Female Deception in Hippolytus: The Ruin of Men Essay examples -- Gree

feminine Deception in Hippolytus The Ruin of MenWorks Cited Missing In Ancient Greece, hypocrisy was considered to be part of a womans nature and an inbred female characteristic. It was generally believed that a good woman was the result of the wide-awake cultivation of her morals by her guardians, and if left to her own devices, a woman was apt to be wicked. The deceit of wo men is a theme that shows up much in Ancient Greek literature, and many Ancient Greek authors face women as jealous, plotting, fraudulent, and vengeful creatures capable of destroying the men affiliated with them. Hippolytus, a calamity by Euripides, is an excellent example of the Greek notion of the joke of women because it involves the deceit of a goddess as well as two women. In the author of the tragedy a very jealous Aphrodite delivers a self-serving confession of her actions as she prepares to punish the virgin Hippolytus. Aphrodites reason for wanting to castigate Hippoly tus is very quite selfish. She is extremely angry with him because he has sworn off corporal love and he honors Artemis, the goddess of chastity rather than her, Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Scheming Aphrodite who made Phaedra, Hippolytus step-mother, Phaedra, give back in love with Hippolytus, decides to reveal Phaedras love because she knows that if Theseus, Hippolytus father, discovers Phaedras secret, all shall come out, the truth will be revealed, father shall slay son with curses, and Hippolytus will be ruined (line 43 and line44). As Aphrodite, who appears to be so hateful and cold, plots his expiry she vengefully says, He Hippolytus does not know that the doors of death are upon him, ... ...ent son. Although Theseus, conflicting Hippolytus who was killed, still has his life, his life is now miserably filled with regret and guilt. The deception of women leads unmatchable man to his bitter death and another man to a life filled with remorse. Ultimately, the mens li ves are ruined. In Hippolytus, three women, a goddess, a nurse, and a wife, each exemplify the Greek idea of the deceitful woman. Even though two of the women are from different social classes and positions and one of the women is an immortal goddess, they share something in common none of them can skirt their inescapable, natural female inclination toward trickery and deception. All of these women surrender to their cunning, deceitful sides, and the people who pay the price for their deceitful deeds are the men connected to them whose lives are completely shattered.