Hippolytus, in Greek mythology, son of Theseus and Antiope (or Hippolyte). After the death of Antiope, Theseus married Phaedra, daughter of Minos. Because Hippolytus worshiped only Artemis, the jealous Aphrodite punished him by causing his stepmother to fall in love with him. When he rejected her advances, Phaedra accused him of violating her and hanged herself. Theseus then drove him from Athens and prayed to his father, Poseidon, to have him killed. Poseidon frightened Hippolytus' horses, and he was dragged to his death. The legend is the subject of plays by Euripides, Seneca, and Racine.
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