The Myth of Phaedra and Hippolytus
The unhappy love of Phaedra towards Hippolytus was carved several times on Roman sarcophagi. The sculptors represented this myth in two variants, both organized into two panels. The scene carved on the leftmost panel is always the same. It represents the main characters in their house: Phaedra with her nurse surrounded by some handmaids, and Hippolytus ready for the hunt. The two versions differ for the subject carved on the rightmost panel. This sarcophagus is an example of the first variant in which the heroic scene of wild boar hunting follows the domestic scene.
In more recent time the hunting scene is been substituted with a scene involving other characters and temporally and geographically distant from the previous one: the arrival of the delegation sent to Athens to inform Theseus about the death of his son Hippolytus, (2nd variant dating from 2nd half of III cent. AD.).
An archway divides the front panel of the sarcophagus into two halves. At the far left of the frieze sits the richly dressed Phaedra. Overcome by her longing for her handsome stepson, she has turned her head towards a female servant standing behind her; to her right another servant props her chin in her hand, either listening or thinking. The lovesick heroine is portrayed as a respectable and desirable woman of high social standing. Eros leaning on a torch at her feet, represents her desire for Hippolytus, who is preparing to depart for the hunt. He holds a spear or lance in his left hand and wears only a chlamys, and stands near his horse. His heroic body contrasts effectively with the flaccid, wrinkled skin of the old nurse behind him. She is holding out her left hand in entreaty or supplication, and has brought her right hand to her mouth in an ambiguous gesture. Two servants accompany Hippolytus: a younger man who carries a throwing-spear over his left shoulder, and an older one with a beard and ‘barbarian‘ features, who takes charge of two valuable hunting-dogs.
Beyond the wall limiting the domestic ambience, in the right half of the frieze, Hippolytus is engaged in his favorite activity: the hunting. Riding his horse, he is about to throw his spear against a wild boar suddenly came out from the trees. One of his dogs has already bitten a leg of the beast. Hippolytus is accompanied by a man riding beside him, and by a woman dressed as an Amazon. This female character is “Virtus”, the goddess who personifies the value and the strength of the warrior.
Source: Zanker P. & Ewald BC., “Vivere con i Miti. L’iconografia dei sarcogagi Romani”
Marble sarcophagus
L. 211 cm.; H. 55 cm.
Early 3rd century AD
Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi
The Myth of Phaedra and Hippolytus
The unhappy love of Phaedra towards Hippolytus was carved several times on Roman sarcophagi. The sculptors represented this myth in two variants, both organized into two panels. The scene carved on the leftmost panel is always the same. It represents the main characters in their house: Phaedra with her nurse surrounded by some handmaids, and Hippolytus ready for the hunt. The two versions differ for the subject carved on the rightmost panel. This sarcophagus is an example of the first variant in which the heroic scene of wild boar hunting follows the domestic scene.
In more recent time the hunting scene is been substituted with a scene involving other characters and temporally and geographically distant from the previous one: the arrival of the delegation sent to Athens to inform Theseus about the death of his son Hippolytus, (2nd variant dating from 2nd half of III cent. AD.).
An archway divides the front panel of the sarcophagus into two halves. At the far left of the frieze sits the richly dressed Phaedra. Overcome by her longing for her handsome stepson, she has turned her head towards a female servant standing behind her; to her right another servant props her chin in her hand, either listening or thinking. The lovesick heroine is portrayed as a respectable and desirable woman of high social standing. Eros leaning on a torch at her feet, represents her desire for Hippolytus, who is preparing to depart for the hunt. He holds a spear or lance in his left hand and wears only a chlamys, and stands near his horse. His heroic body contrasts effectively with the flaccid, wrinkled skin of the old nurse behind him. She is holding out her left hand in entreaty or supplication, and has brought her right hand to her mouth in an ambiguous gesture. Two servants accompany Hippolytus: a younger man who carries a throwing-spear over his left shoulder, and an older one with a beard and ‘barbarian‘ features, who takes charge of two valuable hunting-dogs.
Beyond the wall limiting the domestic ambience, in the right half of the frieze, Hippolytus is engaged in his favorite activity: the hunting. Riding his horse, he is about to throw his spear against a wild boar suddenly came out from the trees. One of his dogs has already bitten a leg of the beast. Hippolytus is accompanied by a man riding beside him, and by a woman dressed as an Amazon. This female character is “Virtus”, the goddess who personifies the value and the strength of the warrior.
Source: Zanker P. & Ewald BC., “Vivere con i Miti. L’iconografia dei sarcogagi Romani”
Marble sarcophagus
L. 211 cm.; H. 55 cm.
Early 3rd century AD
Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi