What was the importance of the Deus Ex Machina?

Literally meaning "god from the machine," deus ex machina was the entry of a god or gods at the end of the play to save the protagonist. The machina, a staging device, was a crane that flew in the gods or heroes at the end of the play. Euripides and Aristophanes both frequently employed a deus ex machina ending. Euripides' gods would explain in an epilogue what happened next or would remove the protagonist. For example, the deus ex machina was used in Medea to bring Helios, the sun god, to save Medea from the wrath of Jason, her husband, as well as to allow her to take the bodies of their sons, thus depriving her husband of even the solace of their proper burial.