Phaedra

In classical Greek mythology, Phaedra is the daughter of King Minos of Crete and Pasiphaë, and is the wife of Theseus. Due to a divine plan set into motion by Aphrodite, Phaedra falls in love with Hippolytus, Theseus’ son from another marriage, bringing about the destruction of both individuals. These themes of incest, fate, and adultery are all present in Desire Under the Elms. This play can be shown to have been influenced greatly by classical representations of this myth. Desire Under the Elms is an exploration by O’Neill of Greek theatre. Set in New England in 1850, this tragic play tells the story of the adulterous, and incestuous relationship between Abbie Putnam and Eben Cabot. Ephraim Cabot, a widower with three sons, abandons his farm…

situation. The author then centres on Artemis and the final scene. Artemis reveals that gods cannot interfere with another’s plans; therefore Hippolytus was wrong to think of himself as under her protection. Luschnig regarded Hippolytus as showing many divine aspects making him ignorant but in the conclusion he finally displays moral insights, understanding his fellow mortals dying no longer in ignorance. - 375 “Human and Divine Action in Euripides’ Hippolytus”, by J Blomqvist, is written…

Jules Dassin's film Phaedra is a modern retelling of Euripides' Hippolytus that focuses on wealthy ship owners and their families, yet the film still incorporates some of the tragic elements of Euripides' play. As with the play, core of the film revolves around a stepmother falling love in with her stepson, yet the film presents several of its main characters with different characterizations than their Euripidean counterparts. These changes result in feelings of passion and jealousy amongst the…

between family members. This type of taboo love occurs in the ancient Greek play Hippolytus and the 1962 film Phaedra when a stepmother falls in love with her stepson. And although the situations and themes appear similar on a surface level, when analyzing them further, it becomes easy to see that they are quite different. Hippolytus, written by Euripides and first performed in 428 BCE, is a Greek play about a stepmother, Phaedra, who falls in love with her stepson, Hippolytus. Hippolytus is…

everything in your life were out of your control? This is the question that Euripides poses in his ancient Greek tragedy Hippolytus. Mad at Hippolytus for renouncing everything she symbolizes and has power over, Aphrodite curses his step-mom Phaedra to fall in love with Hippolytus in order to punish him with the very thing he claims to hate: sexual desire. In doing so, Aphrodite has permanently changed the course of Phaedra’s life. Knowing that her love for Hippolytus would damage her public…

Phaedra expresses shame with the embarrassment and devastation brought by her sexual desires of her stepson, Hippolytus. Of course, by any standards of society, it is wrong to have desires for one’s stepson. The audience is introduced to Phaedra’s shame explicitly from the tone of her feelings. In this scene, Phaedra’s desires are described as a “disease” numerous times by herself and other women. First, Phaedra says she must “conceal [the] disease” (line 427) and “this disease [is] a disgrace”…

version involving Hippolytus and Phaedra being a source for many Greek tragedies. The story is all about the misdirected passions the character’s experience: Hippolytus and his passion against women and sexual love, Phaedra and her passion for her stepson, and Theseus’ eventual passion to destroy his own flesh and blood. Euripides had written two different versions, the second being meant to tone-down the raciness of the first and happens to be the only one that survived. It’s believed that…

disguises. The most destructive women in The Odyssey are Athena, Zeus’ daughter, and Clytemnestra, Agememnon’s wife. Although Athena appears to guide Telemachus in finding his father, Odysseus, return, we later discover that she had the desire for a battle where many of the suitors die. Additionally, Clytemnestra betrays Agememnon by “…schem[ing] [his] death while [he was] world’s away” (Homer 1997: 263). Furthermore, in Hippolytus, women collectively lie and ultimately lead to the downfall of…

Aphrodite is aware that Phaedra is “like to die”, but views her merely as a means to an end in her efforts to punish Hippolytus (39). Phaedra falls ill with horror and guilt over her intense love. Her pain is so intense that she believes that “it is better then / that [she] should die and know no more of anything” (248-249). Phaedra is innocent and has nothing to do with Hippolytus’s conflict with the gods, yet her suffering is used as a vehicle to further the plot. She remains in this status…

the other two major playwrights of the era, Aeschylus and Sophocles, yet it differs greatly. His writing style is simple and can be communicated in colloquial speech: Euripides was known for taking a new approach to traditional myths: he often changed elements of their stories or portrayed the more fallible, human sides of their heroes and gods. His plays commonly dwelled on the darker side of existence, with plot elements of suffering, revenge and insanity. Their characters are often motivated…