upright=1.3, ''The Death of Hippolytus'', by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912) In

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Hippolytus (; ) is the son of

Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...

and an Amazon, either

Hippolyta In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; ''Hippolytē''), was a daughter of Ares and Otrera,Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 30 queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Greek word foun ...

or Antiope. His downfall at the hands of

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

is recounted by the playwright

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

. Other versions of the story have also survived.

Etymology

The meaning of Hippolytus' name is ironically ambiguous. Ἱππό translates to 'horse', and the element -λυτος (from λύω 'loosen, destroy') suggests the adjectiv
λυτός, -ή, -όν
'which may be undone, destroyed'. His name thereby takes on the prophetic meaning 'destroyed by horses'.

Premise of the myth

Hippolytus is a hunter and sportsman who is disgusted by sex and marriage. In consequence, he scrupulously worships

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

, the virgin huntress, and refuses to honor

. Offended by this neglect, Aphrodite causes

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * Phaedra (Cabanel), ''Phaedra'' (Cabanel), an 1880 painting by Alexandre Cabanel *House of Phaedra ...

, Hippolytus’ stepmother, to fall in love with him; Hippolytus rejects Phaedra's advances, setting events in motion that lead to his death in a fall from his

chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

Hippolytus in Euripides

Euripides' tragedy '' Hippolytus'' describes the death of the hero after a confrontation with his stepmother

, the second wife of Theseus. Cursed by Aphrodite, Phaedra falls so ardently in love with Hippolytus that she becomes physically ill and decides to end her suffering through suicide. Her nurse tries to save her by revealing the secret to Hippolytus and encouraging him to reciprocate. Hippolytus responds only with horror and disgust, humiliating Phaedra. In despair, and not wanting to admit the true reason for ending her life, she hangs herself and leaves a note for Theseus accusing his son, Hippolytus, of raping her. Theseus, furious, uses one of the three wishes given to him by

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

, his father: Theseus calls on Poseidon to kill Hippolytus, who has fled the palace to go hunting. Poseidon sends a sea-monster to terrorize Hippolytus' chariot horses, which become uncontrollable and hurl their master out of the vehicle. Entangled in the reins, Hippolytus is dragged to death. Artemis reconciles father and son by telling Theseus that Phaedra's accusation against Hippolytus was not true. Artemis comforts the dying Hippolytus with a promise to make him the subject of religious practice so that his memory will live forever. She assigns a band of Trozenian maidens the task of preserving the story of Phaedra and Hippolytus in a ritual song. Versions of this story also appear in

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger ( ; AD 65), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, a dramatist, and in one work, a satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca ...

's play ''

'',

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

'' and ''

Heroides The ''Heroides'' (''The Heroines''), or ''Epistulae Heroidum'' (''Letters of Heroines''), is a collection of fifteen epistolary poems composed by Ovid in Latin elegiac couplets and presented as though written by a selection of aggrieved heroin ...

'', and

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tr ...

's ''

Phèdre ''Phèdre'' (; originally ''Phèdre et Hippolyte'') is a French dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677 at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris. Composition and premiere With ...

''.

Hippolytus as Virbius and his afterlife

Virbius was one of two figures associated with the ancient cult of

Diana Nemorensis Diana Nemorensis ("Diana of Nemi"), also known as " Diana of the Wood", was an Italic form of the goddess who became Hellenised during the fourth century BC and conflated with Artemis. Her sanctuary is on the northern shore of Lake Nemi bene ...

, the other being Egeria. The nature of his function there remains enigmatic. During a later phase of

Hellenization Hellenization or Hellenification is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language, and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonisation often led to the Hellenisation of indigenous people in the Hellenistic period, many of the ...

, Virbius was assimilated to the Greek Hippolytus, as a

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...

. The version presented by Ovid in ''Metamorphoses'', and by Pausanias, relates a story about Hippolytus that differs from the version presented by Euripides. Hippolytus was resuscitated by

Asclepius Asclepius (; ''Asklēpiós'' ; ) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of Apollo), Coronis, or Arsinoe (Greek myth), Ars ...

; once revived he refused to forgive Theseus, went to Italy, became the king of the Aricians, and named a city after Artemis. He ruled as "Virbius" from inside the shrine of Diana. (The sanctuary forbade horses from entering, which is why it is believed he lived there.) This story of Hippolytus differs from Euripides' version, in that it brings Hippolytus back from the dead to live his life in Italy, while Euripides permanently connects him to his tomb. Virbius was also identified with the sun god Sol/

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

(Phaedra's grandfather). As a result, a cult grew up around Hippolytus, associated with the cult of Diana. His cult believed that

asked

to resurrect the young man since he had vowed chastity to her. Followers of Hippolytus' cult cut off a piece of their hair to dedicate their chastity to him before marriage.

Gallery

File:Esculape rend la vie à Hippolyte.jpg, ''Esculape rend la vie à Hippolyte'' by Abel de Pujol File:German school Hippolytus, Phaedra and Theseus.jpeg, ''Hippolytus, Phaedra and Theseus''. German School, 18th century File:Hippolytus mosaic 01.jpg, Part of the mosaic of Hippolytus in the Archaeological Park of Madaba, Jordan File:Hyppolitus készlet.jpg, Hippolytus set – Seuso Treasure

References

External links

*
Hippolytus
for details on the figure of Hippolytus and a classicist's philological study of the evolution of Hippolytus as a

chastity Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains from sexual activity that is considered immoral or from any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for exampl ...

paradigm In science and philosophy, a paradigm ( ) is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitute legitimate contributions to a field. The word ''paradigm'' is Ancient ...

, Seneca, Racine; extensive bibliography (in Dutch) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hippolytus (Mythology) Mythological Greek archers Metamorphoses characters Children of Theseus Mythological people from Attica Attic mythology Deeds of Artemis Deeds of Poseidon Asclepius in mythology Phaedra (mythology) Mythological hunters Retinue of Artemis