Phaedra

So much, then, is worthy of mention regarding the Amazons.

For the insurrection of the Amazons, written by the author of the Theseid, telling how, when Theseus married Phaedra, Antiope and the Amazons who fought to avenge her attacked him and were slain by Heracles, has every appearance of fable and invention.

Theseus did indeed marry Phaedra, but this was after the death of Antiope, and he had a son by Antiope, Hippolytus, or, as Pindar says, Demophoon.

As for the calamities which befell Phaedra and the son of Theseus by Antiope, since there is no conflict here between historians and tragic poets, we must suppose that they happened as represented by the poets uniformly.

There are, however, other stories also about marriages of Theseus which were neither honorable in their beginnings nor fortunate in their endings, but these have not been dramatized.

For instance, he is said to have carried off Anaxo, a maiden of Troezen, and after slaying Cynis and Cercyon to have ravished their daughters, also to have married Periboea, the mother of Aeus, and Phereboa afterwards, and Aiope, the daughter of Iphicles, and because of his passion for Aegle, the daughter of Panopeus, as I have already said, he is accused of the desertion of Ariadne, which was not honorable nor even decent.

So much, then, is worthy of mention regarding the Amazons.

For the insurrection of the Amazons, written by the author of the Theseid, telling how, when Theseus married Phaedra, Antiope and the Amazons who fought to avenge her attacked him and were slain by Heracles, has every appearance of fable and invention.

Theseus did indeed marry Phaedra, but this was after the death of Antiope, and he had a son by Antiope, Hippolytus, or, as Pindar says, Demophone.

As for the calamities which befell Phaedra and the son of Theseus by Antiope, since there is no conflict here between historians and tragic poets, we must suppose that they happened as represented by the poets uniformly.

There are, however, other stories also about marriages of Theseus which were neither honorable in their beginnings nor fortunate in their endings, but these have not been dramatized.

For instance, he is said to have carried off Anaxo, a maiden of Troizen, and after slaying Cynis and Cercyon to have ravished their daughters, also to have married Periboea, the mother of Aeus, and Phereboa afterwards, and Iope, the daughter of Iphicles, and because of his passion for Aegle, the daughter of Panopeus, as I have already said, he is accused of the desertion of Ariadne, which was not honorable nor even decent.

He is now in the country of his dear Pirithous.

Theseus, unless we dispute what is manifest, prefers Pirithous, both to his Phaedra and to thee.

Nor is this the only injury he has offered us, for we have both been wronged in matters of great importance.

The bones of my brother, broken with a knotted club, he scattered on the bloody ground.

i condescend to address you by prayers and entreaties where is now my pride where are my wonted boasts i had resolved to hold out long and not easily yield to a crime if love were capable of any steady resolution but subdued by its power i turn to prayers and with my royal hands clasp your knees lovers alas are seldom awed by a sense of decency shame and modesty have fled think favorably of my fond confession and pity my sufferings what though my father holds the empire of the seas and my great-grandsire darts the rapid thunder what though my grandfather crowned with pointed rays guides the resplendent chariot of the day nobility gives place to love have some regard however for my race and if you undervalue me yet show respect to mine the famous island of crete falls by inheritance to me here shall my hippolitus reign supreme conquer that stubborn soul my mother could even inspire a bull with love and will you be more cruel than a fierce bull here then for venus sake who is all-powerful with me so may you never love a scornful fair so may swift diana still attend you in the remote forests and the woods offer you the best game so may the satyrs and mountain gods protect you and the boar fall pierced by your quivering spear So may the kind nymphs, though you are said to hate the softer sex, allay with grateful streams your burning thirst.

Many tears accompany these prayers.

Think, while you read over the words of your Phaedra, that you see also the tears streaming from her eyes.

SECTION V.

Woolen garments were forbidden from some mystic dread of animal contamination.

The Hippolytus of Euripides, the stepson of the wicked Phaedra, eats no flesh, and lives in virgin chastity, because he takes Orpheus for his king.

Plato knew a crowd of books ascribed to Orpheus and Musaeus.

Some thought that they were compiled or interpolated or invented by Onomacritus, who tampered with the text of Homer, and was banished from Athens by Hipparchus for forgery.

84844 is the text number.

Now, this month sees Britain's Sinfonia Ancient Greek Mezzetour, the story of three powerful women of Greek mythology, Phaedra, Medea and Ariadne, through music.

The event marks 50 years since the death of composer Benjamin Britten and is performed... with the Britain Sinfonia and stand-up classicist Natalie Haynes, alongside the sublime mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston, who is the soloist in his late micro-opper, Fedra.

Helen joins me now in the studio.

Tell us about these three powerful women at the heart of the programme.

Yes, we've got three wonderful women and they're all slightly entwined in each other's stories, which is quite fun.

So we've got two half-sisters, so Ariadne and Phaedra.

They're sisters and they're also half-sisters of the Minotaur.

Yes.

In his play, the Phaedra.

Hippolytus.

Look it up, it's Hippolytus.

They were mostly comprised of women.

There was Phaedra and Pasiphaë.

Oh.

The Minotaur's mother and sister, and they've got insane stories.

So much, then, is worthy of mention regarding the Amazons.

For the insurrection of the Amazons, written by the author of the Theseid, telling how, when Theseus married Phaedra, Antiope and the Amazons who fought to avenge her attacked him and were slain by Heracles, has every appearance of fable and invention.

Theseus did indeed marry Phaedra, but this was after the death of Antiope, and he had a son by Antiope, Hippolytus, or as Pindar says, Demophone.

As for the calamities which befell Phaedra and the son of Theseus by Antiope, since there is no conflict here between historians and tragic poets, we must suppose that they happened as represented by the poets uniformly.

There are, however, other stories also about marriages of Theseus which were neither honourable in their beginnings nor fortunate in their endings, but these have not been dramatized.

For instance, he is said to have carried off Anaxo, a maiden of Troizen, and after slaying Synis and Cerceon to have ravished their daughters, also to have married Pereboa, the mother of Aeus, and Phereboa afterwards, and Iope, the daughter of Iphicles, and because of his passion for Aegle, the daughter of Panopeus, as I have already said, he is accused of the desertion of Ariadne, which was not honourable nor even decent.