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 ...

, Phaedra (; ) was a

Cretan Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

princess. Her name derives from the Greek word (), which means "bright." According to legend, she was the daughter of

Minos Main injector neutrino oscillation search (MINOS) was a particle physics experiment designed to study the phenomena of neutrino oscillations, first discovered by a Super-Kamiokande (Super-K) experiment in 1998. Neutrinos produced by the NuMI ...

and

Pasiphaë In Greek mythology, Pasiphaë (; , derived from πᾶσι (dative plural) "for all" and φάος/φῶς ''phaos/phos'' "light") was a queen of Crete. The daughter of Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse (mythology), Perse, Pasiphaë is notable a ...

, and the wife 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 ...

. Later in life, Phaedra fell in love with her stepson, Hippolytus. After he rejected her advances, she accused him of trying to

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

her. In response, Theseus prayed to

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 ...

and asked the god to kill Hippolytus, which he did. Phaedra then committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. The story of Phaedra is told in

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 ...

' play '' Hippolytus'',

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 ''

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 ...

'', and

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 '' Heroides''. It has inspired many modern works of art and literature, including a play by

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 ...

Family

Phaedra was a daughter of King

and Queen

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, who had a total of eight children together. This included three daughters: Acacallis,

Ariadne In Greek mythology, Ariadne (; ; ) was a Cretan princess, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape from the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of N ...

, and Xenodice, and four sons:

Androgeus Androgeos or Androgeus (Ancient Greek: Ἀνδρόγεως, derived from ''andros'' "of a man" and ''geos'', genitive ''gē'' "earth, land") was the name of two individuals in Classical mythology. * Androgeus, son of Minos and Pasiphaë. psed ...

Deucalion In Greek mythology, Deucalion (; ) was the son of Prometheus; ancient sources name his mother as Clymene (mythology), Clymene, Hesione (Oceanid), Hesione, or Pronoia (mythology), Pronoia.A Scholia, scholium to ''Odyssey'' 10.2 (=''Catalogue of W ...

, Glaucus and

Catreus In Greek mythology, Catreus or Katreus (, ; ) was the eldest son of Minos and Pasiphaë, and Minos' successor as king of Crete. Catreus had one son, Althaemenes, and three daughters, Apemosyne, Aerope and Clymene. Catreus was mistakenly kill ...

Apollodorus Apollodorus ( Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: :''Note: A ...

, ''

Library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

''
3.1.2
/ref> Additionally, the

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "par ...

would have been her maternal half-brother

, '' Heroides''
4
/ref> and she had several paternal half-siblings. Phaedra was the wife of

, a Greek hero and the legendary founder of

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 ...

. She bore him two sons: Demophon and Acamas.

, ''Epitome''
1.17
/ref> Before Theseus married Phaedra, he had a son, Hippolytus, with the queen 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 ...

s, either Hippolyta or Antiope.

, ''Epitome''
5.2
/ref>

Mythology

Marriage to Theseus

Theseus married Phaedra some time after he aided

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

in stealing the belt of Hippolyta, killed the Minotaur, and returned to Athens with her. During the journey to steal the belt from the Amazons, Theseus carried off Hippolyta (or Antiope) and she bore him a son, Hippolytus.

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, ''Theseus''
26
/ref> Alternately, Hippolyta fell in love with Theseus and left with him voluntarily. When Theseus and Phaedra were celebrating their marriage at a feast, a group of the Amazons led by Hippolyta attacked the hall where the reception was being held. During the ensuing fight, Theseus killed Hippolyta.

Relationship with Hippolytus

Much of what we know about the mythology and story of Phaedra is from a collection of ancient Greek and Roman plays and poems. Many of these earlier sources such as ''Phaedra'', a play by

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

, and ''Hippolytus Veiled'', a play by

, have been lost. However, works such as ''

'', written by Roman statesman and philosopher

, '' Heroides'', a collection of poems written by

, and Hippolytus, a play by Euripides, give details of the story. As a result there are many different versions of the story of Phaedra and Hippolytus, but they all share the same general structure, with two distinct versions becoming more prominent over time: one where Phaedra acts alone on her desires, and one where she is cursed by

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 ...

to fall in love with her stepson.

Phaedra alone acts upon her illicit desires

In the more traditional version of the story, Phaedra is the primary cause of misfortune in the tale. In the story, Phaedra falls in love with her stepson Hippolytus and decides that she will try to entice him into a sexual relationship. However, Hippolytus refused because he was a follower of

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 ...

, and had sworn to preserve his

virginity Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereo ...

, ''Parallela minora''
34
/ref> Phaedra was humiliated when he refused her advances. However, she was aware of the consequences she would suffer if Theseus learned about her actions. She lied to her husband and claimed that Hippolytus attempted to rape her.Theseus was angered by his Hippolytus' supposed actions, and cursed son with one of the three wishes granted to him by

. Poseidon granted this wish. While Hippolytus was riding in 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 ...

along the seashore, Poseidon sent up a monster or sea-bull from the sea, which scared the horses. The horses panicked and began to run off with the chariot, dashing it to pieces. Hippolytus, who was tangled in the reins, was dragged to death. In the end, Phaedra's treachery is discovered, and she hangs herself.

Hyginus Hyginus may refer to: People *Hyginus, the author of the '' Fabulae'', an important ancient Latin source for Greek mythology. *Hyginus, the author of the ''Astronomia'', a popular ancient Latin guide on astronomy, probably the same as the author ...

, ''

Fabulae The ''Fabulae'' is a Latin handbook of mythology, attributed to an author named Hyginus, who is generally believed to have been separate from Gaius Julius Hyginus. The work consists of some three hundred very brief and plainly, even crudely, told ...

''
47
/ref>

Phaedra is cursed by Aphrodite

In this version of the story popularized by

, Phaedra has a reputation as a virtuous queen and is not entirely responsible for her actions. She gets caught in the crossfire between Hippolytus and Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Hippolytus is a devout follower of Artemis, a virgin goddess. He hails her as the greatest of all deities and in a show of devotion to honor the goddess, Hippolytus vows eternal chastity, swearing that he will never love or marry. He additionally refuses to worship Aphrodite. This offends the goddess, and to punish Hippolytus, she curses Phaedra to fall madly in love with him.

, '' Hippolytus''
1
/ref> Theseus was abroad at the time. Phaedra becomes depressed for several months due to her longing for Hippolytus, laying in her bed and refusing to eat. Eventually, unable to tolerate the burden of her suffering in silence, she confides in her nurse and shares her feelings towards Hippolytus. The nurse concerned about her mistress's health tells Hippolytus about how Phaedra feels. Bound by his oath of abstinence, Hippolytus rejects his stepmother. When Phaedra learns of her nurse's actions, she fears the consequences of her immoral desires and plans to commit suicide. But before doing so, she writes a letter to her husband Theseus accusing Hippolytus of seducing and assaulting her in an attempt to clear her name and possibly protect her children from misfortune. She commits suicide by hanging herself, holding the letter in her hand. Similar to the more common version of the story, once Theseus reads Phaedra's letter and learns of his son's supposed sins, he prays to Poseidon to kill his son. Poseidon summons a huge bull to scare Hippolytus's horses into a wild frenzy. The horses drag Hippolytus to his death. Artemis is saddened by the loss of her devout follower and tells Theseus about the curse Aphrodite placed on his wife. The story ends with Theseus grieving the deaths of his wife and son.

After death

The Athenians maintained a

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

on the south slope of the

Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...

devoted to Aphrodite 'for Hippolytus'. Pausanias writes that Phaedra and Hippolytus were buried close to each other, near to a racetrack where Hippolytus used to practice. He states that there was a myrtle tree that grew over her tomb. He intertwines her story with this species of tree, claiming that she would hide behind a myrtle while watching him practice. He writes that the Troezenians had a myrtle with all of its leaves pierced with holes, which they claimed were pierced by a pin in Phaedra's hair while she was watching.

Cultural influence

Phaedra has been the subject of many notable works of art, literature, music and film.

In art

* Figure 8 Phaedra, wall painting, early first century CE, Pompeii, now Antiquarium di Pompeii, Pompeii, inv. no. 20620, * Second century Roman Sarcophagus of Beatrice of Lorraine in the Camposanto in

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

. This was the model for

Nicola Pisano Nicola Pisano (also called ''Niccolò Pisano'', ''Nicola de Apulia'' or ''Nicola Pisanus''; /1225 – ) was an Italian sculpture, sculptor whose work is noted for its classical Ancient Rome, Roman sculptural style. Pisano is sometimes considered ...

's work on the Pisa Baptistery in the mid-thirteenth century. *

Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French Painting, painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the Academic art, academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. He was Napoleon ...

's ''

'' (1880)

In literature

Phaedra's story appears in many acclaimed works of literature, including: *

, '' Hippolytus'', Greek play *

, '' Heroides'' IV, Epistolary poetry *

, ''

'', Latin play *

, '' Phèdre'' (1677), French play *

Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He wrote many plays – all tragedies – and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the Eleve ...

, ''Phaedra'' (1866), English lyrical drama * Herman Bang, ''Fædra'' (1883), Danish novel. * Gabriele D'Annunzio, ''Fedra'' (1909), Italian play * Miguel de Unamuno, ''Fedra'' (1911), Spanish play *

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

, '' Desire Under the Elms'' (1924), American play *

Marina Tsvetaeva Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva ( rus, Марина Ивановна Цветаева, p=mɐˈrʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə tsvʲɪˈta(j)ɪvə, links=yes; 31 August 1941) was a Russian poet. Her work is some of the most well-known in twentieth-century Russ ...

, ''Fedra'' (1928), Russian play * Mary Renault, '' The Bull from the Sea'' (1962), English novel

In music

Phaedra is also the subject of a number of musical works, including: * '' Hippolyte et Aricie'',

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

(

tragédie en musique ''Tragédie en musique'' (, musical tragedy), also known as ''tragédie lyrique'' (, lyric tragedy), is a genre of French opera introduced by Jean-Baptiste Lully and used by his followers until the second half of the eighteenth century. Operas i ...

) by

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; ; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of ...

, 1733 * '' Phédre'', opera by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, 1786 * ''Fedra'', opera by

Giovanni Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini. Life Paisiello was born i ...

, 1788 * ''Fedra'', opera by Simon Mayr, 1820 * ''Phèdre,'' overture by

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...

,1873 also appearing as a protagonist in his 1907 opera '' Ariane'' * '' Fedra'', opera by Ildebrando Pizzetti, 1915, based on D'Annunzio's 1909 play * ''

'', LP recorded by

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...

, 1974 * ''

'', opera by

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...

, 2007

Notes

References

* Smith, William; ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

'', London (1873)
"Phaedra"
*

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

, ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'' VI.445;

, ''

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 ...

'' XV.497 * *

External links

The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Phaedra)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phaedra (Mythology) Princesses in Greek mythology Queens in Greek mythology Characters in Book VI of the Aeneid Mythological Cretans Attic mythology Theseus Suicides in Greek mythology Deeds of Aphrodite Potiphar's wife archetype in folklore