Hippolytus (play)

For the play by Seneca sometimes called Hippolytus, see Phaedra (Seneca).
Hippolytus
The Death of Hippolytus (1860)
by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Written byEuripides
Chorus1. Troezenian women
2. Slaves to Hippolytus
CharactersAphrodite
Hippolytus
Servant
Nurse
Phaedra
Theseus
Messenger
Artemis
Place premieredAthens
Original languageAncient Greek
GenreTragedy
SettingBefore the royal palace at Troezen

Hippolytus (Ancient Greek: Ἱππόλυτος, Hippolytos) is an Ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides, based on the myth of Hippolytus, son of Theseus. The play was first produced for the City Dionysia of Athens in 428 BC and won first prize as part of a trilogy. The text is extant.[1]

Euripides first treated the myth in a previous play, Hippolytos Kalyptomenos (Ἱππόλυτος καλυπτόμενος – 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 (Ἱππόλυτος στεφανοφόρος – "Hippolytus the wreath bearer").[2]

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.[3]: 3 

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.[3]

Phaedra agonizing over her love for Hippolytus. Phèdre by Alexandre Cabanel
  1. ^ "Euripides' Hippolytus", translated by George Theodoridis
  2. ^ Snell, Bruno. Scenes from Greek Drama. University of California Press. (1964) p. 24.
  3. ^ a b Euripides. Hippolytus. Bagg, Robert. Introduction. Oxford University Press. 1973 ISBN 978-0-19-507290-7