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Hippolyta

January 01, 1970

For other uses, see Hippolyte (disambiguation).

In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte[1] (/hɪˈpɒlɪtə/; Greek: Ἱππολύτη Hippolytē), was a daughter of Ares and Otrera,[2] queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' zoster, the Greek word found in the Iliad and elsewhere meaning "war belt".[3][4] Some English translations prefer "girdle".[1] Hippolyta figures prominently in the myths of both Heracles and Theseus. The myths about her are so varied it is thought that they may be about different women.[5] The name Hippolyta translates as "she who unleashes the horses", deriving from two Greek roots meaning "horse" and "let loose".[6][7]

Hippolyta
Member of the Amazons
ArtifactsHippolyta's belt
GenderFemale
Personal information
ParentsAres (father)
Otrera (mother)
SiblingsAntiope (sister)
Melanippe (sister)
Penthesilea (sister)

Legends edit

 
Heracles Obtaining the Belt of Hyppolita by Nikolaus Knüpfer

Ninth Labor of Heracles edit

In the myth of Heracles, Hippolyta's belt (ζωστὴρ Ἱππολύτης, zōstḗr Hippolytēs) was the object of his ninth labour. He was sent to retrieve it for Admete, the daughter of King Eurystheus.[8] Most versions of the myth indicate that Hippolyta was so impressed with Heracles that she gave him the belt without argument, perhaps while visiting him on his ship. Then, according to Apollodorus, the goddess Hera, making herself appear as one of the Amazons, spread a rumour among them that Heracles and his crew were abducting their queen, so the Amazons attacked the ship. In the fray that followed, Heracles slew Hippolyta, stripped her of the belt, fought off the attackers, and sailed away.

Adventure of Theseus edit

In the myth of Theseus, the hero joined Heracles in his expedition or went on a separate expedition later, and was the one who had the encounter with Hippolyta. Some versions say he abducted her, some that Heracles did the abducting but gave her to Theseus as spoils, and others say that she fell in love with Theseus and betrayed the Amazons by willingly leaving with him. In any case, she was taken to Athens where she was wed to Theseus. In some renditions, the other Amazons became enraged at the marriage and attacked Athens. This was the Attic War, in which they were defeated by Athenian forces under Theseus or Heracles. In other renditions, Theseus later put Hippolyta aside to marry Phaedra. So Hippolyta rallied her Amazons to attack the wedding ceremony. When the defenders closed the doors on the attackers, either Hippolyta was killed, Theseus directly killed her in the fight, she was accidentally killed by another Amazon, Molpadia, while fighting by Theseus' side, or was accidentally killed by her sister Penthesilea during this battle or in a separate incident. This killer was in turn slain by Theseus or Achilles. Some stories paint Theseus in a more favorable light, saying that Hippolyta was dead before he and Phaedra were wed, and this battle did not occur. Further complicating the narratives, several ancient writers say the Amazon in question was not Hippolyta at all, but her sister Antiope, Melanippe, or Glauce. Moreover, there are combined versions of the tale in which Heracles abducts and kills Hippolyta while Theseus, assisted by Sthenelus and Telamon, abducts and marries Antiope. There are also stories that Hippolyta or Antiope later bore Theseus a son, Hippolytus of Athens.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][2]

Shakespeare character edit

 
A wax sculpture of Hippolyta at Samsun.

In William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hippolyta is engaged to Theseus, the duke of Athens. In Act I, Scene 1 she and he discuss their fast-approaching wedding, which will take place under the new moon in four days (I.i.2). Theseus declares to Hippolyta that, although he "wooed her with his sword," he will wed her "with pomp, with triumph, and with revelling" and promises to begin a celebration that will continue until the wedding (I.i.19).

The characterization of Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream (as well as that of Theseus), like many other mytho-historical characters found in Shakespeare's plays, is based on ancient biographical accounts found in Plutarch's work Parallel Lives. In The Life of Theseus, according to Plutarch, it was Hippolyta who concluded a four month long war between Athens and the Amazons with a peace treaty, resulting in the marriage between Theseus and Hippolyta. The representation of Hippolyta and Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream appears to be the playwright's invention.

The character Hippolyta appears in The Two Noble Kinsmen, a play co-written by Shakespeare and John Fletcher.

Classical literature sources edit

Chronological listing of classical literature sources for Hippolyte's belt:

  • Homer, Iliad 2. 649 ff (trans. Murray) (Greek epic poetry C8th BC)
  • Euripides, Heracles Mad, 408 ff (trans. Coleridge) (Greek tragedy C5th BC)
  • Euripides, Ion, 1143 ff (trans. Way)
  • Euripides, Histories, 214 ff (trans. Coleridge)
  • Herodotus, Histories 4. 9-10 (trans. Godley) (Greek history C5th BC)
  • Herodotus, Historiae 4. 82
  • Apollonius Rhodius, The Argonautica 2. 750 ff (trans. Coleridge) (Greek epic poetry C3rd BC)
  • Apollonius Rhodius, The Argonautica 2. 777 ff
  • Apollonius Rhodius, The Argonautica 2. 966 ff
  • Lycophron, Alexandria 1327 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek epic poetry C3rd BC)
  • Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 2. 46. 3-4 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek history C1st BC)
  • Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 16. 1-4
  • Philippus of Thessalonica, The Twelve Labors of Hercules (The Greek Classics ed. Miller Vol 3 1909 p. 397) (Greek epigram C1st AD)
  • Seneca, Agamemnon 848 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st AD)
  • Seneca, Hercules Furens 245 ff (trans. Miller)
  • Seneca, Hercules Furens 542 ff
  • Seneca, Hercules Oetaeus 21 ff (trans. Miller)
  • Seneca, Hercules Oetaeus 1183 ff
  • Seneca, Hercules Oetaeus 1450 ff
  • Seneca, Hercules Oetaeus 1894 ff
  • Plutarch, Theseus 26 ff (trans. Perrin) (Greek history C1st to C2nd AD)
  • Pseudo-Apollodorus, The Library 2. 5. 9 (trans. Frazer) (Greek mythography C2nd AD)
  • Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 10. 9 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd AD)
  • Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 30 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythography C2nd AD)
  • Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 6. 240 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic poetry C4th AD)
  • Nonnus, Dionysiaca 25. 148 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic poetry C5th AD)
  • Nonnos, Dionysiaca 25. 242 ff
  • John Tzetzes, Chiliades or Book of Histories 2. 309 ff (trans. Untila et al.) (Grec-Byzantine history C12 AD)
  • Tzetzes, Chiliades or Book of Histories 2. 497 ff

References edit

  1. ^ a b Smith, William, ed. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company. p. 490. ark:/13960/t9f47mp93.
  2. ^ a b Hyginus, Fabulae, 30
  3. ^ Haynes, Natalie (2021-05-13). Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths. Picador. ISBN 978-1509873142.
  4. ^ Haynes, Natalie (2020-05-24). "Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics - Series 6 - Penthesilea, Amazon Warrior Queen - BBC Sounds". BBC. Retrieved 2021-09-18. The other thing that Amazons have are war belts. A war belt – the word in Greek is zoster and they are worn my men in the Iliad...The word for a woman's belt in Greek is zoneid, a different word.
  5. ^ Robert Graves (1955) The Greek Myths
  6. ^ From ῐ̔́ππος (híppos, “horse”) + λῠτός (lutós, “released, unleashed”). The latter element, found in names, derives from the verb λύω (lúō, "to unleash"). Compare the etymology of the masculine equivalent: Ἱππόλυτος.
  7. ^ "hippolytus - Origin and meaning of hippolytus by Online Etymology Dictionary". www.etymonline.com.
  8. ^ Euripides, Herakles, 408 sqq; Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, II. 777 sqq. and 966 sqq; Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, IV. 16; Ps.-Apollodorus, Bibliotheke, II. 5. 9; Pausanias, Hellados Periegesis, V. 10. 9; Quintus Smyrnaeus, Posthomerica, VI. 240 sqq; Hyginus, Fabulae, 30.
  9. ^ Isocrates, Orations, XII. 193
  10. ^ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, II. 46. 5, IV. 28 and 64
  11. ^ Ps.-Apollodorus, Bibliotheke, I. 16-17, V. 1-2
  12. ^ Seneca, Hippolytus, 927 sqq.
  13. ^ Plutarch, Theseus, 26-28
  14. ^ Pausanias, Hellados Periegesis, I. 2. 1, I. 15. 2, I. 41. 7, II. 32. 9, V. 11. 4 and 7
  15. ^ Quintus Smyrnaeus, Posthomerica, I. 18 sqq., 227 sqq., 538 sqq.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Hippolyta at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Queen of the Amazons Succeeded by

January 01, 1970
hippolyta, other, uses, hippolyte, disambiguation, greek, mythology, hippolyte, greek, Ἱππολύτη, hippolytē, daughter, ares, otrera, queen, amazons, sister, antiope, melanippe, wore, father, ares, zoster, greek, word, found, iliad, elsewhere, meaning, belt, som. For other uses see Hippolyte disambiguation In Greek mythology Hippolyta or Hippolyte 1 h ɪ ˈ p ɒ l ɪ t e Greek Ἱppolyth Hippolyte was a daughter of Ares and Otrera 2 queen of the Amazons and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe She wore her father Ares zoster the Greek word found in the Iliad and elsewhere meaning war belt 3 4 Some English translations prefer girdle 1 Hippolyta figures prominently in the myths of both Heracles and Theseus The myths about her are so varied it is thought that they may be about different women 5 The name Hippolyta translates as she who unleashes the horses deriving from two Greek roots meaning horse and let loose 6 7 HippolytaMember of the AmazonsHippolyta from Promptuarii Iconum InsigniorumArtifactsHippolyta s beltGenderFemalePersonal informationParentsAres father Otrera mother SiblingsAntiope sister Melanippe sister Penthesilea sister Contents 1 Legends 1 1 Ninth Labor of Heracles 1 2 Adventure of Theseus 2 Shakespeare character 3 Classical literature sources 4 References 5 External linksLegends edit nbsp Heracles Obtaining the Belt of Hyppolita by Nikolaus Knupfer Ninth Labor of Heracles edit In the myth of Heracles Hippolyta s belt zwstὴr Ἱppolyths zōstḗr Hippolytes was the object of his ninth labour He was sent to retrieve it for Admete the daughter of King Eurystheus 8 Most versions of the myth indicate that Hippolyta was so impressed with Heracles that she gave him the belt without argument perhaps while visiting him on his ship Then according to Apollodorus the goddess Hera making herself appear as one of the Amazons spread a rumour among them that Heracles and his crew were abducting their queen so the Amazons attacked the ship In the fray that followed Heracles slew Hippolyta stripped her of the belt fought off the attackers and sailed away Adventure of Theseus edit In the myth of Theseus the hero joined Heracles in his expedition or went on a separate expedition later and was the one who had the encounter with Hippolyta Some versions say he abducted her some that Heracles did the abducting but gave her to Theseus as spoils and others say that she fell in love with Theseus and betrayed the Amazons by willingly leaving with him In any case she was taken to Athens where she was wed to Theseus In some renditions the other Amazons became enraged at the marriage and attacked Athens This was the Attic War in which they were defeated by Athenian forces under Theseus or Heracles In other renditions Theseus later put Hippolyta aside to marry Phaedra So Hippolyta rallied her Amazons to attack the wedding ceremony When the defenders closed the doors on the attackers either Hippolyta was killed Theseus directly killed her in the fight she was accidentally killed by another Amazon Molpadia while fighting by Theseus side or was accidentally killed by her sister Penthesilea during this battle or in a separate incident This killer was in turn slain by Theseus or Achilles Some stories paint Theseus in a more favorable light saying that Hippolyta was dead before he and Phaedra were wed and this battle did not occur Further complicating the narratives several ancient writers say the Amazon in question was not Hippolyta at all but her sister Antiope Melanippe or Glauce Moreover there are combined versions of the tale in which Heracles abducts and kills Hippolyta while Theseus assisted by Sthenelus and Telamon abducts and marries Antiope There are also stories that Hippolyta or Antiope later bore Theseus a son Hippolytus of Athens 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 2 Shakespeare character edit nbsp A wax sculpture of Hippolyta at Samsun In William Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream Hippolyta is engaged to Theseus the duke of Athens In Act I Scene 1 she and he discuss their fast approaching wedding which will take place under the new moon in four days I i 2 Theseus declares to Hippolyta that although he wooed her with his sword he will wed her with pomp with triumph and with revelling and promises to begin a celebration that will continue until the wedding I i 19 The characterization of Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night s Dream as well as that of Theseus like many other mytho historical characters found in Shakespeare s plays is based on ancient biographical accounts found in Plutarch s work Parallel Lives In The Life of Theseus according to Plutarch it was Hippolyta who concluded a four month long war between Athens and the Amazons with a peace treaty resulting in the marriage between Theseus and Hippolyta The representation of Hippolyta and Theseus in A Midsummer Night s Dream appears to be the playwright s invention The character Hippolyta appears in The Two Noble Kinsmen a play co written by Shakespeare and John Fletcher Classical literature sources editChronological listing of classical literature sources for Hippolyte s belt Homer Iliad 2 649 ff trans Murray Greek epic poetry C8th BC Euripides Heracles Mad 408 ff trans Coleridge Greek tragedy C5th BC Euripides Ion 1143 ff trans Way Euripides Histories 214 ff trans Coleridge Herodotus Histories 4 9 10 trans Godley Greek history C5th BC Herodotus Historiae 4 82 Apollonius Rhodius The Argonautica 2 750 ff trans Coleridge Greek epic poetry C3rd BC Apollonius Rhodius The Argonautica 2 777 ff Apollonius Rhodius The Argonautica 2 966 ff Lycophron Alexandria 1327 ff trans Mair Greek epic poetry C3rd BC Diodorus Siculus Library of History 2 46 3 4 trans Oldfather Greek history C1st BC Diodorus Siculus Library of History 4 16 1 4 Philippus of Thessalonica The Twelve Labors of Hercules The Greek Classics ed Miller Vol 3 1909 p 397 Greek epigram C1st AD Seneca Agamemnon 848 ff trans Miller Roman tragedy C1st AD Seneca Hercules Furens 245 ff trans Miller Seneca Hercules Furens 542 ff Seneca Hercules Oetaeus 21 ff trans Miller Seneca Hercules Oetaeus 1183 ff Seneca Hercules Oetaeus 1450 ff Seneca Hercules Oetaeus 1894 ff Plutarch Theseus 26 ff trans Perrin Greek history C1st to C2nd AD Pseudo Apollodorus The Library 2 5 9 trans Frazer Greek mythography C2nd AD Pausanias Description of Greece 5 10 9 trans Jones Greek travelogue C2nd AD Pseudo Hyginus Fabulae 30 trans Grant Roman mythography C2nd AD Quintus Smyrnaeus Fall of Troy 6 240 ff trans Way Greek epic poetry C4th AD Nonnus Dionysiaca 25 148 ff trans Rouse Greek epic poetry C5th AD Nonnos Dionysiaca 25 242 ff John Tzetzes Chiliades or Book of Histories 2 309 ff trans Untila et al Grec Byzantine history C12 AD Tzetzes Chiliades or Book of Histories 2 497 ffReferences edit a b Smith William ed 1870 Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology Boston Little Brown and Company p 490 ark 13960 t9f47mp93 a b Hyginus Fabulae 30 Haynes Natalie 2021 05 13 Pandora s Jar Women in the Greek Myths Picador ISBN 978 1509873142 Haynes Natalie 2020 05 24 Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics Series 6 Penthesilea Amazon Warrior Queen BBC Sounds BBC Retrieved 2021 09 18 The other thing that Amazons have are war belts A war belt the word in Greek is zoster and they are worn my men in the Iliad The word for a woman s belt in Greek is zoneid a different word Robert Graves 1955 The Greek Myths From ῐ ppos hippos horse lῠtos lutos released unleashed The latter element found in names derives from the verb lyw luō to unleash Compare the etymology of the masculine equivalent Ἱppolytos hippolytus Origin and meaning of hippolytus by Online Etymology Dictionary www etymonline com Euripides Herakles 408 sqq Apollonius Rhodius Argonautica II 777 sqq and 966 sqq Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historica IV 16 Ps Apollodorus Bibliotheke II 5 9 Pausanias Hellados Periegesis V 10 9 Quintus Smyrnaeus Posthomerica VI 240 sqq Hyginus Fabulae 30 Isocrates Orations XII 193 Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historica II 46 5 IV 28 and 64 Ps Apollodorus Bibliotheke I 16 17 V 1 2 Seneca Hippolytus 927 sqq Plutarch Theseus 26 28 Pausanias Hellados Periegesis I 2 1 I 15 2 I 41 7 II 32 9 V 11 4 and 7 Quintus Smyrnaeus Posthomerica I 18 sqq 227 sqq 538 sqq External links edit nbsp Media related to Hippolyta at Wikimedia Commons Preceded byOtrera Queen of the Amazons Succeeded byPenthesilea Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hippolyta amp oldid 1219487088, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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