Phaedra - Seneca
Phaedra is a
tragic play by Roman playwright Seneca. The play tells the story of Theseus’
wife Phaedra and her lust for her stepson, Hippolytus. However, Hippolytus
despises women and wishes to remain pure, preferring to hunt and live in the
woods. After Phaedra declares her love, Hippolytus lashes out and strikes to
kill her for her lustful crime. Phaedra and her nurse accuse him of raping her,
and Hippolytus flees. Upon Theseus’ return from the Underworld, Phaedra
continues her lie, and Theseus prays to Neptune for Hippolytus’ death. After
Hippolytus dies, Phaedra reveals her deception and kills herself out of shame. Theseus
mourns his lost son and condemns Phaedra for her betrayal.
Seneca presents many themes and references unique to Roman literature of the time. One of the most prominent is that of hunting and the idea of prey and predator. In the beginning, Hippolytus is hunting a boar. Later, Phaedra tells her nurse, “[Hippolytus] is the one I want to follow” [1]. She says, “What I like is to rouse wild beasts, and chase them, and hunt them down” [1]. At this point, Hippolytus is depicted as the wild thing that Phaedra is now hunting. Hippolytus’ depiction as an animal is made clearer when Phaedra and the nurse describe him using words such as “wild”, “barbarous”, “savage”, and “ferocious” [1]. Upon the nurse’s pleadings, Phaedra asserts that “love has conquered even wild beasts” [1]. This new interpretation of Hippolytus presents him as a wild animal that Phaedra will tame, and turns what Hippolytus loves most into his ultimate downfall.
This emphasis on what is wild is further enforced due to both Hippolytus’ and Phaedra’s backgrounds. Animalistic terms are used to describe Hippolytus and it is fitting. Hippolytus’ mother was the Amazon Antiope, a race known for its savagery. Phaedra’s mother was Pasiphae, whose relations with a bull resulted in the birth of the Minotaur. Phaedra believes that her inappropriate feelings for Hippolytus are derived by the sins of her mother. Ironically, though Phaedra never consummates her relationship with Hippolytus as Pasiphae with the bull, her deception is the catalyst that brings about the creation of a sea bull that leads to Hippolytus’ death. The references to Hippolytus’ and Phaedra’s ancestry link them to their current states of wildness and misguided attraction, further enforcing their roles as prey and predator, respectively.
Phaedra is one of Seneca’s shorter plays. The abruptness of the play is attributed to the rash decision making of its characters. Upon Theseus’ return home, Phaedra accuses his son of attacking her. In rage, Theseus draws upon the last of three wishes promised to him by Neptune. These three wishes are first mentioned in Euripides’ Hippolytus. In Euripides’ earlier play, Theseus uses his first wish from his father to wish death (or exile) upon Hippolytus after finding a false suicide note from Phaedra accusing Hippolytus of rape [2]. Euripides invented these three wishes for his own use, and Seneca used them as well to illustrate important points about Theseus.
“First, the wishes serve to portray Theseus as an older, more experienced hero” [3]. Seneca writes that Theseus is tired, lacking in strength, and not the man he used to be, and that he is finally calling upon his last wish [1]. This means that Theseus has used the other two already, which implies that he is much older now and approaching the “end of his heroic career” [3]. Second, the use of the final wish relays the seriousness of the situation. Theseus claims, “I never would have used the power of this last wish,/unless oppressed my such extreme disaster./In the Depths of Tartarus…I did not make a wish” [1]. This passage shows the severity of Hippolytus’ supposed crime in Theseus’ eyes. He is willing to use his final, all-powerful wish to request death on his own son. He would not use the wish to help himself in the Underworld, but he is adamant about using it to hurt Hippolytus. Here, Theseus’ values are made clear. His outrage at his son is because of a sin against his wife. It is shown that Theseus holds his family to a high degree, and he is intolerable of betrayal of any kind, especially from his children [3]. Having Theseus react this strongly also displays his impetuousness, powerful rage, and unyielding emotions.
[1] Seneca, Phaedra. Trans. Emily Wilson. Lines 223, 110, 239, 272, 241, 240, 846-7, 949-951 & 953.
[2] Euripides, Hippolytus.
[3] Kohn, Thomas D. “The Wishes of Theseus”, 389
Seneca presents many themes and references unique to Roman literature of the time. One of the most prominent is that of hunting and the idea of prey and predator. In the beginning, Hippolytus is hunting a boar. Later, Phaedra tells her nurse, “[Hippolytus] is the one I want to follow” [1]. She says, “What I like is to rouse wild beasts, and chase them, and hunt them down” [1]. At this point, Hippolytus is depicted as the wild thing that Phaedra is now hunting. Hippolytus’ depiction as an animal is made clearer when Phaedra and the nurse describe him using words such as “wild”, “barbarous”, “savage”, and “ferocious” [1]. Upon the nurse’s pleadings, Phaedra asserts that “love has conquered even wild beasts” [1]. This new interpretation of Hippolytus presents him as a wild animal that Phaedra will tame, and turns what Hippolytus loves most into his ultimate downfall.
This emphasis on what is wild is further enforced due to both Hippolytus’ and Phaedra’s backgrounds. Animalistic terms are used to describe Hippolytus and it is fitting. Hippolytus’ mother was the Amazon Antiope, a race known for its savagery. Phaedra’s mother was Pasiphae, whose relations with a bull resulted in the birth of the Minotaur. Phaedra believes that her inappropriate feelings for Hippolytus are derived by the sins of her mother. Ironically, though Phaedra never consummates her relationship with Hippolytus as Pasiphae with the bull, her deception is the catalyst that brings about the creation of a sea bull that leads to Hippolytus’ death. The references to Hippolytus’ and Phaedra’s ancestry link them to their current states of wildness and misguided attraction, further enforcing their roles as prey and predator, respectively.
Phaedra is one of Seneca’s shorter plays. The abruptness of the play is attributed to the rash decision making of its characters. Upon Theseus’ return home, Phaedra accuses his son of attacking her. In rage, Theseus draws upon the last of three wishes promised to him by Neptune. These three wishes are first mentioned in Euripides’ Hippolytus. In Euripides’ earlier play, Theseus uses his first wish from his father to wish death (or exile) upon Hippolytus after finding a false suicide note from Phaedra accusing Hippolytus of rape [2]. Euripides invented these three wishes for his own use, and Seneca used them as well to illustrate important points about Theseus.
“First, the wishes serve to portray Theseus as an older, more experienced hero” [3]. Seneca writes that Theseus is tired, lacking in strength, and not the man he used to be, and that he is finally calling upon his last wish [1]. This means that Theseus has used the other two already, which implies that he is much older now and approaching the “end of his heroic career” [3]. Second, the use of the final wish relays the seriousness of the situation. Theseus claims, “I never would have used the power of this last wish,/unless oppressed my such extreme disaster./In the Depths of Tartarus…I did not make a wish” [1]. This passage shows the severity of Hippolytus’ supposed crime in Theseus’ eyes. He is willing to use his final, all-powerful wish to request death on his own son. He would not use the wish to help himself in the Underworld, but he is adamant about using it to hurt Hippolytus. Here, Theseus’ values are made clear. His outrage at his son is because of a sin against his wife. It is shown that Theseus holds his family to a high degree, and he is intolerable of betrayal of any kind, especially from his children [3]. Having Theseus react this strongly also displays his impetuousness, powerful rage, and unyielding emotions.
[1] Seneca, Phaedra. Trans. Emily Wilson. Lines 223, 110, 239, 272, 241, 240, 846-7, 949-951 & 953.
[2] Euripides, Hippolytus.
[3] Kohn, Thomas D. “The Wishes of Theseus”, 389