 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2021) |
| Phaedra | |
|---|---|
Queen of Athens | |
| Member of the Crete Royal Family | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Wall_painting_-_Phaidra_and_her_nurse_-_Pompeii_-_London_BM_GR_1856-0625-5_-_02.jpg) Phaedra with an attendant, probably her nurse, a fresco from Pompeii, 60–20 BC | |
| Abode | Crete, later Athens |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Minos and Pasiphae or Crete |
| Siblings | Catreus, Ariadne, Androgeus, Xenodice, Acacallis, Glaucus and Deucalion; the Minotaur |
| Consort | Theseus |
| Offspring | Acamas and Demophon |
In Greek mythology, Phaedra (/ˈfiːdrə, ˈfɛdrə/; Ancient Greek: Φαίδρα, romanized: Phaídra) was a Cretan princess. Her name derives from the Greek word φαιδρός (phaidros), which means "bright". According to legend, she was the daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, and the wife of Theseus. Phaedra fell in love with her stepson Hippolytus. After he rejected her advances, she accused him of trying to rape her, causing Theseus to pray to Poseidon to kill Hippolytus (which Poseidon does), and then she killed herself.
The story of Phaedra is told in Euripides' play Hippolytus, Seneca the Younger's Phaedra, and Ovid's Heroides. It has inspired many modern works of art and literature, including a play by Jean Racine.