Phaedra
Fragmentary wall painting showing Phaedra with an attendant, probably her nurse. Phaedra was a daughter of Minos by Pasiphae or Crete, and the wife of Theseus. She was the stepmother of Hippolytus, the son of Theseus, and having fallen in love with him he repulsed her, whereupon she calumniated him before Theseus. After the death of Hippolytus, his innocence became known to his father, and Phaedra made away with herself. (Hom. Od. xi. 325 ;
Eurip. Hippol.),
The unlucky fate of Phaedra and Hippolytus was a mythical subject very appreciated by the ancient Romans, and inspired a huge number of artworks.
Roman wall-painting
About 20-60 AD
From Pompeii, Naples
London, The British Museum
Phaedra
Fragmentary wall painting showing Phaedra with an attendant, probably her nurse. Phaedra was a daughter of Minos by Pasiphae or Crete, and the wife of Theseus. She was the stepmother of Hippolytus, the son of Theseus, and having fallen in love with him he repulsed her, whereupon she calumniated him before Theseus. After the death of Hippolytus, his innocence became known to his father, and Phaedra made away with herself. (Hom. Od. xi. 325 ;
Eurip. Hippol.),
The unlucky fate of Phaedra and Hippolytus was a mythical subject very appreciated by the ancient Romans, and inspired a huge number of artworks.
Roman wall-painting
About 20-60 AD
From Pompeii, Naples
London, The British Museum