Phaedra (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Phaedra /ˈfdrə, ˈfɛdrə/ (Ancient Greek: Φαίδρα, Phaidra) (or Fedra) was a Cretan princess. Her name derives from the Greek word φαιδρός (phaidros), which means "bright". According to legend, she was the daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, and the wife of Theseus. Phaedra fell in love with her stepson Hippolytus. After he rejected her advances, she accused him of trying to rape her, causing Theseus to pray to Poseidon to kill him, and then killed herself.

Phaedra
Queen of Athens
Member of the Crete Royal Family
AbodeCrete, later Athens
Personal information
ParentsMinos and Pasiphae or Crete
SiblingsCatreus, Ariadne, Androgeus, Xenodice, Acacallis, Glaucus and Deucalion; the Minotaur
ConsortTheseus
OffspringAcamas and Demophon

The story of Phaedra is told in Euripides' play Hippolytus, Seneca the Younger's Phaedra, and Ovid's Heroides. It has inspired many modern works of art and literature, including a play by Jean Racine.

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