Euripides, Hippolytus

David Kovacs (University of Virginia)

Ed. by Vaios Liapis, Open University of Cyprus
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.1: Greek Writing and Culture: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Imperial, -800--100.
Vol. editors: Jonathan Burgess (University of Toronto), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University), Laura Swift (The Open University)

Dates

First circulation or publication -428

Places

Ancient Greece (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play
Tragedy

Resources

The plot of Hippolytus (428 B.C., first prize) concerns the punishment by the goddess Aphrodite of Theseus’ illegitimate son Hippolytus, a young man who is the favored companion of Artemis. Hippolytus has angered the goddess of love by his determined chastity, and the goddess announces at the play’s beginning that she will bring about his death on this very day. Her only direct intervention occurred some time before: she caused his stepmother Phaedra to fall in love with him during the young man’s visit to Athens. The rest of her scheme involves independent decisions by Phaedra, Phaedra’s Nurse, Hippolytus, and Theseus, each decision arising predictably out of the character of each person. Aphrodite tells us that Theseus w…

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1790 words

Citation: Kovacs, David. "Hippolytus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 August 2010 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13368, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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