Question: Discuss the pattern of life spent by Hippolytus.
Introduction
Hippolytus is the son of the Athenian hero, Theseus. Theseus’ wife and Hippolytus’ stepmother, Phaedra, develops a secret love for Hippolytus. This love was unnatural; the goddess of love, Aphrodite, fostered this love as revenge against Hippolytus. As a result, Phaedra falls into a deep sickness when she realizes her marriage to Theseus means that she and Hippolytus can never truly be together.
Lover of Nature
Hippolytus is a lover of nature. Most of time of his life, he has spent by hunting in the forests. As he has a feeling of leading single life, he never feels sexually passionate love for any woman.
Religious
Phaedra resolves to starve herself to death due to her unrequited love for Hippolytus. However, Phaedra confesses her forbidden love to her nurse after a series of conversations. The nurse tells Phaedra that she can cure her, but instead of solving the matter of this cursed love, the meddling nurse tells Hippolytus of his stepmother’s love for him so that Hippolytus can be attracted by this love. But it never happens because Hippolytus rejects this heinous love openly. When Phaedra comes to know this, she commits suicide by hanging herself, but before committing suicide, Phaedra leaves a note to Theseus claiming that Hippolytus raped her.
Victim of misfortune
When Theseus returns from a year of exile and discovers the body of his wife and the note, he understandably becomes enraged. He banishes his son from the land, by the punishment of death should Hippolytus return, and curses Hippolytus in the name of his father, Poseidon. As Hippolytus is preparing his chariot to leave, an enormous bull appears from the sea, sent by Poseidon, frightening the horses and catching Hippolytus off guard. The horses flee, dragging the unsuspecting Hippolytus behind them, mortally wounding the protagonist and he finally dies after getting forgiveness from his father and also forgiving his father.
Conclusion
In termination, it is transparent that the illicit love affair is not allowed even in Greek mythology, that is why from the life style of Hippolytus, it is warning for the people of the world that if anybody is influenced by the passion of unrequited love, destruction will come not only in his or her life but in the lives of those who are connected with him or her.
