Hyppolitus vs. The Bacchae

A detailed Summary of Hyppolitus vs. The Bacchae

The gods' roles in relation to humans are similar in both The Bacchae and Hippolytus, but those plays differ from the gods' roles in Oedipus Rex. In both The Bacchae and Hippolytus, the opening monologue is a god, within the city, discussing their plans for the protagonist, Pentheus and Hippolytus, respectively. In The Bacchae, Dionysus opens the play, stating "I am Dionysus, the son of Zeus..." (ll.1). He continues his monologue, discussing his anger towards Thebes because the Thebans refused to worship him. He tells the audience his plans for Pentheus, the one who "revolts against divinity, in me...forgets my name in his prayers" (ll. 45-47). Dionysus is upset because the Thebans disregard him as ungodly and refuse to acknowledge his divinity. Similarly, Aphrodite is upset with Hippolytus for disregarding her goddess status. While Hippolytus doesn't dispute her godliness, he refuses to worship her. Aphrodite opens Hippolytus, much like Dionysus opens The Bacchae, by stating her name and cause for being among the mortals. She says "I am the Goddess

In all three plays, the warped relationship between mother and son eventually cause the son's demise. In both Hippolytus and Oedipus Rex, incest is present. In Hippolytus, Aphrodite puts a spell on Phaedra, Hippolytus' stepmother, and she falls in love with Hippolytus. Similarly, in Oedipus Rex, Oedipus unknowingly marries his mother, Jocasta. In both cases, the incestual relationship is unconscious, however has similar results. When Hippolytus finds out Phaedra's feelings, he becomes disgusted, shaming Phaedra into suicide. Jocasta, too, feels shame once she's figured out her husband is her son, and commits suicide as well. However, before she kills herself, Phaedra writes that Hippolytus tried to seduce her, in order to not die dishonorably in Theseus' eyes. While Phaedra is deeply disturbed about her feelings toward her son, she is more concerned with her status than Jocasta, who only kills herself because of the extreme guilt and despair. Jocasta cares too much for Oedipus to let him see her after he's figured out the truth, while Phaedra is wil

Some common words found in the essay are:
Hippolytus Phaedra's, Pentheus Hippolytus, Pentheus Agave, Rex Instead, Thebes Thebans, Rex Oedipus, Cyprisand Hippolytus, Bacchae Dionysus, Similarly Aphrodite, Bacchae Hippolytus, oedipus rex, pentheus hippolytus, rex oedipus, direct contact, pentheus agave, oedipus rex oedipus, gods' roles, bacchae hippolytus,

Approximate Word count = 716
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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