Access
You are not currently logged in.
Access your personal account or get JSTOR access through your library or other institution:
If You Use a Screen Reader
This content is available through Read Online (Free) program, which relies on page scans. Since scans are not currently available to screen readers, please contact JSTOR User Support for access. We'll provide a PDF copy for your screen reader.
Phaedra's Defixio: Scripting Sophrosune in Euripides' Hippolytus
Melissa Mueller
Classical Antiquity
Vol. 30, No. 1 (April 2011), pp. 148-177
Published by: University of California Press
DOI: 10.1525/ca.2011.30.1.148
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/ca.2011.30.1.148
Page Count: 30
- Item Type
- Article
- Thumbnails
- References
Since scans are not currently available to screen readers, please contact JSTOR User Support for access. We'll provide a PDF copy for your screen reader.
Abstract
While readers of Euripides' Hippolytus have long regarded Phaedra's deltos as a mechanism of punitive revenge, I argue here that the tablet models itself on a judicial curse (defixio) and that its main function is to ensure victory for Phaedra in the upcoming “trial” over her reputation. In support of my thesis I examine three interrelated phenomena: first, Hippolytus' infamous assertion that his tongue swore an oath while his mind remains unsworn (612); second, Phaedra's status as a biaiothanatos; and third, Phaedra's claim that Hippolytus “will learn sophrosune” (731), a speech act that, I conclude, anticipates the silencing effect on Hippolytus of Phaedra's death and her writing.
Page Thumbnails
-
148
-
149
-
150
-
151
-
152
-
153
-
154
-
155
-
156
-
157
-
158
-
159
-
160
-
161
-
162
-
163
-
164
-
165
-
166
-
167
-
168
-
169
-
170
-
171
-
172
-
173
-
174
-
175
-
176
-
177
Classical Antiquity