Phaedra and Hippolytus: a Greek Tragedy

Passion and Betrayal in Greek Myth, a Drama from Euripides

Oct 12, 2008 Jessica Wright

Seneca wrote one version of this Greek myth, and Euripides wrote two. What was the attraction of the Hippolytus?

Hippolytus

Hippolytus was the son of Theseus by Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Raised in Athens alongside his father's legitimate children by the Cretan princess Phaedra (sister of Ariadne), he found himself the object of his stepmother's divinely-provoked love.

The war of Aphrodite and Artemis

Hippolytus, like his mother, was committed to chastity. He devoted himself to the virgin huntress Artemis, and refused to pay homage to Aphrodite, despite his tutor's warnings.

Aphrodite, in resentment, made Phaedra, wife of Hippolytus' father, fall in love with her step-son. True to character, Hippolytus rejected her advances.

In an attempt to save her character, Phaedra hanged herself, attaching to her wrists a note accusing Hippolytus of attempted seduction. Theseus discovered the note, and exiled and cursed his son without waiting to hear the other side of the story.

Theseus' curse was heard, albeit reluctantly, by Poseidon, who sent a divine bull out of the sea. The horses of Hippolytus tipped him out of his carriage and dragged him through the rocks and thorny bushes to his death.

Theseus learnt of his son's death and his innocence in the final scene, in a twist of understanding similar to that exploited in the Oedipus and in Antigone.

Euripides

The Greek dramatist Euripides wrote two versions of the Hippolytus. The first, Hippolytus Veiled, has not survived. Ancient commentators tell us that it flopped in the dramatic competitions that ran each year in Athens. Apparently the reason for its failure was Euripides' portrayal of Phaedra – Queen of Athens – as the active seducer of the innocent Hippolytus. The representation of an Athenian woman as a willing adulteress was unthinkable.

Euripides' second Hippolytus was an immediate success. In this version, Aphrodite explains in detail her plan of revenge in the prologue, so that Phaedra is given no responsibility for her illicit passion.

Moreover, Phaedra restrains herself from confessing her love to her step-son. It is in fact her nurse who initiates the tragedy. When she learns of her charge's heartache, she promises to concoct a herbal remedy for love.

This remedy requires a hair from the head of the beloved. Accordingly, the nurse goes to Hippolytus and tells him all. Without speaking to Phaedra, he denounces her to the chorus and the world at large. His vocal contempt of women convinces Phaedra that he will expose her to her husband, and so she proceeds with her plan for death and revenge.

Who is guilty?

Greek tragedy is notorious for leaving no character without a share in the guilt. Phaedra is not responsible for her love or for its confession to Hippolytus, but with her false accusation she condemns him to death.

Hippolytus does nothing immoral – he does not even reveal Phaedra's passion to his father – but his sanctimonious speeches, his arrogance and his unforgiving reaction to the nurse's words provoke Phaedra to extreme measures.

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