The gods’ roles in relation to humans are similar in both The Bacchae and Hippolytus, but those plays differ from the gods’ roles in Oedipus Rex. In both The Bacchae and Hippolytus, the opening monologue is a god, within the city, discussing their plans for the protagonist, Pentheus and Hippolytus, respectively. In The Bacchae, Dionysus opens the play, stating “I am Dionysus, the son of Zeus…” (ll.1). He continues his monologue, discussing his anger towards Thebes because the Thebans refused to worship him. He tells the audience his plans for Pentheus, the one who “revolts against divinity, in me…forgets my name in his prayers” (ll. 45-47). Dionysus is upset because the Thebans disregard him as ungodly and refuse to acknowledge his divinity. Similarly, Aphrodite is upset with Hippolytus for disregarding her goddess status. While Hippolytus doesn’t dispute her godliness, he refuses to worship her. Aphrodite opens Hippolytus, much like Dionysus opens The Bacchae, by stating her name and cause for being among the mortals. She says “I am the Goddess Cyp
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When Hippolytus finds out Phaedra’s feelings, he becomes disgusted, shaming Phaedra into suicide. Similarly, in Oedipus Rex, Oedipus unknowingly marries his mother, Jocasta. In Hippolytus, Aphrodite puts a spell on Phaedra, Hippolytus’ stepmother, and she falls in love with Hippolytus. Phaedra’s lie is responsible for Hippolytus’ death because Theseus curses Hippolytus and begs Poseidon to kill him, which he does. While Phaedra is deeply disturbed about her feelings toward her son, she is more concerned with her status than Jocasta, who only kills herself because of the extreme guilt and despair. However, before she kills herself, Phaedra writes that Hippolytus tried to seduce her, in order to not die dishonorably in Theseus’ eyes. He spurns love and will have nothing to do with sex” (p. In both Hippolytus and Oedipus Rex, incest is present. Hippolytus chooses to worship Artemis instead of Aphrodite, and so Aphrodite must come down from Olympus and punish him. Hippolytus only dies because of what his mother wrote, while Oedipus scratches out his eyes because of the underlying shame and disgust with his actions.
In all three plays, the warped relationship between mother and son eventually cause the son’s demise. This direct contact between gods and mortals does not occur in Oedipus Rex.
Approximate Word count =
716
Approximate Pages =
3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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