, two sons. In the time when the play was composed, a man felt he needed at least one son to carry on his family name. A wife was seen as precious only if she completed her duty of providing a male heir to her husband. The fact Medea produced two sons is used here as a symbol representing her worth as a woman and as a wife. Her healthy children should have made her precious in her husband's eye but the fact this did not happen and his later betrayal is used to argue that Medea''s wrath was justified.
