希波吕托斯

《希波吕托斯》（古希腊语：Ἱππόλυτος），古希腊诗人欧里庇得斯的著名悲剧。

内容

雅典城邦国王忒修斯和亚马逊女王的儿子“希波吕托斯”，崇拜狩猎神阿尔忒弥斯，不喜欢女人和爱情，爱神阿佛洛狄忒对他这种行为愤怒不已，便报复他，让他的后母怀德拉爱上了他。怀德拉害了相思病奄奄一息，她的乳母得知真相后把怀德拉的爱意传达给了希波吕托斯，结果被他拒绝和怒斥，怀德拉羞愧自杀，留下绝笔信。信中说是希波吕托斯意图玷污她，国王忒修斯看罢，愤怒不已，请求海神波塞冬派遣一头公牛撞到儿子希波吕托斯的马车，结果儿子在岩石上撞死了，这时候，狩猎神阿尔忒弥斯出现，把真相告诉了国王忒修斯和行将就木的希波吕托斯。

主题和风格

欧里庇得斯在这部悲剧里描写了凡间的普通人“希波吕托斯”被拥有神力的爱神“阿佛洛狄忒”蓄意谋杀的事情，充满对神的怀疑、对命运、对传统信仰的怀疑。

Hippolytus (Ancient Greek: Ἱππόλυτος, Hippolytos) is an Ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides, based on the myth of Hippolytus, son of Theseus. The play was first produced for the City Dionysia of Athens in 428 BC and won first prize as part of a trilogy. The text is extant.

Euripides first treated the myth in a previous play, Hippolytos Kalyptomenos (Ἱππόλυτος καλυπτόμενος – Hippolytus Veiled), which is lost, and survives only in fragments. What is known of it is based on echoes found in other ancient writings. The earlier play, and the one that has survived are both titled Hippolytus, but in order to distinguish the two they have traditionally been given the names, Hippolytos Kalyptomenos and Hippolytus Stephanophoros (Ἱππόλυτος στεφανοφόρος – "Hippolytus the wreath bearer").

It is thought that the contents to the lost Hippolytos Kalyptomenos portrayed a woman, Phaedra, reduced to shamelessness by a god, and not given the dignity of being able to resist the spell that Aphrodite has placed on her. Athenians may have been offended by a determinedly lustful heroine of a tragedy offering herself directly to Hippolytus. Such a weakness in Phaedra's character, may have caused Hippolytus' desire for purity to be less effectively portrayed. In 428 B.C., Euripides offered to the festival of Dionysus a second version of the story, in which Phaedra resists Aphrodite as best she can. This is the version that has survived.

Euripides revisits the myth in Hippolytos Stephanophoros, its title refers to the garlands Hippolytus wears as a worshipper of Artemis. In this version Phaedra fights against her own sexual desires, which have been incited by Aphrodite.

Synopsis

The play is set in Troezen, a coastal town in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Theseus, the king of Athens, is serving a year's voluntary exile after having murdered a local king and his sons. His illegitimate son is Hippolytus, whose mother was one of the Amazons. Hippolytus has been trained since childhood by the king of Troezen, Pittheus. Hippolytus has a step-mother, Phaedra, who lives in Athens.

At the opening of the play Aphrodite, Goddess of love, explains that Hippolytus has sworn chastity and refuses to revere her. Instead, he honours the Goddess of the hunt, Artemis. This has led Aphrodite to initiate a plan of vengeance on Hippolytus. When Hippolytus went to Athens two years previously Aphrodite caused Phaedra to fall in love with him.

Hippolytus appears with his followers and shows reverence to a statue of Artemis, a chaste goddess. A servant warns him about slighting Aphrodite, but Hippolytus refuses to listen.

The chorus, consisting of young married women of Troezen, enters and describes how Theseus's wife, Phaedra, has not eaten or slept in three days. Phaedra, sickly, appears with her nurse. After an agonizing discussion, Phaedra finally confesses why she is ill: she loves Hippolytus. The nurse and the chorus are shocked. Phaedra explains that she must starve herself and die with her honour intact and to save Theseus from shame. However, the nurse quickly retracts her initial response and tells Phaedra that she has a magical charm to cure her. However, in an aside she reveals different plans.

The nurse, after making Hippolytus swear not to tell anyone, informs Hippolytus of Phaedra's desire and suggests that Hippolytus consider yielding to her. He reacts with a furious tirade and threatens to tell his father, Theseus, everything as soon as he arrives. Phaedra realizes disaster has fallen. After making the chorus swear secrecy, she goes inside and hangs herself.