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COMMENTARY ON HALPERIN

COMMENTARY ON HALPERIN Since David Halperin began his paper with a song about eros, it seems only right that I should do the same. I begin, then, with an ode sung by the Chorus in Euripides' Hippolytus, a play about a young man who believes that he can safely live without eros, and about his stepmother, who believes (or believed) that she could direct her erotic life in accordance with the judgments of practical reason. The young man, we already know, is not only wrong about what will happen, but also wrong with respect to his choices. Aphrodite has informed the audience that Hippolytus has committed impiety by dishonoring her and neglecting her worship. Since she is a powerful divinity who deserves worship, she is determined to bring Hippolytus down. As for Phaedra, she has been stricken with desire for her stepson. As she tells the women of the Chorus, good reasoning, and knowledge of what is right, have proven insufficient to remove or subdue her pas- sion. Reflecting on both of these cases, the Chorus sings a hymn to Eros: Eros, Eros, you who drip longing down upon these eyes, bringing sweet delight to the souls of those against whom http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy Online Brill

COMMENTARY ON HALPERIN

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright 1991 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1059-986X
eISSN
2213-4417
DOI
10.1163/2213441789X00063
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Since David Halperin began his paper with a song about eros, it seems only right that I should do the same. I begin, then, with an ode sung by the Chorus in Euripides' Hippolytus, a play about a young man who believes that he can safely live without eros, and about his stepmother, who believes (or believed) that she could direct her erotic life in accordance with the judgments of practical reason. The young man, we already know, is not only wrong about what will happen, but also wrong with respect to his choices. Aphrodite has informed the audience that Hippolytus has committed impiety by dishonoring her and neglecting her worship. Since she is a powerful divinity who deserves worship, she is determined to bring Hippolytus down. As for Phaedra, she has been stricken with desire for her stepson. As she tells the women of the Chorus, good reasoning, and knowledge of what is right, have proven insufficient to remove or subdue her pas- sion. Reflecting on both of these cases, the Chorus sings a hymn to Eros: Eros, Eros, you who drip longing down upon these eyes, bringing sweet delight to the souls of those against whom

Journal

Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy Online – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 1989

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