Euripides Hippolytus read summary, retelling
In ancient Athens, King Theseus ruled. Like Hercules, he had two fathers - an earthly one, King Aegeus, and a heavenly one, the god Poseidon. He accomplished his main feat on the island of Crete: he killed the monstrous Minotaur in the labyrinth and freed Athens from tribute to him. The Cretan princess Ariadne was his assistant: she gave him a thread, following which he came out of the labyrinth. He promised to take Ariadne as his wife, but the god Dionysus demanded her for himself, and for this Theseus was hated by the goddess of love Aphrodite. Theseus's second wife was an Amazon warrior; She died in battle, and left Theseus with her son Hippolytus. The son of an Amazon, he was not considered legitimate and was raised not in Athens, but in the neighboring city of Troezen. The Amazons did not want to know men; Hippolytus did not want to know women. He called himself a servant of the virgin goddess-hunter Artemis, initiated into the underground mysteries, which the singer Orpheus told people about: a person must be pure, and then he will find bliss beyond the grave. And for this, the goddess of love Aphrodite also hated him. Theseus's third wife was Phaedra, also from Crete, the younger sister of Ariadne. Theseus took her as his wife in order to have legitimate children-heirs. And here Aphrodite's revenge begins. Phaedra saw her stepson Hippolytus and fell in mortal love with him. At first she overcame her passion: Hippolytus was not around, he was in Troezen. But it so happened that Theseus killed his relatives who rebelled against him and had to go into exile for a year; together with Phaedra he moved to the same Troezen. Here the stepmother's love for her stepson flared up again; Phaedra was distraught over her, fell ill, fell ill, and no one could understand what was wrong with the queen. Theseus went to the oracle; It was in his absence that the tragedy occurred. In fact, Euripides wrote two tragedies about this. The first one has not survived. In it, Phaedra herself revealed her love to Hippolytus, Hippolytus rejected her in horror, and then Phaedra slandered Hippolytus to the returning Theseus: as if it were her stepson who fell in love with her and wanted to dishonor her. Hippolytus died, but the truth was revealed, and only then did Phaedra decide to commit suicide. It was this story that posterity remembered best. But the Athenians did not like him: Phaedra turned out to be too shameless and evil here. Then Euripides composed a second tragedy about Hippolytus - and it is before us. The tragedy begins with a monologue from Aphrodite: the gods punish the proud, and she will punish the proud Hippolytus, who abhors love. Here he is, Hippolytus, with a song in honor of the virgin Artemis on his lips: he is joyful and does not know that today punishment will fall on him. Aphrodite disappears, Hippolytus comes out with a wreath in his hands and dedicates it to Artemis - “pure of pure.” “Why don’t you honor Aphrodite too?” - the old slave asks him. “I read it, but from a distance: the night gods are not to my heart,” answers Hippolytus. He leaves, and the slave prays to Aphrodite for him: “Forgive his youthful arrogance: that is why you gods are wise, to forgive.” But Aphrodite will not forgive. A chorus of Troezen women enters: they have heard a rumor that Queen Phaedra is sick and delirious. From what? Anger of the gods, evil jealousy, bad news? Phaedra is brought out to meet them, tossing about on her bed, with her old nurse with her. Phaedra raves: “I wish I could go hunting in the mountains!” to the Artemidin flower meadow! to the coastal horse lists” - all these are Hippolytus’s places. The nurse persuades: “Wake up, open up, have pity, if not for yourself, then for the children: if you die, it will not be they who will reign, but Hippolytus.” Phaedra shudders: “Don’t say that name!” Word by word: “the cause of illness is love”; “the reason for love is Hippolytus”; "There is only one salvation - death." The nurse opposes: “Love is the universal law; to resist love is sterile pride; and for every disease there is a cure.” Phaedra takes this word literally: maybe the nurse knows some healing potion? The nurse leaves; the choir sings: “Oh, let Eros blow me!” There is noise from behind the stage: Phaedra hears the voices of the nurse and Hippolytus. No, it wasn’t about the potion, it was about Hippolytus’s love: the nurse revealed everything to him - and in vain. So they go on stage, he is indignant, she begs for one thing: “Just don’t say a word to anyone, you swore an oath!” “My tongue swore, my soul had nothing to do with it,” answers Hippolyte. He utters a cruel denunciation of women: “Oh, if only it were possible to continue our race without women! A husband spends money on a wedding, a husband receives in-laws, a stupid wife is difficult, a smart wife is dangerous - I will keep my oath of silence, but I curse you! He's leaving; Phaedra, in despair, brands the nurse: “Curse you! I wanted to save myself from dishonor by death; Now I see that even death cannot escape him. There is only one thing left, the last resort,” and she leaves without naming him. This means is to blame Hippolytus before his father. The choir sings: “This world is terrible! I should run away from it, I should run away!” From behind the stage - crying: Phaedra is in a noose, Phaedra has died! There is anxiety on the stage: Theseus appears, he is horrified by the unexpected disaster. The palace swings open, a general cry begins over Phaedra's body, But why did she commit suicide? In her hand are writing tablets; Theseus reads them, and his horror is even greater. It turns out that it was Hippolytus, the criminal stepson, who encroached on her bed, and she, unable to bear the dishonor, committed suicide. “Father Poseidon! - Theseus exclaims. “You once promised me to fulfill three of my wishes, - here is the last of them: punish Hippolytus, let him not survive this day!” Hippolytus appears; he is also struck by the sight of the dead Phaedra, but even more so by the reproaches that his father brings down on him. “Oh, why are we not able to recognize lies by sound! - Theseus shouts. - Sons are more deceitful than fathers, and grandchildren are more deceitful than sons; Soon there won’t be enough room on earth for criminals.” A lie is your holiness, a lie is your purity, and here is your accuser. Get out of my sight - go into exile! “- “Gods and people know - I have always been pure; “Here’s my oath to you, but I’m silent about other excuses,” answers Ippolit. “Neither lust pushed me to Phaedra the stepmother, nor vanity to Phaedra the Queen.” I see: the wrong one came out of the case clean, but the truth did not save the clean one. Execute me if you want." - “No, death would be a mercy for you - go into exile!” - “Sorry, Artemis, sorry, Troezen, sorry, Athens! You didn’t have a person with a purer heart than me.” Hippolytus leaves; the choir sings: “Fate is changeable, life is scary; God forbid I know the cruel laws of the world! The curse comes true: a messenger arrives. Hippolytus rode out of Troezen in a chariot along a path between the rocks and the seashore. “I don’t want to live as a criminal,” he cried to the gods, “but I only want my father to know that he is wrong, and I am right, alive or dead.” Then the sea roared, a shaft rose above the horizon, a monster rose from the shaft, like a sea bull; the horses gave way and ran away, the chariot hit the rocks, and the young man was dragged along the stones. The dying man is carried back to the palace. “I am his father, and I am dishonored by him,” says Theseus, “let him not expect either sympathy or joy from me.” And then Artemis, the goddess Hippolyta, appears above the stage. “He’s right, you’re wrong,” she says. “Phaedra was also wrong, but she was motivated by the evil Aphrodite. Weep, king; I share your sorrow with you." Hippolytus is carried in on a stretcher, he groans and begs to be finished off; whose sins is he paying for? Artemis leans over him from above: “This is the wrath of Aphrodite, it was she who destroyed Phaedra, and Phaedra Hippolytus, and Hippolytus leaves Theseus inconsolable: three victims, one more unfortunate than the other. Oh, what a pity that the gods do not pay for the fate of people! There will be grief for Aphrodite too - she also has a favorite hunter, Adonis, and he will fall from my, Artemidina’s, arrow. And you, Hippolytus, will have an eternal memory in Troezen, and every girl before marriage will sacrifice a strand of hair to you. Hippolytus dies, having forgiven his father; the chorus ends the tragedy with the words: “Tears will flow in streams for him - / If fate has overthrown a great husband - / His death is unforgettable forever!”
Euripides - Hippolytus
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In ancient Athens, King Theseus ruled. Like Hercules, he had two fathers - an earthly one, King Aegeus, and a heavenly one, the god Poseidon. He accomplished his main feat on the island of Crete. He killed the monstrous Minotaur in the labyrinth and freed Athens from tribute to him. His assistant was the Cretan princess Ariadne. She gave him a thread, following which he exited the labyrinth. He promised to take Ariadne as his wife, but the god Dionysus demanded her for himself, and for this Theseus was hated by the goddess of love Aphrodite. Theseus's second wife was an Amazon warrior. She died in battle, and left Theseus with her son Hippolytus. The son of an Amazon, he was not considered legitimate and was raised not in Athens, but in the neighboring city of Troezen. The Amazons did not want to know men; Hippolytus did not want to know women. He called himself a servant of the virgin goddess-hunter Artemis, initiated into the underground mysteries, which the singer Orpheus told people about.
A person must be pure, and then he will find bliss beyond the grave. And for this, the goddess of love, Aphrodite, also hated him. Theseus’s third wife was Phaedra, also from Crete, the younger sister of Ariadne. Theseus took her as his wife in order to have legitimate children-heirs. And here Aphrodite's revenge begins. Phaedra saw her stepson Hippolytus and fell in mortal love with him. At first she overcame her passion. Hippolytus was not around, he was in Troezen. But it so happened that Theseus killed the relatives who rebelled against him and had to go into exile for a year. Together with Phaedra he moved to the same Troezen. Here the stepmother's love for her stepson flared up again; Phaedra became distraught over her, fell ill, fell ill, and no one could understand what was wrong with the queen. Theseus went to the oracle.
In his absence, the tragedy occurred. In fact, Euripides wrote two tragedies about this. The first one has not survived. In it, Phaedra herself revealed her love to Hippolytus, Hippolytus rejected her in horror, and then Phaedra slandered Hippolytus to the returning Theseus. It was as if her stepson had fallen in love with her and wanted to dishonor her. Hippolytus died, but the truth was revealed, and only then did Phaedra decide to commit suicide. It was this story that posterity remembered best. But the Athenians did not like him. Phaedra turned out to be too shameless and angry here. Then Euripides composed a second tragedy for Hippolyta - and it is before us. The tragedy begins with a monologue from Aphrodite. The gods punish the proud, and she will punish the proud Hippolytus, who abhors love. Here he is, Hippolytus, with a song in honor of the virgin Artemis on his lips.
He is joyful and does not know that today punishment will fall on him. Aphrodite disappears, Hippolytus comes out with a wreath in his hands and dedicates it to Artemis - “pure from pure.” “Why don’t you honor Aphrodite too?” - the old slave asks him. “I read it, but from afar. The night gods are not to my heart,” answers Hippolytus. He leaves, and the slave prays to Aphrodite for him. “Forgive his youthful arrogance. That’s why you gods are wise, to forgive.” But Aphrodite will not forgive. A chorus of Troezen women enters. They heard a rumor that Queen Phaedra was sick and delirious. Why? Anger of the gods, evil jealousy, bad news. Phaedra is brought out to meet them, tossing about on the bed, with her old nurse. Phaedra is delusional. “I would like to go hunting in the mountains. To the flowery Artemidin meadow! To the coastal horse lists” - all these are Hippolytus’s places.
The nurse persuades. “Wake up, open up, take pity on your children, if not yourself. If you die, it is not they who will reign, but Hippolytus.” Phaedra winces. "Don't say that name!" Word by word. “The cause of illness is love.” “the cause of love is Hippolytus”; “there is only one salvation - death.” The nurse is against it. “Love is the universal law. To resist love is sterile pride. And for every disease there is a cure.” Phaedra takes this word literally. Maybe the nurse knows some healing potion. The nurse leaves. The choir sings: “Oh, let Eros blow me!” There is noise from behind the stage. Phaedra hears the voices of the nurse and Hippolytus. No, it wasn’t about the potion, it was about Hippolytus’ love. The nurse revealed everything to him - and in vain. Here they go on stage, he is indignant, she prays for one thing.
“Just don’t say a word to anyone, you swore an oath!” “My tongue swore, my soul had nothing to do with it,” answers Hippolyte. He utters cruel denunciations of women. “Oh, if only it were possible to continue our family line without women. A husband spends money on a wedding, a husband receives in-laws, a stupid wife is difficult, a smart wife is dangerous - I keep my oath of silence, but I curse you! He's leaving. Phaedra, in despair, brands the nurse: “Curse you. By death I wanted to save myself from dishonor. Now I see that even death cannot escape him. There is only one thing left, the last resort,” and she leaves without naming him. This remedy is to blame Hippolyte against his father. The choir is singing. “This world is terrible. I should run away from it, I should run away!” There was crying from behind the stage. Phaedra is in a noose, Phaedra has died. There is anxiety on stage.
Theseus appears, he is horrified by the unexpected disaster. The palace swings open, a general cry begins over Fedryn’s body, But why did she commit suicide? In her hand are writing tablets; Theseus reads them, and his horror is even greater. It turns out that it was Hippolytus, the criminal stepson, who encroached on her bed, and she, unable to bear the dishonor, committed suicide. “Father Poseidon. - Theseus exclaims. - You once promised me to fulfill three of my wishes - this is the last of them. Punish Hippolytus, may he not survive this day!” Hippolytus appears. He is also struck by the sight of the dead Phaedra, but even more so by the reproaches that his father hurls at him. “Oh, why are we not able to recognize lies by sound? - Theseus shouts. “Sons are more deceitful than fathers, and grandchildren are more deceitful than sons.”
Soon there will not be enough room for criminals on earth.” A lie is your holiness, a lie is your purity, and here is your accuser. Get out of my sight - go into exile! “- “Gods and people know that I have always been pure. “Here is my oath to you, but I am silent about other excuses,” answers Ippolit. “Neither lust pushed me towards Phaedra the stepmother, nor vanity pushed me towards Phaedra the Queen.” I see. The wrong one came out of the case clean, but the truth didn’t save the clean one. Execute me if you want." - “No, death would be your mercy - go into exile!” - “Sorry, Artemis, sorry, Troezen, sorry, Athens. You didn’t have a person with a purer heart than me.” Hippolyte leaves. The choir is singing. “Fate is changeable, life is scary. God forbid I know the cruel laws of the world!” The curse is coming true. The messenger arrives.
Hippolytus rode out of Troezen in a chariot along a path between the rocks and the seashore. “I don’t want to live as a criminal,” he cried to the gods, “but I only want my father to know that he is wrong, and I am right, alive or dead.” Then the sea roared, a shaft rose above the horizon, and a monster rose from the shaft, like a sea bull. The horses jumped and ran away, the chariot hit the rocks, and the young man was dragged along the stones. The dying man is carried back to the palace. “I am his father, and I am dishonored by him,” says Theseus, “let him not expect either sympathy or joy from me.” And then Artemis, the goddess Hippolyta, appears above the stage. “He’s right, you’re wrong,” she says. “Phaedra was also wrong, but she was motivated by the evil Aphrodite. Cry, king. I share your sorrow with you." Hippolytus is carried in on a stretcher, he groans and begs to be finished off.
For whose sins he is paying. Artemis leans over him from above: “This is the wrath of Aphrodite, it was she who destroyed Phaedra, and Phaedra Hippolytus, and Hippolytus leaves Theseus inconsolable. Three victims, one more unfortunate than the other. Oh, what a pity that the gods do not pay for the fate of people. There will be grief for Aphrodite too - she also has a favorite hunter, Adonis, and he will fall from my, Artemidina’s, arrow. And you, Hippolytus, will have an eternal memory in Troezen, and every girl before marriage will sacrifice a strand of hair to you. Hippolyta dies, having forgiven his father; the chorus ends the tragedy with the words. “Tears will flow in streams for him - / If the Great Mountain overthrew her husband - / His death is unforgettable forever!”
