Phaedra (mythology)

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Phaedra
Queen of Athens
Member of the Crete Royal Family
Abode	Crete, later Athens
Personal information
Parents	Minos and Pasiphae or Crete
Siblings	Catreus, Ariadne, Androgeus, Xenodice, Acacallis, Glaucus and Deucalion; the Minotaur
Consort	Theseus
Offspring	Acamas and Demophon

In Greek mythology, Phaedra /ˈfiːdrə, ˈfɛdrə/ (Ancient Greek: Φαίδρα, Phaidra) (or Fedra) was a Cretan princess. Her name derives from the Greek word φαιδρός (phaidros), which means "bright". According to legend, she was the daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, and the wife of Theseus. Phaedra fell in love with her stepson Hippolytus. After he rejected her advances, she accused him of trying to rape her, causing Theseus to pray to Poseidon to kill Hippolytus (which Poseidon does), and then she killed herself.

The story of Phaedra is told in Euripides' play Hippolytus, Seneca the Younger's Phaedra, and Ovid's Heroides. It has inspired many modern works of art and literature, including a play by Jean Racine.