Tragic Drama: Hippolytus and Phaedra

We will be reading Euripides' Hippolytus carefully in Ancient Greek, alongside ancient and modern works treating the story of Hippolytus and Phaedra. The myth and Euripides' play raise questions of gender, sexuality, identity, theology, and politics, and we will investigate these themes both in the context of fifth-century Athens and in later ages that have responded to the story (including our own). Students will complete final projects examining another version, adaptation, or performance, and the course will include film viewings and/or theater visits to the extent possible.