Phaedra

furthered as Phaedra considers how to handle her dilemma of hopelessly being in love with Hippolytus. While Phaedra’s mind has already been manipulated by Aphrodite, her thought process reveals she had autonomy over her decision to kill herself. As the Nurse continues to help Phaedra, Phaedra orders the Nurse to leave so that she can…

clear that each of them can be defined as the central character of the story. The first of these characters is Phaedra, and as is the case with many other tragedies at the time, she paints the picture of a woman with underlying conflicts. For this reason she can be a candidate as the tragic hero in this story, but upon further inspection is becomes clear that she fails the test. Phaedra is the wife of Theseus, and because Theseus is king of Athens, she acts as the queen of Athens. After Theseus…

movie are Hyperion and Phaedra as character in this movie. Hyperion is rarely mentioned in any myths and never in the legend of Theseus. Ariadne is the woman that helps him defeat the Minotaur and falls in love with Theseus; Phaedra is the sister of Ariadne and later becomes Theseus’ lover. Finally, Theseus is not killed by poison from the Minotaur, but instead is pushed off a cliff as an old man. Some similarities are that Theseus does have a child named Acamas with Phaedra, Theseus does kill…

the king of Troizen named Taeseus is unaware of the truth of the situation: that his wife lied about being raped by his son. His limitations made him not see Phaedra confess her love for Hippolytus to her nurse and killing herself after the prince found out, and make incorrect conclusions of the situation because he only knew of the note Phaedra left for him. This interpretation of these principles becomes even more literal when the king doesn’t comprehend the implication of death. Amid his…

motherly as Penelope, who spent years “wasting away [her] life, [her] heart broken longing for [her] husband” (Homer 2006: 382) and endured a similar “cloud of heartbreak” (Homer 2006: 147) when her son departed on his quest. Atalanta, Penelope, and Phaedra take advantage of their otherwise powerless roles, and glean some control over their lives, thus empowering themselves. This is not solely a mortal’s plight;…

Against the Gods: Exploring hubris and its consequences in Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound and Euripides’ Hippolytus In the following Greek tragedies hubris is not merely overweening pride but behaviour or an action against – or in defiance of – the gods. With this definition of hubris in mind, an examination of Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound and Euripides’ Hippolytus will show that central characters within the plays – wittingly or unwittingly - commit acts of hubris which lead to their…

Theseus was an exceptional hero of Greek Mythology. His valiant efforts are shown persistently amongst his numerous feats. In search of his unknown father, Theseus begins his long, perilous journey towards the great kingdom of Athens. Along the way, Theseus encounters a series of obstacles, which mark the beginning of his achievements. In the beginning, Theseus stumbles upon the enemy, Periphetes, son of Hephaestus. This villain would kill passing travelers with an iron cudgel. Through acts of…

A tragic hero is not equivalent to the heroes that people think of today. A tragic hero does not necessarily display courage, bravery, and strength in grim times, making them different than the heroic characters people think of today. Many famous Greek playwrights wrote about tragic heroes, but each one chose to focus on different characteristics, depending on how they defined a tragic hero. This is why when examining the characters Oedipus, in Oedipus the King (Sophocles), and Hippolytus, in…

Myths were used to reinforce social conventions whilst allowing exploration of social tensions and issues. Euripides’s Hippolytus reinforces and questions the role of men and women in society. The idea of community is an essential aspect of Greek society consequently being a man meant full participation in civic life including the religious aspects of sacrifice and processions. In private, men were head of the household and concerned with reproducing sons and Theseus represents the ideal Greek…

To begin with, symbolism is a powerful tool incorporated into plays that can be utilized for different purposes. In Doll’s House, a predominant symbol is the Christmas tree that is delivered to Nora’s house. The simple explicit message is that the tree coveys to readers that Christmas is approaching. It is a festive object meant to serve as a decorative and symbolizes family happiness and unity. However, the Christmas tree is more than just a festive object. In the play, the tree seems to mimic…