Hippolytus Lesson Plan

With the appearance of Artemis, the theme of gods vs. mortals is developed further. Why was Aphrodite allowed to cause all this destruction? What does Artemis plan to do? How does she treat Hippolytus, who devoted his life to her? What is Euripides’ view of the relationship between god and mortals by the end of the play?

The relationship between gods and mortals is very one-sided, according to Euripides. Mortals worship the gods, but the gods treat mortals with cruel indifference. According to Artemis, the gods never interfere with each other (“no one is willing to oppose the desire of whoever wants something”). Meanwhile, Artemis plans to destroy another innocent mortal...