Hippolytus (play)

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Hippolytus

Written by	Euripides
Chorus	Troezenian Women
Characters	Aphrodite Hippolytus Attendants Nurse Phaedra Theseus Messenger
Setting	Before the royal palace at Troezen

Hippolytus (also known as 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.

In Euripides's own time, the play was known as Hippolytos Stephanephoros (Hippolytus Bearer of the Garland), to distinguish it from his earlier tragedy on the same subject, Hippolytos Kalyptomenos (Hippolytus Veiled), now lost. The surviving play offers a much more even-handed and psychologically complex treatment of the characters than is commonly found in traditional retellings of myths.

The gods play a very important role in Hippolytus, framing the action. Aphrodite appears at the beginning and Artemis at the end, and they were possibly represented onstage throughout the action in the form of statues. These two goddesses can be taken as representing the conflicting emotions of passion and chastity.^{[citation needed]}

1 Synopsis
2 Characterization
3 Translations
4 Additional references

[edit] Synopsis

The play is set in Troezen, a coastal town near Athens. Theseus, the king of Athens, is spending a year in voluntary exile to atone for bloodshed and has brought with him his wife Phaedra. His illegitimate son Hippolytus, whose mother is the Amazon Hippolyta, has been trained here since childhood by the king of Troezen, Pittheus.

At the opening of the play Aphrodite, Goddess of love, explains that Hippolytus has sworn chastity and refuses to revere her. Instead, he honours the Goddess of the hunt, Artemis. This has led her to initiate a plan of vengeance on Hippolytus. When Hippolytus went to Athens two years previously Aphrodite inspired Phaedra, Hippolytus' stepmother, to fall in love with him.

Hippolytus appears with his followers, and shows reverence to a statue of Artemis, goddess of chastity. A servant warns him about his overt disdain for Aphrodite, but Hippolytus refuses to listen to him.

The chorus, consisting of young married women of Troezen, enters, and describes how Phaedra is not eating or sleeping. Phaedra, sickly, appears with her Nurse. After an agonized discussion, Phaedra finally gives into her nurse's demands and 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 honor intact. However, the Nurse quickly retracts her initial response and tells Phaedra that she has medicine to cure her. However, to one side she states that she has other plans.

The nurse tells Hippolytus of Phaedra's desire, after making him swear an oath that he will not tell anyone else. He reacts with a furious, misogynistic tirade on the 'poisonous' nature of women. Since the secret is out, Phaedra believes she is ruined. After making the Chorus swear secrecy, she goes inside and hangs herself.

Theseus returns and discovers his wife's dead body. Since the Chorus is sworn to secrecy, they cannot tell Theseus why she killed herself. Theseus discovers a letter on Phaedra's body which accuses Hippolytus of raping her. Enraged, Theseus curses his son to death or at least exile. He calls upon Poseidon, his father who has promised him three curses, to enforce the curse. Hippolytus enters and protests his innocence, but cannot tell the truth because of the binding oath that he swore. Taking his wife's letter as proof Theseus exiles his son.

The Chorus sing 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 along. Hippolytus seems to be dying. The messenger protests Hippolytus' innocence but Theseus refuses to believe him.

Theseus is pleased with Hippolytus' suffering, until Artemis appears to tell him the truth. She explains that his son was innocent and that it was Phaedra who lied. Although she attacks Theseus' decision she ultimately recognises that the blame must be placed on Aphrodite. Hippolytus is carried in half-alive and Artemis promises to kill any man Aphrodite holds dearest in the world. Finally, Hippolytus absolves his father of his death and dies.

[edit] Characterization

In many ways this play is surprising in its even-handed approach to the two main characters, neither being presented in a wholly favorable light. Euripides has often been accused of misogyny in his presentations of characters such as Medea and Electra. However, Hippolytus seems unsympathetically puritan and misogynist, though he is partially redeemed by his refusal to break his oath to the nurse. Similarly, Phaedra is initially presented as sympathetic, honourably struggling against overwhelming odds to do the right thing, though our regard for her is reduced by her indictment of Hippolytus.

[edit] Translations

Edward P. Coleridge, 1891 - prose: full text
Gilbert Murray, 1911 - verse: full text
Arthur S. Way, 1912 - verse
Augustus T. Murray, 1931 - prose
David Grene, 1942 - verse
Philip Vellacott, 1953 - verse
David Kovacs, 1994 - prose: full text
David Lan, 1998
Anne Carson(2006). Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides. New York Review Books Classics. ISBN 1590171802.