September 17- Euripides, Hippolytus - Gods and Mortals Euripides Hippolytus Chronological shift from the Archaic period to the Classical

September 17, 2007 Gods and Mortals Euripides, Hippolytus • Chronological shift: from the Archaic period to the Classical period -Euripides: Athenian tragedian -born 480s BCE, died c.406 BCE - Hippolytus : 428 BCE • Shift in focus: from the divine sphere to the human sphere -Unlike Theogony or even Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, Hippolytus focuses mostly on the human characters and their interactions -Are the divine characters actually necessary to the plot? o Aphrodite? o Artemis? • Play raises questions about the relationship between the divine and human spheres • Today, focus on story line of play in human sphere only • Outline of plot • Some culturally specific conventions -Love as illness -Relative age of husbands and wives in classical Athenian society: woman typically much younger -Stress laid on women’s sexual purity in determining her reputation • Who’s the villain? Who’s responsible for tragedy?