Free Will Versus Control in Phaedra’s Outburst and the Nurse’s Rebuttal in Euripides’ Hippolytus (373- 480) In ancient Greek culture, it was believed that humans were in control of their own destinies and actions despite being subject to the whims of the gods. However in Euripides’ Hippolytus this belief is shown in a contradictory light, especially concerning the character Phaedra, for she lacks free will, due to Aphrodite using her as a pawn in her plan to kill Hippolytus. Though Phaedra refuses to speak of this affliction, lest her reputation be called into question, she experiences an incident where her Nurse’s prying into her degenerative state leads to an outburst. This outburst, and the subsequent conversation, serves not only to reveal critical background information on Phaedra’s character, but also outlines key themes that sheds doubt on the belief that humans are in control of themselves. The Nurse discusses the nature of free will and how it is viewed in Greek culture. In Phaedra’s outburst, she outlines the steps she took in her attempt to achieve sophrosune in order to control her passion. As well, Phaedra and the Nurse discuss the nature of divine control and the technique Aphrodite uses to control people.
The Nurse’s rebuttal to Phaedra’s outburst reveals that free will is useless when pitted against a god. In her speech directly after Phaedra’s outburst, the Nurse outlines the method Aphrodite uses when interacting with humans: “She goes gently after the one who yields, but whomever she finds thinking extravagant and proud thoughts, she takes him and you can’t imagine how badly she treats him” (Euripides 444-447).
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This portrayal of how Aphrodite uses her power over passion directly conflicts with the very idea of free will. Free will is, by definition, the power to make one’s own decisions unconstrained by external forces (Free Dictionary) and this portrayal shows that Aphrodite is interfering with Phaedra’s free will and acting as an external force on her decisions. The single act of giving Phaedra the overwhelming passion creates a domino effect, in which all her decisions until her death are affected by this passion. This use of Aphrodite’s timé shows that despite having some control over their lives, ancient Greeks could not be in complete control because of the gods’ influence. In a vain attempt, Phaedra tries to hide her newfound passion through the practice of sophrosune.
She formulated a plan to master her emotions, which eventually failed: When passion wounded me, I started to consider how/ I might bear it. So I began with this, / to keep quiet about this disease and concealed it; /… Secondly, I took care to bear the folly well,/ trying to subdue it with moderation./ And third, when I couldn’t manage/ to master Cypris in these ways, it seemed good to die,/ the best plan. (Euripides 391-402) The concept of free will is shown to be violated in the explanation of Phaedra’s plan because she is no longer able to exercise control over herself anymore. If she were in control of herself she would be able to keep her feelings of passion to herself, by way of silence, and just never mention it to anyone. However this is not the case and this passion becomes so overwhelming that she feels she must kill herself to stop herself from violating her marriage (Halleran 281).
Aphrodite is considered one of the most powerful goddesses in mythology, despite her only being able to control her own timé of sexuality (Buxton 69).
This means that Aphrodite is not able openly control someone’s actions. However she still manages to control the situation:“Cypris goes through the air/ and is in the swell of the sea, everything is born from her;/ she is the one who sows and gives desire” (Euripides 447-449) She maintains her control over the events of the play by way of manipulation of Phaedra’s passion. She places Phaedra in a position where she would have no choice but to tell of her affliction. This leads to Hippolytus finding out and his outburst of misogyny. It was because her passion was so strong for Hippolytus that Phaedra was so devastated, devastated enough to leave that suicide note that seals Hippolytus’ fate. Phaedra’s conversation with the Nurse is used to show the delicate balance between free will and control, as well outline the nature of sophrosune. These themes, in relation to Phaedra’s situation, raise an important question about free will in general. In a divinely controlled universe, where gods can exert their influence over lesser beings, and no amount of self-restraint can change the outcome, is free will even possible? There are a lot of conflicting theories about free will in Hippolytus alone, and it is quite a complex question that may have no definitive answer. However based on the case of Phaedra, it can be seen that if there is free will in a divine universe, said divinities have no qualms taking it away when it suits their needs.
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Works Cited
Buxton, Richard. The Complete World of Greek Mythology. New York: Thames and Hudson LTD, 2004. Print Euripides. Hippolytus. Trans. Michael Halleran. Newburyport: Focus Classical Library, 2004. Print “Free Will.” The Free Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Company. Web. 17 Oct 2011. <http://www.thefreedictionary.com/free+will>. Halleran, Michael. The Hippolytus: An Interpretation. E.d Stephen Esposito. Newburyport: Focus Classical Library, 2004. Print Further Reading
Alternate translation
Euripides. Hippolytus. Trans. Sophie Mills. London: Duckworth, 2002. Print Scholarly Book
Luschnig, C.A.E. Time holds the Mirror: a study of knowledge in Euripides’ Hippolytus. New York: E.J. Brill, 1988. Print. Scholarly Articles
Mueller, Melissa. “Phaedra’s Defixio: Scripting Sophrosune in Euripides’ Hippolytus. Classical Antiquity. (2011) Macintosh, F. Things are seldom what they seem!. Classical Review . (2000) Helpful Website
http://classics.uc.edu/~johnson/tragedy/hippolytus.html
This website helped me better understand Hippolytus because it gives background information on the characters pasts, such as Phaedra’s family, and it gives an overview of themes found in the play.
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