Background:1st and 2nd versions

-2nd version of the story Hippolytus wrote

-1st was a failure, 2nd won 1st prize

-major change was the character of Phaedra, who in the 1st version approached Hippolytus herself, making her an "immoral woman"

-in our version it is the nurse who reveals Phaedra's secret desire for Hippolytus

Background: Hippolytus' hero of cult

-was both a hero of cult at both Athens and Troezen (where play takes place)

-at Troezen, young maidens would dedicate a lock of their hair before their marriages, dedicating their chastity and virginity to the one who kept it all costs

The Revenge Plot: Aphrodite

-initates play w/ clear plan to punish Hippolytus for his rejection of her sphere of interest (desire)

-by clinging so closely to Artemis and his virginity, Hippolytus has insulted the god of desire

The Revenge Plot: Phaedra

-Phaedra plans to frame Hippolytus falsely for raping her

-her motivation is both trying to protect her reputation and trying to get vengeance against Hippolytus who arrogantly rejected her 

The Revenge Plot: Theseus

Cycle of Revenge: Mortals vs. Gods

Mortals-like all things with mortals, vengeance must end, Hippolytus does not curse his father for killing him, but forgives his father 

Gods- gods as a result of their immortality can continue the cycle forever, w/ the arrival of Artemis at the end of the play we learn that the events of the drama are just one more event in the rivalry btwn Aphrodite and Artemis, Artemis promises to kill one of Aphrodite's favourites in vengeance for Hippolytus' death

Play suggest that mortals are ethically superior to the gods in regard to....

We seem to have returned to the Homeric understanding of....

divinity which interacts directly w/ humans

However, the plot initiated by the goddesses result from....

human motivations and forces, not direct manipulation by the gods

Aphrodite causes Phaedra's desire, but...

-the play makes sure to emphasize that she comes from a family with abnormal desires

-Phaedra's mother mated w/ a bull to produce the Minotaur

-her sister Araidne sided w/ Theseus against her own family in killing the Minotaur, in effect becoming a traitor

How is Hippolytus similarly determined by his family

-his mother was an amazon

-the amazons rejected their own femininity in their warlike behaviour and did not partake in normal marital relationships; it is fitting that Hippolytus will have nothing to do w/ the other sex and places emphasis on his chastity

By rejecting women, Hippolytus is neglecting his...

-obligations as a male to reproduce the family

-he fails in his masculinity as the amazons fail in their femininity

Eros

Sophrosune: Definition

Wife?

Male Citizen?

-ethical value that in its essence means to know one's place and keep it, yet it can vary in its precise meaning based on the person it is applied to

wife: be loyal to husband, to ensure the creation of legitimate children, maintain reputation, do not be talked about

male citizen: self restraint, because the male citizen is not dependant on another therefore is not obedient to another

Sophrosune: Phaedra

-affected by Eros but does not act upon her desire

-shows loyalty to her husband and self-restraint to maintain her good reputation

Sophrosune: Hippolytus

-his defining trait, but not in the masculine form of self restraint, but in the feminine form (for the Greeks) of chastity

-he is excessive in his adherence to the ethic: attempting to adhere to a standard of the ethic that is strictly suprahuman, Artemis as an unchanging entity can personify this ideal for all time, Hippolytus as a male citizen is required to produce children to continue the family thus he is required to change and cannot remain chaste his whole life