The Greeks Versus Their Gods I
The play Hippolytus by the Greek playwright Euripides is one which
explores classical Greek religion. Throughout the play, the influence
of the gods on the actions of the characters is evident, especially when Aphrodite affects the actions of Phaedra. Also central to the plot is the god-god interactions between Artemis and Aphrodite. In this essay, I hope to provide answers to how the actions of Hippolytus and Phaedra relate to the gods, whether or not the characters concern themselves with the reaction of the gods to their behavior, what the characters expect from the gods, how the gods treat the humans, and whether or not the gods gain anything from making the humans suffer.
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Aphrodite (10-16). This is important because it sets in motion the actions of the play when Aphrodite decides to get revenge on Hippolytus. The divine relationship between the gods is a bit different, however. Over the course of the play, Artemis does not interfere in the actions of Aphrodite, which shows that the gods, while divine, do have restrictions; in this case, it shows the gods cannot interfere with each other. (1328-1330) The gods are sometimes evil and revengeful, though, as can seen by what Artemis has to say about Aphrodite: "I’ll wait till she loves a mortal next time, and with this hand - with these unerring arrows I’ll punish him." (1420-1422)
The relationship of mankind and the gods also needs to be discussed.
This relationship seems to be a sort of give-and-take relationship, in
part. The Greeks believed that if they gave to the gods, through prayer and sacrifices, that the gods would help them out. This is especially true of Hippolytus and ...
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of action is to kill herself. This action
is certainly related to the gods because Aphrodite makes it look as if
Phaedra’s suicide is really the fault of Hippolytus. Some of
Hippolytus’ actions are related to the gods as well. When Theseus
discovers that Phaedra is dead and decides to exile Hippolytus,
Hippolytus does object to his banishment, but eventually he stops
arguing with his father. At this point, he prays to the gods that he be killed in exile if he is guilty of the death of Phaedra. It is also
possible he may be expecting Artemis to help him out, though she does
nothing until he is on the verge of death.
The characters do worry about how the gods react ...
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"The Greeks Versus Their Gods I." Essayworld.com. March 27, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Greeks-Versus-Their-Gods-I/43419.
"The Greeks Versus Their Gods I." Essayworld.com. March 27, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Greeks-Versus-Their-Gods-I/43419.
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