''Hippolytus'' (, ''Hippolytos'') is an

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

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 ...

, based on the myth of Hippolytus, 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 ...

. The play was first produced for the

City Dionysia The Dionysia (; Greek: Διονύσια) was a large festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus, the central events of which were processions and sacrifices in honor of Dionysus, the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies and ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

in 428 BC and won first prize as part of a trilogy. The text is extant. Euripides first treated the myth in a previous play, ''Hippolytos Kalyptomenos'' ( – ''Hippolytus Veiled''), which is lost, and survives only in fragments. What is known of it is based on echoes found in other ancient writings. The earlier play, and the one that has survived are both titled ''Hippolytus'', but in order to distinguish the two they have traditionally been given the names, ''Hippolytus Kalyptomenos'' and ''Hippolytus Stephanophoros'' ( – "Hippolytus the wreath bearer"). It is thought that the contents to the lost ''Hippolytos Kalyptomenos'' portrayed a woman, Phaedra, reduced to shamelessness by a god, and not given the dignity of being able to resist the spell that Aphrodite has placed on her. Athenians may have been offended by a determinedly lustful heroine of a tragedy offering herself directly to Hippolytus. Such a weakness in Phaedra’s character, may have caused Hippolytus’ desire for purity to be less effectively portrayed. In 428 B.C., Euripides offered to the festival of Dionysus a second version of the story, in which Phaedra resists Aphrodite as best she can. This is the version that has survived.Euripides. ''Hippolytus''. Bagg, Robert. Introduction. Oxford University Press. 1973 Euripides revisits the myth in ''Hippolytos Stephanophoros'', its title refers to the garlands Hippolytus wears as a worshipper of Artemis. In this version Phaedra fights against her own sexual desires, which have been incited by Aphrodite.

Synopsis

The play is set in

Troezen Troezen (; ancient Greek: Τροιζήν, modern Greek: Τροιζήνα ) is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern Peloponnese, Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the munic ...

, a coastal town in the north-eastern

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

, the king of

, is serving a year's voluntary exile after having murdered a local king and his sons. His illegitimate son is Hippolytus, whose birth is the result of Theseus's rape of the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

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 ...

. Hippolytus has been trained since childhood by the king of Troezen,

Pittheus In Greek mythology, Pittheus (; ) was the king of Troezen, city in Argolis, which he had named after his brother Troezen. Biography Pittheus was a son of Pelops and Dia (maybe another name for Hippodamia), father of AethraDiodorus Siculus. ' ...

. Hippolytus has a step-mother, Phaedra, who lives in Athens. At the opening of the play

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 ...

, Goddess of love, explains that Hippolytus has sworn

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 ...

and refuses to revere her. Instead, he honours the Goddess of the hunt,

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 ...

. This has led Aphrodite to initiate a plan of vengeance on Hippolytus. When Hippolytus went to Athens two years previously Aphrodite caused

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 ...

to fall in love with him. Hippolytus appears with his followers and shows reverence to a statue of Artemis, a chaste goddess. A servant warns him about slighting Aphrodite, but Hippolytus refuses to listen. The

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

, consisting of young married women of Troezen, enters and describes how Theseus's wife,

, has not eaten or slept in three days. Phaedra, sickly, appears with her nurse. After an agonizing discussion, Phaedra finally confesses why she is ill: she loves Hippolytus. The nurse and the chorus are shocked. Phaedra explains that she must starve herself and die with her honour intact and to save Theseus from shame. However, the nurse quickly retracts her initial response and tells Phaedra that she has a magical charm to cure her. However, in an aside she reveals different plans. The nurse, after making Hippolytus swear not to tell anyone, informs Hippolytus of Phaedra's desire and suggests that Hippolytus consider yielding to her. He reacts with a furious tirade and threatens to tell his father, Theseus, everything as soon as he arrives. Phaedra realizes disaster has fallen. After making the chorus swear secrecy, she goes inside and hangs herself. Theseus returns and discovers his wife's dead body. Because the chorus is sworn to secrecy, they cannot tell Theseus why she killed herself. Theseus discovers a letter on Phaedra's body, which falsely asserts that she was raped by Hippolytus. Enraged, Theseus curses his son either to death or at least exile. To execute the curse, Theseus calls upon his father, the god

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 ...

, who has promised to grant his son three wishes. Hippolytus enters and protests his innocence but cannot tell the truth because of the binding oath that he swore. Taking Phaedra's letter as proof, Hippolytus proudly defends his innocence, saying that he has never looked at any woman with sexual desire. Theseus does not believe his son and still exiles him. As Hippolytus is departing he swears that if he is lying then Zeus should strike him down on the spot. The chorus sings a lament for Hippolytus. A messenger enters and describes a gruesome scene to Theseus; as Hippolytus got in his chariot to leave the kingdom, a bull roared out of the sea, frightening his horses, which dashed his chariot among the rocks, dragging Hippolytus behind. Hippolytus seems to be dying. The messenger protests Hippolytus' innocence, but Theseus refuses to believe him. Theseus is glad that Hippolytus is suffering and about to die. But then the goddess, Artemis, appears and rages at Theseus for killing his own son. She brutally tells him the truth and that Aphrodite was behind all their suffering, because she felt disrespected by Hippolytus's pride in his chastity. Artemis states that there was no rape, Phaedra had lied, and Theseus' son is innocent. Theseus is devastated by this revelation. Hippolytus is carried in physically battered and barely clinging to life. In the last moments of the play, Hippolytus forgives his father, kind words are exchanged between father and son, and then Hippolytus dies. Theseus is then left living to dwell on the fact that he killed his beloved son.

Critical Reception

In this play, all characters, humans and gods, have blindnesses that prevent them from understanding others, and these blindnesses combine to result in tragedy. The clash between Phaedra and Hippolytus is a conflict between what is repugnant and depraved — a woman sexually desiring her step son–and what is inhuman and arrogant–a young man that finds sexuality repellant. Hippolytus is possessed by a desire for purity, which is represented by the goddess Artemis. Hippolytus describes the goddess' purifying power in terms of the ancient Greek concept of

sophrosyne Sophrosyne () is an ancient Greek concept of an ideal of excellence of character and soundness of mind, which when combined in one well-balanced individual leads to other qualities, such as temperance, moderation, prudence, purity, decorum, ...

, which is translated in the script variously as the situation requires–"wisdom, chastity, moderation, character". This play illustrates that it is not possible for a person to be sophron and also a devotee of Aphrodite. However, like any other famous play, Hippolytus has a variety of different interpretations. Traditionally, the play was generally agreed upon to (1) showcase a symbolic conflict of chastity vs. desire, which is seen through Artemis and Aphrodite, respectively and (2) highlight Hippolytus as the main character, while Phaedra exists as its foil. This sentiment was echoed by the chief critics, Wilamowitz-Mollendorf, Louis Meridier, and Max Pohlenz; while the three disagreed on other parts of the play, consensus was attained in those fields. Apart from that, there were multiple points of debate, which were mainly centered on Hippolytus’ character’s reception at the time. While some scholars saw Hippolytus’ excessive chasteness to be his downfall, others interpreted Hippolytus’ rejection of man’s desire as proof of his ascension to the spiritual ideal of purity and consequently saw his death as a triumph. It is also suspected that Hippolytus’ character received poor reception from ancient Athenians, as his behavior would have likely been seen as unnatural and consequently frowned upon. This is also inferred in lines 99-109 of ''Hippolytus'', which showcases a conversation between Hippolytus and a servant who questions Hippolytus’ abrasiveness toward Aphrodite: Servant How then no word for a high and mighty goddess? Hippolytus 00Which? Careful lest your tongue commit some slip. Servant ''pointing to the statue of Aphrodite'' The goddess here, who stands beside your gate. Hippolytus I greet her from afar, for I am pure. Servant Yet she's revered and famous among mortals. Hippolytus I do not like a god worshipped at night. Servant 07My son, to honor the gods is only just. Hippolytus Men have their likes, in gods and men alike. Servant I wish you fortune—and the good sense you need!

David Grene David Grene (13 April 1913 – 10 September 2002) was an Irish American professor of classics at the University of Chicago from 1937 until his death. He was a co-founder of the Committee on Social Thought and is best known for his translations o ...

, an Irish American professor and expert in classics, offers a reinterpretation of the play. Primarily, Grene argues that Hippolytus is secondary to Phaedra, who is acting out Aphrodite’s will. Out of anger for Hippolytus’ devotion to Artemis and attitude to Aphrodite, Aphrodite transforms Phaedra into a lustful woman that is “seized with a dreadful longing” to her own stepson. When Phaedra fails, she concocts a plan to indirectly cause Hippolytus’ death by blaming him of raping her in her suicide note, which leads to her husband calling upon Poseidon to curse Hippolytus. Thus, the philosophical themes in Hippolytus are heavily grounded on Phaedra and her desire for Hippolytus, pointing toward her role as the main character. Moreover, from a structural and content standpoint, Grene argues that the play's tensions are mainly centered on Phaedra, which alludes to how Euripides intended for her to act as the central character; otherwise, he would have wasted time with irrelevant details on her. Grene’s points are also supported by the consistencies in both editions of Hippolytus. Euripides eventually revised his first version, ostensibly due to unfavorable reception from the Athenian audience. In the first release, Phaedra directly confesses to Hippolytus, and the Nurse does not exist; this play is now lost and only exists in fragments. In the second variant, Euripides adds the Nurse to act as the middleman between Hippolytus and Phaedra; it follows that the Nurse is the one responsible for disclosing his stepmother’s attraction to him. Despite the changes, Grene contests that nothing essential was added into either character and Phaedra is aware of the confession anyhow. Either way, Grene underlines that the main framework of the plot stays constant—and it is how the embodiment of Aphrodite (love) operates on Phaedra and ultimately destroys Hippolytus. In addition to this, Grene points out that Hippolytus does not actually do much dramatic movement—he just suffers punishment—and it is ''Phaedra'' who is the main subject. Grene’s essay was critical in setting the foundation for Hippolytus’ interpretation, especially since Grene boldly challenged past, traditional views. While Lester G. Crocker acknowledges this, he also points out several flaws in Grene’s argumentation. One of these problems includes Grene’s arbitrary justifications, as Crocker identified how Grene’s structural analysis decidedly omitted the Prologue and Epilogue. Because of this, Grene was able to say that Phaedra occupied most of the play. Yet, Crocker’s reading found that even if these exclusions were set, each character still occupied the same amount of space and stage time. Furthermore, if the Prologue and Epilogue were rightfully included, Hippolytus would be onstage more than his stepmother. Besides methodological errors, Crocker proposes a different understanding of the play. He argues that, because ''Hippolytus'' had equal amounts of conflicts in both its titular character and Phaedra, the tragic meaning of the play transcends the individual tragedy of the protagonists. He claims that it is not a question of whose conflict is more important; instead, both conflicts come together to form a whole view. Crocker asserts that Hippolytus is more than a symbol for chastity, and that Phaedra is more than a symbol of lust. In Hippolytus’ case, he is guilty of an excessive pursuit toward an ideal that humans cannot attain, since it is against man’s nature to totally reject sex; by trying to become the embodiment of purity, Hippolytus tries to become more than human—attempting to be on par with gods. Meanwhile, Phaedra has an internalized conflict between two opposites: self-restraint and desire; although she tries to defy her libido and remain chaste, her desire for sex—coupled with her husband’s absence and Aphrodite’s imposition—lead to her ultimate failure. Yet, taking a broad view, Hippolytus and Phaedra are both engaged in the same struggle between their primitive desire and the ideal they are aspiring to. Considering this, Crocker ultimately says that the tragic protagonist of the play is Hippolytus due to how he experiences fundamental aloneness, his storyline involved

peripeteia Peripeteia (, peripety, alternative Latin form: Peripetīa, ultimately from ) is a reversal of circumstances, or turning point, within a work of literature. Aristotle's view Aristotle, in his '' Poetics'', defines peripeteia as "a change by whi ...

, his punishment is disproportionate to the crime he committed, and he experienced true

anagnorisis Anagnorisis (; ) is a moment in a play or other work when a character makes a critical discovery. Anagnorisis originally meant recognition in its Greek context, not only of a person but also of what that person stood for. Anagnorisis was the her ...

. Hippolytus’ drive to be perfectly chaste is an existential crime, and the main ironies in the play concern him; in his pursuit to rise above, he ends up falling to his death—quite literally. In comparison, Phaedra’s crime has more rationality than Hippolytus’, as she is aware of the forbidden nature of her desire. Despite this, she is a victim to the gods’ vengeance, and she still commits the crime of confessing her love for Hippolytus—irrespective of how she knows better. According to Crocker, instead of having tragic guilt, Phaedra’s actions thus lead to ethical guilt. Because of this, he sees her as falling short of having full tragic stature. Scholar Rachel Bruzzone argued in 2012 that Pygmalion in Book X of

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 Hippolytus share certain characteristics. The main antagonist of both stories is Aphrodite, who seeks revenge on both for insulting her by remaining virgins. They are also both obsessed with remaining pure. Both are misogynistic with Hippolytus believing that women are morally corrupt and will ruin his pureness. Pygmalion believes the same in that women are just lust-filled creatures that will ruin his pureness. But Pygmalion unlike Hippolytus does desire a woman, just one he deems as perfect which is one that does not speak, is nameless and compliant. Both have a love affair with a statue. Hippolytus's love affair is more subtle where he just says that his wife is a statue but Pygmalion actually marries his statue, which is brought to life.

Texts

* Barrett, W. S. (ed.), ''Euripides, Hippolytos, edited with Introduction and Commentary'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1964; Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1964)

Translations

* Robert Potter, 1781, verse

full text In text retrieval, full-text search refers to techniques for searching a single computer-stored document or a collection in a full-text database. Full-text search is distinguished from searches based on metadata or on parts of the original texts r ...

* A. Mary F. Robinson, 1881, verse *Edward P. Coleridge, 1891, prose
full text
*

Gilbert Murray George Gilbert Aimé Murray (2 January 1866 – 20 May 1957) was an Australian-born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greec ...

, 1911, verse
full text
* Arthur Way, 1912, verse *

H.D. Hilda Doolittle (September 10, 1886 – September 27, 1961) was an American modernist poet, novelist, and memoirist who wrote under the name H.D. throughout her life. Her career began in 1911 after she moved to London and co-founded th ...

, verse, 1927 *Augustus T. Murray, 1931, prose *

Moses Hadas Moses Hadas (June 25, 1900, Atlanta, Georgia – August 17, 1966) was an American teacher, a classical scholar, and a translator of numerous works from Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and German. Life Raised in Atlanta in a Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Je ...

and John McLean, 1936 - prose *

, 1942, verse * Philip Vellacott, 1953, verse *

F. L. Lucas Frank Laurence Lucas (28 December 1894 – 1 June 1967) was an English Classics, classical scholar, literary critic, poet, novelist, playwright, political polemicist, Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and intelligence officer at Bletchley Pa ...

, 1954, verse *Robert Bagg, 1973. *

David Rudkin James David Rudkin (born 29 June 1936) is an England, English playwright. Early life Rudkin was born in London. Coming from a family of strict evangelical Christians, he was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham and read Mods and Great ...

, 1981 Heinemann *David Kovacs, 1994, prose
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*John Davie, 1996, prose *

David Lan David Lan is a South African-born British playwright, theatre producer and director and a social anthropologist. Career Born in Cape Town, he trained as an actor and gained a BA at the University of Cape Town. He has lived in London since 19 ...

, 1998 *

James Morwood James Henry Weldon Morwood (25 November 1943 – 10 September 2017) was an English classicist and author. He taught at Harrow School, where he was Head of Classics,Harrow School Register 2002 8th edition edited by S W Bellringer & published by T ...

, 1998 *

Anne Carson Anne Patricia Carson (born June 21, 1950) is a Canadian poet, essayist, translator, classicist, and professor. Trained at the University of Toronto, Carson has taught classics, comparative literature, and creative writing at universities across ...

, 2006. ''Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides''. New York Review Books Classics. . * Diane Arnson Svarlien, 2007. ''Euripides: Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus''. Hackett Classics. *George Theodoridis, 2010, prose
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* Ian C. Johnston, 2016, verse
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*Rachel Kitzinger, 2016 - verse *Brian Vinero, 2024, rhymed verse

Adaptations

*The tragic play

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 ...

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 tra ...

(1677) *The film ''

'' (1962), incorporating elements of the two versions written by Euripides

Notes

External links

* * (multiple English translations) * * *
Summary and analysis
{{Authority control Plays by Euripides Theseus Greek plays adapted into films Plays set in ancient Greece Phaedra (mythology) Fiction about false allegations of sex crimes Plays based on classical mythology