The Perception of the Body in Euripides’ Hippolytus
Abstract
The Hippolytus introduces an original erotological pattern: its protagonist incarnates the purity of the body and soul alike, the two ideals functioning indistinctively and inter-reflectively. An existence deprived of overt sexuality violates the idea of the middle path, ubiquitous in the Hellenic cultural space. It challenges the procreation principle and frames a pretty distinctive form of sensuality. The alienation of sexual desire is not an accidental feature of Hippolytus’ character: on the contrary, it comes as a consequence of the idealized spiritual, ethical and corporeal flawlessness, paired with a supra-corporeal devotion to Artemis, a flawless goddess who reveals herself as “a divinely scented gulp of air”, θεῖονὀδμῆςπνεῦμα (v. 1392). Although her presence is limited to olfactory and auditory sensations, the mortal youth establishes a life-lasting relationship with the Olympian goddess. Euripides thus creates a peculiar vision of veiled sexuality and a new aspect of love, which we hope to shed light on in this paper.
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