Hippolytus
Also known as: Hippolytos, Hippolytus the Wreathed, Hippolytos Stephanophoros
Aphrodite destroys the chaste Hippolytus by inflaming his stepmother Phaedra with desire; Phaedra’s suicide and false accusation provoke Theseus to curse his son, who dies, and Artemis reveals the truth.
Description
Set at Troezen, Euripides’ play opposes Aphrodite’s power of eros to the hunter-chastity of Hippolytus, a devotee of Artemis who vows sexual purity. Spurned, Aphrodite afflicts Phaedra with illicit passion; the Nurse’s attempt to help betrays Hippolytus’ oath-bound secrecy. Phaedra preserves her reputation by suicide, leaving a tablet accusing Hippolytus of rape. Theseus invokes one of Poseidon’s fatal curses, and a bull from the sea wrecks Hippolytus’ chariot. In a final epiphany Artemis exposes the deception, reconciles father and son at the point of death, and promises cult honors for Hippolytus. The drama explores desire, piety, and the catastrophic misreadings of truth and honor under divine rivalry.
Historiography
The extant play is the later Hippolytos Stephanophoros, written after an earlier, now-lost Hippolytos Kalyptomenos in which Phaedra’s portrayal likely proved objectionable. Transmission depends on medieval manuscripts of Euripides (notably the Laurentian family) with scholia preserving ancient commentary. The story influenced Seneca’s Latin Phaedra and Racine’s French Phèdre, shaping European receptions of eros, chastity, and tragic misrecognition. Iconography and later cult traditions at Troezen interact with the play’s closing aetiology.
Date Notes
Premiered at the City Dionysia in Athens and won first prize.
Major Characters
- Hippolytus
- Phaedra
- Theseus
- Aphrodite
- Artemis
- Nurse
Myths
- Phaedra’s Passion
- The Death of Hippolytus
- Artemis’ Vindication
Facts
- The play won first prize at the Athenian City Dionysia in 428 BCE.
- The action takes place at Troezen before the palace of Theseus.
- Aphrodite opens the play; Artemis closes it with an epiphany.
- Theseus invokes one of three curses granted by Poseidon to destroy his own son.
- Hippolytus is characterized by extreme chastity and devotion to Artemis.
- Phaedra leaves a written tablet accusing Hippolytus of sexual assault.
- The famous Messenger speech narrates the sea-bull and chariot catastrophe.
- The extant play is the later 'Hippolytos Stephanophoros' (Wreathed).
- An earlier version, 'Hippolytos Kalyptomenos' (Veiled), is lost.
- The Chorus consists of women of Troezen who frame communal response.
- The ending institutes cult honors for Hippolytus at Troezen.
- The drama explores divine rivalry between Aphrodite and Artemis over mortals.