Hippolytus
Category: Books,Literature & Fiction,Classics
Hippolytus Details
Euripides (c. 480-406 B.C.E.) is the author of eighteen extant plays and many more only surviving in fragments. He is the youngest of the three great Athenian tragedians with Aeschylus and Sophocles. Hippolytus, bastard son of Theseus and the Amazon Hippolyta, has sworn chaste allegiance to the goddess Artemis, thus severely offending the goddess Aphrodite by failing to revere her. Aphrodite swears revenge and promises that he will die before the day is done, taking with him Queen Phaedra, wife of Theseus. Aphrodite sickens Phaedra with uncontrollable lust for Hippolytus, and when he vehemently spurns her, he sets in motion the events that will seal his doom. Cast Aphrodite - P J Morgan Artemis - Linda Barrans Hippolytus - Russell Gold Phaidra -Erin Louttit Nurse - Lee Ann Howlett Theseus - John Burlinson An Old Huntsman - Ron Altman First huntsman/Messenger - Andy Harrington Second huntsman - Alan Weyman Third huntsman - Alan Weyman Chorus leader - Jennifer Fournier Chorus One - Leanne Yau Chorus Two - Elizabeth Chambers Narrator - Alan Weyman
Reviews
Euripides was the last in the line of tragic playwrights after Aeschylus and Sophocles. From a play standpoint, he was the first person to really introduce the deux ex machina tool and had a really good rhyming scheme, although the plays are not up to the level (I think) of Sophocles.This particular free Kindle book is halfway decent. One of the things that seems common to some transcriptions is that when a character has lots of lines of dialog, it's condensed into paragraph form. In a way it's more difficult to read because you can't get a feel of the rhyme and meter of the play.But it's still a decent read and a good introduction to Ancient Greek plays. And it's free. So, what's not to like?