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Chapter-IV
Hippolytus
Death of yours was destiny (98).
- Hippolytus
Hippolytus, one of the extant plays of Euripides, took the first prize at its
reproduction in 429.BC. The manner and the theme of the play are typical of Euripides. The
play depicts the symbolic conflict of two ideals, chastity and the desire of flesh „Libido‟.
Barry B.Powell in his book Classical Myth points out libido as the main theme of most Greek
tragedies. He says, “Indeed, the destructive power of sexual attraction is a central theme in
Greek myth” (106).
Hippolytus, the son of Theseus and the Amazon queen, hates the concept of love
as he is born of free love. He worships Artemis, the goddess of hunt and spurns Aphrodite, the
goddess of love. So Aphrodite plans revenge against him. She makes Phaedra, Theseus‟s wife
fall in love with Hippolytus. The Queen opens her heart to the nurse and requests her to
inform her love to the titular. Hippolytus yells at the nurse and curses his step mother. Phaedra
commits suicide, but cleverly keeps a note behind, blaming her stepson for her doom.
Theseus, on his return from a foreign land, reads the note. He, who is gifted with three curses,
becomes furious on reading the note, and uses one of his curses to kill his son. The goddess
Artemis appears aloft and tells out the truth to Theseus but nobody could save Hippolytus
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from his death. The characters in the play suffer because of desire and recklessness.
Hippolytus meets his end because of his thoughtlessness and his step mother meets her end
because of her Libido or sexual desire. She is disparaged by many critics for her
uncontrollable lust. She commits the mistake in spite of knowing very well that she is
erroneous.
Aphrodite‟s anger is the sole cause for all the miseries. The mortals in the play suffer
mainly because of the immortals. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, resolves to punish
Hippolytus, who disdains her and pays his worship to Artemis, goddess of hunting and sports.
The indifferent nature of the titular and his sufferings thereafter are well portrayed by
Euripides in the play Hippolytus.
Hippolytus‟s desire for hunting and his stepmother Phaedra‟s unavailing struggle with
passion are the two simple reasons behind the tragic end of the play. The dramatist carefully
avoids conversation between Phaedra and Hippolytus. Phaedra‟s struggle and the shame which
she faces are all remarkable. This is pointed out in the essay, “The Drama its history, literature
and influence on civilization”, “The poetic beauty of the whole play is truly remarkable. With
the utmost delicacy the dramatist avoids all personal collision between Phaedra and
Hippolytus, all contact, even by word, between the two; so that the hero shall preserve to the
last charm of his modest youth” < http://www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/bates018.html>.
Theseus, the King of Troezen in Southern Greece, is none other than Aegeus‟s grandson.
Theseus, along with his young wife Phaedra, daughter of King Crete, dwells in the palace of
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Troezen. The palace has two main exits. The exit on the right leads to the open country and is
flanked by a statue of Artemis, and is worshipped by Hippolytus. The palace exit on the left
leads to the main highway and is flanked by a statue of Goddess Aphrodite, who is greatly
idolized by Phaedra.
The play opens with the soliloquy of Aphrodite. The goddess declares that she is the
mightiest on the earth and she rules the whole world with the very weapon of love. Being the
goddess of love, Aphrodite is too confident of her capabilities that she thinks she cannot be
controlled by anyone. She proudly comments on her own self thus, “Mighty am I on earth, and
mighty in heaven” (48). The goddess is very proud of her and admires her own powers. She
states that she will certainly honour the person who respects her powers and without doubt she
will bring the one with a resistant heart, to the ground. The goddess is enraged because of
Hippolytus‟s haughtiness. Hippolytus, who was brought up by Pittheus, is interested only in
sports; Aphrodite is resentful because of this attitude of Hippolytus and plans revenge against
him. She believes that he treats her like a dust and worships Artemis, Zeus‟s daughter, whom
he considers above all the other deities.
Aphrodite (Venus), the goddess of love and beauty, is the daughter of Jupiter and Dione.
There is also a belief that she sprang from the sea foam. She is also named as the sea foam
goddess. She represents the universal force of irresistible sexual desire, a fruit of mutilation
and violence. The Zephyr wafted her along the waves to the Isle of Cyprus, where she was
received and decorated by the Seasons and then was led to the assembly of the gods. All the
gods were charmed by her beauty, and each one wanted her for his wife. Jupiter gave her to
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Vulcan, in gratitude for the service he had rendered in forging thunderbolts. She possesses an
embroidered girdle called Cestus, which has the power of inspiring love. Her favourite birds
are swans and doves, and the plants sacred to her are the roses and the myrtle.
Aphrodite, the goddess who is beyond all the worldly pleasures, is brought down to the
level of a mortal in the play. She punishes a mortal for not obliging her. She, not even in a
single line in the play, is portrayed as a goddess with divine qualities. The goddess is jealous of
Artemis and is frenzied of Hippolytus. She also admits that most gods delight in the reverence
of mankind. She tells in the prologue as to how she is going to punish the titular for his careless
attitude. She plans to involve Phaedra into the scene. The goddess drops down to the level of a
sinner, the moment she plots the death of Phaedra, who in fact, is one of her ardent devotees.
Aphrodite, by all the means, wants Phaedra to die just because her death will serve as the key
factor in avenging Hippolytus. She also reveals in the prologue that her devotee Phaedra,
though has a good name, has to die in order to punish Hippolytus. Hippolytus is immature and
he suffers mainly because of this quality.
The goddess, who is jealous because of Hippolytus‟s behaviour, conspires against him.
She is in a ferocious mood and is not ready to understand the feelings of human beings. Laying
the road to Hippolytus‟s ruin does not seem to be a difficult task for the goddess, for the road
was made ready. The day when the titular arrived to Troezen, his step mother laid her eyes on
him and her heart caught fire. Aphrodite‟s plans were laid on this very foundation, which in
fact was prepared years ago by Phaedra. She had built a shrine to her favourite deity Aphrodite,
near the rock of Pallas, a shrine for her love named after Hippolytus. Aphrodite reveals her
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plan in her soliloquy. She states that the young man, who is none other than Hippolytus, is her
enemy. She also declares that she is going to drive him to death by exploiting his stepmother
Phaedra. The silent love of Phaedra for Hippolytus is the base of all the tragic happenings.
According to the plans of Aphrodite, Hippolytus shall be driven to his death by his father‟s
curses. The curses were the three wishes that were granted to Theseus by Poseidon, the King of
the Sea.
Aphrodite gives reasons for her cheap behaviour. She tries to pacify herself and justify
her action by giving such reasons. She tells that all the gods get delighted when mankind
worships them and it is the disrespect shown by the titular that had made her act so. This is
actually a method followed by her to hide her own rotten self. Hippolytus‟s destiny triggers
Aphrodite and brings his doom. Euripides has highlighted the role of destiny in his plays.
The Women of Chorus play an important role in the play. They laugh and suffer with the
characters. The first strophe introduces the Chorus‟s worry about Phaedra, and the first
antistrophe describes Phaedra‟s physical state. The Women of Chorus too sing a nervous
praise of Aphrodite. They sing to show the difference between the beauty and horror of love.
They emphasise on the destructiveness which results from love by giving examples from the
past legends. Aphrodite is praised sarcastically by the Chorus. They say that the goddess with
the help of Eros infects the mortals‟ soul with the virus named love. They create havoc
everywhere.
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Eros‟s way of victimising a person is strange indeed. He clouds the eyes of the victim
with a mist of yearning. As the first step, he sweetens the heart of the victims, and then slowly
infects their heart. There have been a lot of stories of the poor victims. They also say that their
country Greece has shed a lot of blood, this happened because the people ignored Eros. Eros
is the dictator of men; the keeper of the keys, the keys to open the hearts. He is the prime
wrecker of the mortals, and his attacks bring devastation. The Chorus in the antistrophe
narrates some tales to prove the effect of love on human beings. They bring out the story of a
girl in Oechalia, and the tale of mother of Bacchus. These past tales speak about the power of
love.
There was a girl in Oechalia. She was an active young woman, and was disinterested in
men. She remained so for a long time but she too was driven by love one day, and as a result
she fled like a flame far from her home and married Alcmena‟s son. The wedding was a
violent one indeed. Aphrodite is always gentle. Nobody notices her when she comes. She
stays inside a person till he goes mad with love and one day she will make her presence felt.
The Chorus, by citing such examples from the past, threatens the audience to the core. The
Chorus of Troezen women express their anger towards the goddess in the end. They sing on
the goddess‟s ruthless assault on an innocent victim. They assert that the goddess shapes the
innocent and malleable hearts of the mortals. Euripides in almost all his plays had portrayed
gods like human beings:
Euripides‟ gods, Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena, Hera, Dionysus, are just like
Homer‟s-which is to say, just like us. Torn by the same passions, pride and
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the vindictiveness of pride insulted, revengeful anger, jealousy and desire,
they are huge and awesome images of everything that is violent and
uncontrollable in man, and they order the universe according to their
conflicting and changing wills, bargaining for the fates of human beings as
Athena does in Troades or promising to take a life for a life as Artemis
does in Hippolytus (Knox 324-325).
Hippolytus‟s attitude towards life is entirely different from other human beings. Some
where he lacks the qualities of a normal human being. The moment he returns from hunting he
goes straight to the statue of Artemis, but forgets even to give a look at the statue of Aphrodite. An
old servant, who is also a well wisher of Hippolytus, observes him for some time and one day he
approaches him hoping to offer advice. The servant warns him against his visible condescension
for Aphrodite. He tells him that such disdain will invite the goddess‟s fury and at the same time
friendliness will win her favour. Hippolytus turns deaf ears to the old servant‟s words. When the
old retainer of the palace repeats his advice to pray and praise Aphrodite, Hippolytus harshly
refuses and also bids a long farewell to the goddess.
The goddess too starts working out her plan. She starts her game with her first victim
Phaedra. She, who is actually baited for catching Hippolytus, grows sick day by day. Aphrodite‟s
plans have started working well. Desire, the only reason behind all the worries, made Phaedra
suffer. She, the highborn wife of Theseus, feels ashamed of her thoughts, action and words. Love
has diverse effects in human beings. It is love which gives man strength to overcome the
difficulties; and it is the same love which makes a human being a coward and gives „ strength‟ to
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end one‟s life. „Libido‟ the sexual desire of a human being is very cruel when compared to all the
other forms of love. The passion in Phaedra leads her even to the extent of committing suicide;
Hippolytus‟s love for sports is also excessive. Both the titular and his stepmother are affected by
extreme desire. According to John Gassner:
This tragedy is, further, a unique psychiatric drama since Hippolytus is not simply
any pious young man who respects his father‟s marriage. In our day he would be
labeled a “case of arrested development” and his complex would afford a
field-day for psychoanalysts. The servant of Artemis, whom the Greeks
designated the goddess of chastity, as well as of the hunt, he is a frigid young man
who is destroyed by the sexual force, “Aphrodite”, which he has hitherto denied.
In modern parlance, he is the victim of a repressed libido (66).
Phaedra, who is overcome with lovesickness, babbles things which are of no relevance to
her present condition. The nurse, flabbergasted by her mistress‟s behaviour tries to soothe her.
She falls madly in love with Hippolytus because of Aphrodite‟s conspiracy. She loses all her
confidence when she is affected by love sickness. She shouts at the peak of her voice, and
behaves like a savage because of this. Her pathetic condition and suffering are unbearable even to
the nurse. The nurse, who does not know the reason for her mistress‟s suffering comments
accordingly:
I‟d rather be sick any day than nurse the sick.
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It‟s one thing simply to suffer,
But nursing the sufferer quite another:
One‟s nerves are taut, one‟s hands are full.
Oh, the life of mortals is a general mess (Hippolytus 55).
Soon, the truth looms out from Phaedra‟s mouth, the moment the nurse happens to mention the
titular‟s name. The very truth astounds the nurse. She trembles watching the dance of destiny. She
decides to kill herself, but soon recovers from the shock and starts devising a plan to help her
mistress. The goddess Aphrodite, as announced in the prologue, is very particular in punishing the
titular. She behaves like a ruffian in the play. The mind-set of the goddess is criticised by David
Grene:
The goddess Aphrodite, in her expose of the circumstances antecedent to the
play‟s action and of its subsequent course, starts with the story of Hippolytus‟
sin. She is bent on his punishment, and we are led to infer that she is principally
moved by jealousy of Artemis. She relates how Phaedra first met Hippolytus
and how she sickened with love for him. She stresses the misery of Phaedra and
tells us its ultimate consequence in Hippolytus‟ death brought about by his
father Theseus‟ curse (160).
The queen, who is torn apart by love, describes the nurse on the unhappy fate of their
family. She comments about the terrible fate that had overcome her family. She declares to the
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nurse that fate had initiated its game with her mother, continued with her sister and now is
troubling her. She points out the bad fate of her mother Pasiphaё, who fell in love with a bull and
gave birth to a monster, the Minotaur - half man and half beast. Both Phaedra‟s mother and sister,
out of „Libido‟ had spoiled their own life. She comments on the game of fate thus, “the same fate
wrecks us all” (59).The dismal fate of Phaedra, which is also referred to as, “the aphrodisiac fate”
(60-61) by the women of Chorus, has set foot in the palace to ruin the whole household. The
Chorus too approves this. They say that something awful will hit the house; the destiny of the
unhappy girl from Crete is already written.
Euripides, through the nurse, comments on the woes of human life. The nurse tells that
the life of mortals is all wrapped up in a misty black cover, and a mortal will never get any chance
to know whether it is good or bad that is in store for him. A mortal will see only the brightness of
light but will not be able to predict what is waiting for him behind that. Phaedra‟s condition paves
way for many sarcastic comments from her servants. The nurse also feels bad for the condition of
human beings. She says that, “Every mortal has to suffer” (55). The nurse, after a long time,
guesses that it is love that is melting her mistress. When she comes to know the name of her
mistress‟s lover, she cries out in despair. Her distress is brought out clearly in Euripides‟s words.
She utters these words to her lovable mistress, “my life is done-farewell!...” (60).
Desire, the wild mirage which mesmerises the dwellers of the world, gives no
satisfaction even after attaining the desired. The very desire of Phaedra when overheard is an
unbearable shock to the Chorus. Phaedra herself calls her desire and wishes as, “aimless charms”
(61). The nurse comforts her mistress and assures her that she will do the best to quench her thirst.
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She also tells Phaedra that there is no single soul in this earth who can escape from the hands of
Aphrodite and it does not mean that one has to throw away one‟s life for the sake of it. She tells
thus to her mistress, “Would you, for loving throw away your life?” (63). She promises Phaedra
that she will cure her disease and requests her not to take any hasty decisions. She requests her
mistress to cease her suicidal thoughts and to keep trust in her love. The nurse like every other
servant tries to pacify her mistress by her actions. When she is probing her mistress with questions,
she was more eager to know the reason for her distress than to find out the solution.
“The development of the character of nurse”, says R.R.Khare, “is an instance like that of
the grave digger‟s scene in Hamlet or the porter‟s scene in Macbeth” (136). The nurse‟s
conversation with Hippolytus is an area which is broadly touched by Euripides. The nurse, instead
of advising her mistress, tries to justify her actions. She mollifies her mistress by telling her that
falling in love is neither uncommon nor strange. She also points out to her mistress that Aphrodite
has leapt upon her and that she is one of hundreds. Phaedra tells her nurse that she will rather
starve herself to death than reveal her lust for the titular. The nurse, in turn advises Phaedra not to
act foolishly and warns her not to throw away her life for the sake of love. She comments on the
despicable acts of Aphrodite. When Aphrodite keeps her eye on somebody, definitely she will take
the person by his neck and boxes the pride out of him. She gives a good interpretation on
Aphrodite‟s behaviour and also informs Phaedra that Aphrodite permeates the air and is in the
waves of the sea and in everything around. She also tells her that Aphrodite scatters her love and
gives it in plenty from which the mankind had sprung. The nurse advises Phaedra to act according
to the way of the world. She tells her not to try too hard to square life‟s paradoxes. She gives a
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matured statement on the life of human beings. A human being, says the nurse, should have more
good than evil in him to survive in this world. She tells Phaedra not to worry about simple matters
and asks her to proceed with her love.
Phaedra reveals all her secrets to her nurse. After getting the information from the horse‟s
mouth, the nurse searches for a remedy. Instead of giving her mistress a proper remedy, she gives
her a false remedy, without even knowing that it is a fake remedy. Her ignorance is well portrayed
in this scene. „The love potion‟ according to her is neither a potion nor an ointment, but a poetic
verse. She warns Phaedra to be quiet and tells her not to try to know everything. Paul Roche the
translator sarcastically comments on the love potion of the nurse, “The Nurse is playing a
Machiavellian game. The nurse has cleverly called her charm a thelktēria erōtos, which I have
correctly translated “love-drug.” She knows that Phaedra will take this to mean an antidote to love,
whereas she means something that will promote love” (66). The poetic verse or the love potion
which the nurse had mentioned to Phaedra is as follows:
Sea-foam goddess, be my ally.
As to the rest of my plan,
I‟ll fix that as best as I can
With our friends within (66).
The chant does not sound serious. She believes in this chant and tries to apply it to
straighten her mistress‟s life. One can very well understand the ignorant nature of the nurse
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through this behaviour. The nurse is not a direct danger to her mistress. Her intention is not to
endanger her mistress. She is living under the shade of Phaedra. She is utterly dependent on
Phaedra and has no life in the world after her death. She has all these thoughts in her mind. Her
actions were completely based on this foundation. She is too quick in her action and does not apply
her brain before she acts. Her quick action leads her mistress to her doom. She should have thought
for a while before her conversation with the titular. If it is her own daughter, definitely the nurse
would not have acted so. Her carelessness is reflected in her actions.
The nurse rushes into Hippolytus‟s room carrying Phaedra‟s proposal. Phaedra hides out
and listens to their conversation. The nurse tries to convince Hippolytus to woo Phaedra, but he in
turn shouts in anguish. He rejects the proposal indignantly, which any honest son would do. But
the way he refuses it makes him appear to be a lunatic. He blames Zeus for placing the women folk
under the sun. He refers to them as the pestilent tribe and curse to man. He compares women to
plague. His comment about maids shocks the nurse. He states that the company of maids is like
being with an animal, preferably one that bites, complains about worthless women, who hatch their
plots in closets, which in turn will be broadcasted by their maids. The nurse tries to act smart in
front of Hippolytus. By then everything goes beyond her control and she loses her confidence.
When Hippolytus starts shouting at her, she tries to calm him by trying to seize his hand and tunic
and also tries to stop him from being audible. He calls her, “old crone” (70) for promoting such
acts of Phaedra. She, who is ashamed to face Phaedra, takes refuge behind the pillar. The innocent
nurse tried her level best to help her mistress but her foolishness had ruined things around her. She
is very badly accused by Phaedra. She curses the nurse for her actions. She calls the nurse, “most
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monstrous of women” (72). She calls Zeus, the God of gods to tear and shatter the nurse. Her
circumstances had made Phaedra the victim of despair.
The nurse is not at all a minor character in the play, though she appears to be one. The
playwright has given the main switch in her hand. She triggers the action of the play. She is an
ignorant servant of Phaedra and this ignorance paves way for the ruin of her mistress. She
approaches Hippolytus without a second thought and reports her mistress‟s condition. Her
momentary physical action, without any preplanning affects her mistress and it is this action which
serves as the turning point. This is well described by in the book Greek Tragedy in action, “In any
case, the awesome physical action levers the turning-point from reticence to revelation, which is
essential for Euripides‟ purposes” (70).
The nurse is punished for her foolishness. She tries to give proper explanation to her
actions, but is not allowed to do so. She admits her mistake and gives a philosophical reply to her
mistress. She says that she tried her level best to find a cure for her mistress‟s disease but failed in
her attempt. If she had succeeded definitely Phaedra would have considered her a genius. She tries
to point out the way of the world to her mistress. If somebody wins in an attempt they will be
praised by their people, whereas if they lose they will be cursed by others. The nurse who had once
advised her mistress to follow the way of the world has now very well understood the real meaning
of the phrase. The world which praised her for what she did is now spitting at her face when she
ruined her plan. She goes sadly into the palace, after listening to her mistress‟s scolding.
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Phaedra‟s condition does not allow her to pour out what she has in her mind. She is too
worried and depressed. She tells the nurse that her hands are clean and it is only her soul that is
fouled. The nurse, in turn, scolds the goddess Aphrodite. She says that Aphrodite is not just a
goddess but something more as she has ruined Phaedra and the whole household without any
mercy. She is driven mad by Aphrodite. She, who is unable to control her emotions, starts
commenting on the women who practise adultery. She is furious of the women who eulogize
chastity but secretly indulge in their love affairs and accuses these shameless women for starting
such a practice. She also swears that such practices would have definitely sprung from the noble
families. Phaedra is trying to justify her actions by criticising the women who are worse. Her
actions are shoddier and at the same time she feels bad for doing so, “Phaedra is all but literally
driven mad by the conflict between an uncontrollable lust (for her husband‟s son Hippolytus) and
the knowledge that her passion is shameful and wrong…. Phaedra is the protagonist who from the
beginning has both the passion and the knowledge of its moral status (like Macbeth and Dr.
Faustus)” (Heilman 267-268). Phaedra, in her heart of hearts, has a wish to live with Hippolytus.
But her social status and rank does not allow her to do so. She tells the Chorus, Women of
Troezen about her present state. Phaedra, the moment she fell in love, had cast about a way to
handle it. She tried her level best to hide her love sickness. When things went beyond her control
she decided to quit everything, including her precious life.
The Queen scolds her nurse very badly for her anticipation and sends her away. She puts
a halter round her neck and hangs herself in the palace and puts the accusation on Hippolytus in a
letter. It is actually Aphrodite who has to be blamed for the transformation in the well-bred
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Queen. Hippolytus too behaves like an infant. His hatred for love brings him his doom. The
following commentary brings out the mistakes of the titular.
Hippolytus, like the Amazons, refuses his biological and social obligations to
marry, having sexual relations, and engender a new generation. Like the
Amazons, he follows the virgin Artemis. Though he foolishly hopes to dam the
deluge of sexual desire, the waters of passion sweep everything away, destroying
innocent and guilty alike (Powell 375).
Theseus, Phaedra‟s husband, who had come back from the Delphi, was shocked by this
news. He cuts open the letter, which is found clutched in his wife‟s hands, and reads out the
disgusting fact in the letter. Phaedra had written that her stepson Hippolytus had ravished her. Her
letter gives Theseus all false, cooked-up stories about Hippolytus.
Hippolytus does not know anything about the present condition of his step mother. He is
a person with clean habits but strange behaviour. He admits this to the nurse too. He says that he is
least bothered to listen to people who say, “He has a one-track mind” (71). The nurse, who actually
had approached Hippolytus to convince him to maintain good “terms” with his step mother, is
shocked to hear his words. The titular enters the palace without knowing anything about his step
mother‟s death. He sees Theseus approaching him with a letter in his hand. Theseus ,who is
overwhelmed with sorrow and anger, calls upon his father Poseidon to grant him one of the three
curses which he had once promised, and is without avail. The Chorus tries to stop Theseus, but
fails in the effort. Hippolytus takes an oath that he is not responsible for the crime, but his father
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does not believe him and curses him without any hesitation. Hippolytus, who is very innocent,
does not utter a word about Phaedra. He bravely meets his death in the end. His cruel death is
portrayed thus: “He had started to leave the country and as he drove along the shore a monster
wave broke along the beach and cast up a bull which terrified the horses. They ran away at length
and overturned the car. Hippolytus was thrown out entangled in the reins and dragged by the
horses” (Bates 114).
Phaedra‟s behaviour can be compared with that of Soorpanaka, a demon, in The
Ramayana. She approaches Rama and requests him to marry her, but Rama refuses her request and
tells her to meet Lakshmana. She approaches Lakshmana and he too refuses to quench her libido.
Lakshmana chops her nose and ears off. Thus she complains to Ravana, the King of Lanka. She
accuses Rama and his brother Lakshmana for her distress. The innocent Rama, his wife Sita, and
Lakshmana suffer thereafter.
Hippolytus, who still has life, but grievously injured, is brought in front of his father.
Artemis, the goddess of the bow, appears aloft and tells the truth to Theseus. She says it is the
passion of his wife which brought Hippolytus the doom. She tells Theseus that Phaedra was stung
by love; she was goaded in passion for the titular. The reason for his doom is nothing but the fury
of the goddess Aphrodite. Artemis also informs Theseus that Phaedra had penned the fraudulent
letter accusing Hippolytus just because she was afraid of the charge of adultery. Theseus mistakes
it to be the true story and destroys his son by throwing a curse upon him. The goddess also praises
Phaedra for trying her best to win over her lust:
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she was goaded into passion for your boy
Through sheer self-control
She tried to vanquish Aphrodite
but was foiled by the unwitting machinations of her nurse (94).
Theseus is overcome with sorrow. Hippolytus forgives his father and dies. The real tragic
character in this play is none other than Phaedra. She is very adamant and strong in revealing her
lover‟s name. The letter is written not only to take her revenge but also to defend her by making
Theseus think of her to be innocent. The „Libido‟ in her destroys not only herself but also the lives
of two other characters. Theseus, who does not know the meaning of true love, sacrifices his son‟s
life without any investigation.
Destiny gives a chance to the mortals to escape from its firm grip. Hippolytus too gets
one, but his hasty approach spoils everything. His neurotic mentality leads to unhappiness. No
critic is sure about his original character. They have a lot of guesses on his deeds. This is approved
of by David Greene:
Hippolytus, so far from being the healthy hero of the drama, is someone haunted
and tortured by an obsession. Homosexuality would have been no particular
reproach for a young man like Hippolytus, but Euripides is searching to express
something much deeper. It is the pathetic discontent, restlessness, and supreme
unhappiness of an adolescent over intellectually developed (162).
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The leader too gives his response for the titular‟s reply. He comments on the pitiful fate
of woman. A woman once fallen is fallen for ever. Nothing can save a woman if she loses her
chastity. No trick, cunning or coaxing will release a woman from the bad name. It is he who
informs the heartbreaking news to the King. Theseus comments on the wretched Fate that had
infected his house. He says:
Fate, fate you have trodden me down,
trampled my house...
There are no words to equal the weight
of this terrible fate (77).
Hippolytus dies a vindictive death, crushed by Aphrodite‟s ruthless assault. Artemis
appears aloft and tells the truth to the King and consoles Hippolytus. She too points out the destiny
of Hippolytus, who was in his death bed:
You, Hippolytus,
I urge you not to hate your father:
this death of yours was destiny... And now, farewell.
I may not look upon the dead (98).
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The thwarted passion of the queen and the young man‟s nature, joined hands with their Fate and
had given him a tragic end. His Fate makes him heroic. The titular is portrayed as a very ordinary
human being; it is his fatal end which gives him an important place in the play. More emphasis is
given to the character of Phaedra than to that of the titular. Phaedra, though she dies in the middle
of the play, captures the attention of the readers in spite of her evil nature. The cost of any evil
action is suffering. In the play Hippolytus Phaedra commits all blunders, but the main victim of
Fate is the titular. The gods arbitrate in the lives of human beings and give them suffering. Though
gods are immortal, they are portrayed as mortals in almost all the plays of Euripides. Critics have
interpreted destiny in different ways. Some say that it is the outcome of one‟s actions in the past,
and some say that destiny is not related to any of the actions of human beings. And some have a
vague idea on destiny. William Arrowsmith, a famous critic has commented on the theme of
destiny in Euripides:
A man‟s character may be his destiny, but for Euripides destiny is often
dependent upon and defined by circumstances the hero never made, nor the
gods either. Unless we can restore an understanding of the importance of
the dramatist‟s assumed world for his form, Euripides must stand
perpetually condemned or to be explained with all the willful improbability
of Verrall (167).
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The critic is not satisfied with the way Euripides has employed destiny in his plays. He says that it
is necessity which seems to be vital in the Greek tragedies. According to Arrowsmith, the Greek
tragedy seems to be unique in a firmness with which the mortals suffer:
Call it destiny, call it fate, call it the gods, it hardly matters. Necessity is, first of
all, death; but it is also old age, sleep, the reversal of fortune and the dance of
life; it is thereby the fact of suffering as well as pleasure, for if we must dance
and sleep, we also suffer, age and die. It is also sex, the great figure of amoral
Aphrodite who moves in the sea, land and air and as an undeniable power in the
bodies of men, compelling and destroying those who, like Hippolytus, refuse to
accept her (168).
The hero should accept necessity, to survive as a „hero‟. With necessity heroism is born, and as a
hero he should or he is driven to face destiny. The suffering mortals under the burden of necessity
discover compassion, which is the basic result of all suffering. Liberating oneself from the torment
gives a crucial victory over one‟s fate.
The gods often visited men and women to satisfy human-like longings and express
mortal-like emotions. Their motives remained totally unpredictable. In the Greek tragedy, the
tension between the moral and diametrically opposed forces plays an important role. In the play
Hippolytus, the hero is torn into pieces in a fiasco brought about by the rivalry between the jealous
goddesses.
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The hero is innocent; he has goddess Artemis too on his side to provide back up, but in
spite of all this he ends up as an innocent sufferer. This happens because of divine intervention.
The god Artemis promises him that she will avenge all those who have caused him the suffering.
Hippolytus who is too innocent to be a prince rejects this offer. He is very sure that vengeance
cannot make up for the pain he had suffered or for the injustice that had been done to him. When
he is convicted for Phaedra‟s death, instead of refusing he says:
Were I that kind of scoundrel
I am ready to die for it:
yes, die, nameless, fameless, city less, homelessa vagabond on the face of the earth,
a rejected carcass disowned by land and sea
till finally I am claimed by death (84).
Hippolytus suffers because of his fate. It is his fate and no one else‟s. It is he who has to
suffer; he cannot make someone else suffer instead. Hippolytus is the most innocent victim in the
face of the terrifying supernatural power. The Chorus sings on the condition of the titular. They
refer to him as the, “stricken one” (95).They worry for his battered golden head. They say that it is
the pangs of double grief had affected the house.
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The conflict centres around Phaedra, even the role of the titular is secondary when
compared to that of Phaedra. The conflict is not between the two aspects of the same character, but
between the two aspects of human nature, and is symbolized by the two goddesses, Aphrodite and
Artemis. The play is one of a few to win the playwright a first prize. The prologue by the goddess
Aphrodite sets out the plot of the play. One can perceive what will happen in the end, but not how
it is going to happen. Fate literally drags the two main characters Phaedra and Hippolytus towards
their doom. Being unaware of what is happening around them, the two characters gravitate towards
their grave. Hippolytus is sworn against love and marriage as his Amazonian mother had
abandoned men. He worships Artemis, the goddess of hunt and discards Aphrodite, the goddess of
love. Aphrodite proposes to punish Hippolytus and she uses Phaedra, Hippolytus‟s stepmother as
the medium. It is destiny which drives Aphrodite and thus Hippolytus meets his bereavement.
R.R.Khare, points out Hippolytus‟s suffering, “ Hippolytus becomes the object of these rival
claims and since the goddesses are anthropomorphic, they display their pleasure or wrath just like
human beings and being symbols of cosmic forces of nature, exert inner power with ruthlessness
which makes the destinies of the characters inevitable” (134).
The minor characters too have an important role in the play. Euripides had presented the
play with a psychological realism. William Nickerson Bates comments thus on Euripides‟s
portrayal of minor characters:
Another type which Euripides took pleasure in depicting among his minor
characters was the faithful slave. This might be a man or a woman, but was
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portrayed as a model of devotion. An example is Phaedra‟s nurse in the
Hippolytus. Her one object is to gratify her mistress and, when she learns her
secret, to save her mistress regardless of what might happen to herself (33).
The treatment of minor characters by Euripides has been warily measured by many critics. The
play has won many fans because of its theme and characterisation.
The play Hippolytus focuses mainly on the theme of libido or sexual desire and the
sufferings that follow. The character Phaedra is sexually weak. It is her lack of self-control
which brings suffering to her as well as to the other characters in the play. One has to be
contented with what he/she is given. There are two types of freedom: mental freedom and
physical freedom. One should use his/her freedom properly:
Most people have liberty. They can go where they want and do the things they
feel like doing. But too many people are also slaves to their impulses. They have
grown reactive rather than proactive, meaning that they are like sea foam
pounding against a rocky shore, going in whatever direction the tide might take
them (Sharma148).
A mortal has to get rid of all the desires to reach the eternal. It is easy to control a person
physically; and it is impossible to control a person mentally. One has to learn to control one‟s
emotions. An uncontrolled mind will lead a person to his doom. This is the case of Phaedra. She
suffers because of her wavering mind.
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