The mythology of ancient Greece has provided a mass of source material for poets, novelists, and playwrights over the centuries, and often the writer will look back to the mythological stories and alter them to fit his or her own contemporary interests, to emphasize a different theme, or to make emendations as he or she may feel a need for change. The story of Phaedra is treated in one way by the playwright Racine in Phaedra from the seventeenth century. The Racine version is based in large part on the Hippolytus of Euripides, though a version by Seneca should also be cited as a source for the Racine play. Both versions have their own take on the original myth.
That myth tells of how Phaedra, the wife of King Theseus, fell in love with Hippolytus, her stepson. She makes her passion known to the young man, and he rejects her. She then revenges herself on him by accusing him of dishonoring her, and this leads to the death of both the young man and Phaedra. Racine uses most of the story from the myth, though he gives that story a somewhat different emphasis as he explores the tragedy of Phaedra and her personality and her obsession.
Racine tells this story in the same general manner as it was originally expounded, as a myth rather than a story from his own time. His Phaedra was first produced in 1677, and it retained both the mythology and the supernatural element. The supernatural element is seen in the monster raised from the deep to answer the prayers of Theseus, perhaps with Neptune guiding the horses. The story has elements of incest in spite of the fact that it is not incest as such being committed because Phaedra and Hippolytus are not related by blood. Marriage between a man and his stepmother was still forbidden both in ancient law and by the Church in Racine's time. At the beginning of the play, Hippolytus is already unhappy at the presence of Phaedra in the kingdom--he says that the happy times of the past ar...