[Greek heroic] Hippolytus was the son of Theseus (the great Athenian hero) and Hippolyta, his mother, was queen of the Amazons. When Hippolyta died Theseus decided to marry Phaedra (daughter of king Minos of Crete and sister of Ariadne). Hippolytus had meanwhile grown into a fine young man, handsome, strong and a great athlete, and Phaedra fell in love with him. Hippolytus rejected Phaedra's advances, which hurt her deeply, to the extent that she wrote a letter to Theseus telling him that Hippolytus had seduced her, and then hanged herself. Theseus believing all, especially with Phaedra taking her own life, took revenge by using a curse, one of three which had been given to him by the god of the sea, Poseidon. While Hippolytus was out driving his chariot, a huge sea-monster sent by Poseidon frightened the horses, dragging Hippolytus to his death (Ovid XV, 497). Artemis later told Theseus the tragic truth. In another version Theseus went to Temiscyra, the capital city of the Amazons. The the quee...
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