Ancient Greek mythology: The legend of Hippolytus

The Greek Legend of Hippolytus

According to the legends of Greece, Hippolyte, the Amazon queen, and Theseus had a son by the name of Hippolytus. He became known as a excellent hunter and a wonderful charioteer. Phaedra, Hippolytus’s stepmother, fell in love with her stepson, but when he turned her down, she killed herself and left behind a note that said Hippolytus had tried to rape her. Theseus threw Hippolytus out, yelling at him the whole time, and begged Poseidon, his father, to kill his son.` Hippolytus was driving his chariot beside the Troezen shore, when a huge sea-monster that Poseidon had sent came up out of the water and frightened the horses. The chariot tipped and Hippolytus was thrown out, where he got caught in the reigns and was dragged to his death.

The goddess Artemis requested that Asclepius bring him back to life, and then she took him to the Troezen at Italy, where he was given a priest and a sanctuary, and he was given great honors and worshiped there. Talk of his death was said to be false. It is said that he was saved by the gods right before he would have been killed, and that they put him in the sky in a pattern of stars called the Charioteer. Hippolytus’ tragic tale was the inspiration for two of Euripides’ plays, Seneca’s tragedy, and Phedre by Racine. It is also said that Hippolytus was an officer for the Roman army, and that he was a martyr, ripped to shreds by horses that were wild because of his conversion to Christianity.

It is also said that the story was just a representation, Hippolytus was the sun and Phaedra represented the moon, which always has to follow the sun, but can never come near it. The more probable explanation is that Hippolytus was a man, maybe even Artemis’s priest, who was known for his chastity and worshiped at Troezen like he were a god.