Sympathy in Hippolytus Harry Stringer 12th Grade

The works of Euripides differ largely from those of the arguably more iconic Sophocles, nominally in the regard that they lack individual Aristotelian tragic heroes. Instead, despite having a central and typically eponymous figure, each play tends to feature a host of tragically flawed and morally dubious characters. For this reason, it is difficult to claim that any character in Hippolytus is deserving of the full sympathy of the audience.

The eponymous Hippolytus certainly has noble traits that earn him the audience’s admiration and pity; however, he possesses his share of flaws as well. Notable amongst the former is his devotion to his chosen deity, namely Artemis, which would have been considered a commendable characteristic by an Athenian audience. While it is never made clear whether he is drawn to Artemis as a virgin goddess because of his asexuality or if he is abstinent as a result of his commitment to her, he exhibits a devout chastity that is worthy of esteem, regardless of its origin. His piety manifests in other circumstances, for example when he makes an oath to the Nurse not to tell Theseus of Phaedra’s infatuation with him and keeps said oath even when being accused of Phaedra’s rape, obviously to his own...