n  n    "Show forgiveness.
If someone in his youthful and impetuous spirit
Addresses you foolishly, pretend not to hear him.
For gods should be wiser than mortals."n  n

Recently, I've been delving into Ancient Greek Comedy, and have emerged clutching my sides with laughter, but also with wonder that something written over 2000 years ago could appear so witty and lively to me today. And so I approached this - my first experience of Ancient Greek Tragedy - with low expectations. I thought it highly unlikely that some old guy's droning about the suffering and death of boring perfect heroes could ever entertain me as much as the fabulously ridiculous alternative by the young, controversial and exciting figure that was Aristophanes (whose works are our only surviving example of AG comedy).

Pleased to report that I was pleasantly surprised! I found this story very intriguing and fast-paced in its constant development, despite the lack of any action at all (with the exception of, you know, dying). The language in particular stood out to me, in a completely different but equally valid sense to the colloquial jokes of comedy. I was struck by this dialogue's grandness, passion and how simply quotable it sounded. Now might be a good time to mention that, yes, this is a translated work, so perhaps it's the translator (Ben Shaw) that I should be giving credit to. While of course I praise him for his work, I felt I got an amazing insight into the original language through the notes in this edition, especially when Shaw would discuss the possible meanings of the original Greek words and why he went with the interpretation he did.

In this and every other aspect I found the notes in here superb - definitely the best I've come across so far in my exploration of Ancient Greek literature. Explanations and comments were placed on the page adjacent to the part of the text they referred to, instead of at the back of the book where so many editors infuriatingly decide to put them. The notes were clearly headed and organised, so I could easily cast my eyes over them and decide which subjects I wanted more insight into, and which related to aspects of the text I wasn't so interested in, and thus could skip. Also provided in the notes were questions specifically aimed at literature and drama students, respectively. Nothing too demanding - but just enough to turn your analytical and/or creative brain on. As an English Lit student, the literature questions were exactly the prompt I needed to get thinking about this play in the context of the genre and time period, and as someone who is interested in Drama, I found the performance and staging ideas engaging and inspiring. Not only this, but this edition also comes with background information on the play, a summary of each scene, maps, a pronunciation guide and even a family tree of the characters. Top notch!

Back to the play itself, my knowledge of tragic plays was effectively entirely Shakespeare-based before reading this, which meant I had certain expectations. The most striking element of this plot-line for me then was the steady, almost painstaking sequence of character deaths (contrary to Shakespeare's tendency to blow up all his main characters at the end in an explosion of sudden violence and/or suicide). In fact, when the first character died and nobody dramatically jumped off a cliff in response I'll admit I was a little disappointed. But I think ultimately, yes, this is merely an issue of undue expectation on my part, and it actually turned out to be really riveting, seeing the themes of death, grief, shock and betrayal explored in actual detail in a drama piece - not simply used as a plot device to wrap everything up. The final death especially was definitely well-deserving of more time on stage, because of the reaction it created for the other characters (which I didn't see coming - what a great twist) and I'm sure for the audience too.

A fascinating psychological piece and insight into the social and religious opinions of this time period. I tripped over the story a little in the middle, but it ultimately came full-circle in a highly touching conclusion, impressively not sacrificing the complexity of the characters or situation for an emotional punch - instead combining the two.

Hippolytus was assigned reading for freshman Humanities at Grinnell College. Having already read Aeschylus, Sophocles and Aritotle's essay on the character of tragedy, I was not much impressed. Euripides read like the script of soap opera. Too much hinged on divine interference and over-scrupulous moralism. By the latter I mean people keeping their oaths when breaking them might have prevented disaster--a moral dilemma to be sure, but one in which the disproportion is obvious. Our class spent much time discussing the ethics of the actions of Theseus, Hippolytus and Phaedra--a spirited discussion.

A beautiful play with a simple plot but too many meanings & intertwined themes! It is a play about human emotions & feelings (e.g. jealousy, passion, anger, shame) and characteristics (e.g. impulsiveness), as well as it is a play about the human condition (subject to the will of deity). Moreover, it is about relationships, the relationship between people, between man and gods, and the relationships between the gods themselves. Human are subject to gods’ rules, decisions, and orders, and cannot escape their own dictated fates. Euripides shows that there gods share emotions similar to humans; for instance Aphrodite feels jealous of Artemis, who was devotedly worshiped by Hippolytus who choose to remain virgin. Moreover, these two goddesses may represent both erotic love (Aphrodite) and continence and chastity or virginal love (Artemis), and the conflict between these two types of love. On the other hand, although the reactions of the characters’ can be excused somehow as they were a kind of victims to the goddesses’ wills, but they show some flaw that also contributed to their tragic ending; for instance, Theseus’ reaction to Phaedra’s letter, coupled with his anger and impulsiveness led him to bring curses on his son, who died as a result; he did not even want to hear his son’s defense (blinded by his anger). One important issue is the breaking of trust and betrayal, which can be seen between Phaedra and her husband, and Phaedra toward Hippolytus (the letter), the nurse and Phaedra (she broke her promise of confidentiality). I feel that this play can bring more and more meanings after many readings and can be read more than once in order to reach its different meanings.

Questa nel mio parere, è la tragedia con il coro più notevole nella tragedia greca! Anziché il coro come spettatori, qua si vede un coro che cambia proprio l'andamento della storia. Ho deciso di leggere ancora un'altra volta Ippolito perché devo leggere Phèdre di Pierre Corneille! Spero che lui mantenga questa stravaganza delle figure femminili nella sua opera.

It'd be profoundly weird to give a lengthly negative review to Euripides, but I did not enjoy this much as a casual reader. Hippolytus doesn't work well as a sympathetic character but nor does he deserve the insane stuff that happens to him. The deception and unravelling of events at the centre of the play feels weak and its conclusion unearned, but like I said, it's Euripides, I've not studied the play, I'm reliant on one of hundreds of translations I read and I don't think my review is indicative of much beyond my own experience with one specific version, so I'm not going to assert it's rubbish.

This was pretty heartbreaking and powerful and I haven't even thought about it for more than an hour yet.

what are you doing ... step-mother?

Quite sad. Even though i think Phaedra by Racine is better I also like this one for its simplicity.

Girlie failed fuck or die game in ancient style

3.5⭐

Μοναδικός.
Ουδέν περαιτέρω σχόλιο.

Συγκλονιστικό. Ιδίως το τέλος, κολοσσιαίο.

kısaca kişiler, konu;

-Atina'nın efsanevi kralı Theseus, koca,

-Theseus eşi, Kraliçe Phaidra-Phaedra-Faedra, burada üvey ana, üvey oğlu Hippolytosa aşık olur. acıdan kendini asar.

-Hippolytos, oğulları. talihsiz adam, habersiz aşktan suçlanır, babası buna kıza sürgüne gönderir. fakat zeus bir boğası sebbiyle babasının kollarında ölür.

konu, islam tarihinde Züleyha’nın Yusuf’a olan yasak aşkına benzer.