Introduction
Phaedra was a Cretan princess, sister of Ariadne, given in marriage to Theseus after Ariadne's abandonment on Naxos.
Family
- Spouse: Theseus (married)
A Tragic Marriage
Phaedra developed an overwhelming, unwanted passion for her stepson Hippolytus, Theseus's son by the Amazon Hippolyta. When he rejected her, she falsely accused him of assaulting her and took her own life; Theseus, believing the accusation, cursed his son, who was then killed by a monster sent by Poseidon. The story became one of the most influential tragic plots in Greek drama.
As with all figures of Greek heroic legend, sources diverge on many particulars; the account above follows the most widely transmitted classical tradition.