Talk:Phaedra complex

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Hello,

Forgive me if I'm doing this wrong, I've never tried to edit a Wikipedia page before.

However, the 'Origins' section of the 'Phaedra Complex' page is wrong. The section currently states that "When Hippolytus refused Phaedra's advances, she falsely accused him of propositioning her. Phaedra eventually killed herself in remorse after his subsequent death." However, in the original play from which the idea comes, Euripides' Hippolytus, the order of events is different.

This section currently states that "When Hippolytus refused Phaedra's advances, she falsely accused him of propositioning her." This is almost true, but not quite correct. In the first recorded version of this myth, Phaedra does attempt to seduce Hippolytus, but then when he refuses, Phaedra kills herself and then, in her suicide note, she accuses him of sexually assaulting her. Then, as a result of this accusation, Phaedra's husband, Theseus, curses Hippolytus, and he is killed by Poseidon. In other words, the correct order of events is:

- Phaedra tries to seduce Hippolytus and fails;

- Phaedra kills herself and accuses Hippolytus in the suicide note;

- Hippolytus is killed by the gods on Theseus' behalf.

A correct version of this section would therefore read:

"When Hippolytus refused Phaedra's advances, she commits suicide and leaves a note which falsely accuses him of sexually assaulting her. Her husband, Theseus, curses Hippolytus to be killed by Poseidon."

Another problem with this section is the sources. The section currently cites a source from 1894; I am quite sure I do not need to explain why a source from 1894 is not as accurate or up to date in its understanding of ancient Greek literature as a 20th or 21st century source. I would recommend Professor Gregory Nagy's translation of Euripides' Hippolytus, which you will find in "The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours: Sourcebook", pages 787 - 807 as a more up to date source. You will find an online version at the following link: https://dokumen.pub/qdownload/the-ancient-greek-hero-in-24-hours.html

The specific page references are as follows:

Phaedra attempts to seduce Hippolytus through her nurse: 797 - 802;

Phaedra kills herself and accuses Hippolytus of sexual assault: 803-805;

Theseus curses Hippolytus: 807.

I look forward to hearing from the editors. I would also like to note that the Wikipedia page for Hippolytus currently has an accurate version of the events of this play (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippolytus_of_Athens). Hammurabisharru (talk) 16:24, 11 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]