Euripides is one of the best-known playwrights of the classical scene. His plays were among the first of their kind and known for their novel use of staging and for pushing boundaries. Those who saw his plays knew they were in for a treat as soon as they arrived at the theater. However, for all his fans, Euripides was also hated by his peers for his depiction of the Greek gods. Often chastised for his portrayal of them as common and fickle. In the modern world, Euripides is both praised for his use of language, but hated by many scholars for his blatant misogyny towards women. In this article, I will show several examples of how Euripides demonstrated blatant sexism towards women, particularly in his play Hippolyta. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay First of all, we need to think about the time in which Hippolytus was written. Written in 428 BC, Greek society was organized into a patriarchy that supported the city-states into which Greece was divided. Women were considered second-class citizens and possessions, responsible for the destruction around them and only good for running the house. They were never allowed to own property and some could not leave the house without the permission of their husband or father. For this reason, the expected attitude was that women are inferior and are often made fun of in Greek theater. This can be seen in Aristophanes' Lysistrata. As discussed in class, one of the main reasons this play was considered a comedy is because it was considered fantastical. People at the time knew this would never happen. The idea of ​​women coming together and exercising their bodily autonomy was unheard of and therefore impossible. Once we determine the angles from which to view this play, we can clearly understand why this play is so problematic in its view of women. First, the play begins with Aphrodite, the goddess of love, upset because Hippolyta has decided to be single and worship Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. This brings us to the first example of sexism in this article. The idea that Aphrodite is so fickle and jealous is pretty stereotypical. What's worse is that men in 400 BC would have agreed with Euripides in this hypothesis that women are irrational and nagging when they don't get what they want. In fact, all of Hippolyta's suffering is caused by angry Aphrodite and therefore adds fuel to the already sexist fire. Due to Aphrodite's jealousy, she decides to make Phèdre, Hippolyte's stepmother, fall in love with him. Naturally, Phèdre is heartbroken because she knows it's wrong and tries to starve herself to death. In fact, when her nurse tries to help her, she swears she won't tell him so she can die with honor. Phaedra's life is entirely at the mercy of Aphrodite and she is quite powerless in the face of her desire. Euripides gives us here another example of misogyny. Phaedra is described as acting extravagantly and asks to die, saying, “Ah! could I draw a sip of pure water from some dew-fed spring, and lie down to rest in the grassy meadow, “in the shade of the poplars!” Indeed, she is described as crying and wishing for death on several occasions, with her nurse and assistants calling on her to retain her sanity. Instead of anyone realizing that Phaedra is under a spell, everyone around her is led to think that she is crazy, a belief.