The Nature of Shame in Greek Tragedy

The sentiment of shame establishes the principles and morals which govern the Greek kingdom of Trozen. Shameful emotions also determine individuals’ actions and reactions as per their adherence to the ethics of the domain. The notably deplorable act of incestuous relationships flout the accepted values of this Greek society. According to Ira Mark Milne, editor of Drama for Students, “Although there are many stories of incestuous relationships (between family members) in Greek mythology, such tales are focused primarily on establishing rules and beliefs that make such relationships unacceptable” (155). Trozian gods and goddesses, specifically Aphrodite and Artemis, display their awareness of human aversion to such relationships and, at times, seek to punish their unfaithful servants by forcing them into the incestous romances they abhor. As a result of the violation of divine forces, Euripides’ Hippolytus reflects the theme of shame, manifested by the tragedy’s characters and their actions.

Euripides’ Hippolytus depicts the tragic fate and ultimate destruction of one family of Greek nobility. Offended by Hippolytus’ reverence and servitude to her rival goddess Artemis, Aphrodite castigates Hippolytus by fostering an intense passion and lust for him in Phaedra, his stepmother. Phaedra’s shame and humiliation, the results of Aphrodite's anathema, galvanize her to confide in the Nurse, who attempts to rectify the situation by brewing a potion derived from Hippolytus’ hair. Dawning after Hippolytus’ discovery of Phaedra’s passion, Phaedra’s shame precipitates her suicide and a note, which proclaims Hippolytus raped her before her death. Phaedra’s husband, Theseus, returning home from a trip to the Oracle at Delphi, uncovers his late wi...

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...he tragedies of Phaedra, Theseus, and Hippolytus, brought on by the vindictive forces of Aphrodite, result from shame and its manifestations: “This is the very thing that is killing me, dear ladies,/that I never be convicted of disgracing my husband/nor the children I gave birth to” (20).

Works Cited

Bates, Alfred, ed. Excerpt. The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization. London: Historical, 1906.

Halleran, Michael R. “The Hippolytus: An Interpretation.” Newburyport, MA: Focus, 2001.

Milne, Ira Mark, ed. Drama for Students. Vol. 25. New York: Gale, 2008. 147-156.

Roisman, Hanna E. Nothing Is As It Seems: The Tragedy of the Implicit in Euripides’ Hippolytus. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999.

Wolff, Christian. “Euripides.” Rpt. in Ancient Writers: Greece and Rome. Vol. 1. Ed. T James Luce. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982. 233-266.