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Her nurse urges her to tell the truth, and eventually elicits Phaidra to confess that she has been overwhelmed by sexual desire for Hippolytus, an ailment that she treats like a terrible disease. After Hippolytus exits, the palace is stirring because Phaidra suffers – she will not eat, is nearing death, and refuses to explain what her illness could be. Hippolytus arrogantly denounces the servant and Aphrodite at once. As a result, Aphrodite says, she has caused Phaidra, Theseus’ wife and Hippolytus’ step-mother, to grow madly in love with Hippolytus, which sets the tragic course of events into motion.Īs if to confirm Aphrodite’s judgment of Hippolytus’ character, a servant sees Hippolytus honoring the statue of Artemis and urges him to honor Aphrodite as well. Hippolytus, she explains, the bastard son of Theseus, has devoted himself too fully to virginity and the goddess Artemis, and arrogantly rejects the power of sexuality and desire. The play begins when the goddess Aphrodite appears and explains that she has grown angry.
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