Museums Borbonica | MANN | Catacombs | Capodimonte | Royal | Jago | Neapolis | Diocesano | Martino | C.Elmo | Zevallos | Floridiana | Filangeri | C.Nuovo | Aquarium | Natural H. | Archivio | Pignatelli | Madre
MANN Artworks | Schedule Tickets | Location | Authorizations
Artworks Sculptures | Frescoes | Eroticism
Frescoes Mythology | Portraits | Life Leisure | Animals | Religion | Landscapes | Decoration
Mythology Achilles | Aeneas | Alcestis | Alexander | Aphrodite | Apollo | Arianne | Artemis | Ceres | Chryseis | Cupid | Daedalus | Dionysus | Dirce | Endymion | Flora | Galatea | Ganymede | Graces | Hephaestus | Hercules | Io Argos | Iphigenia | Isis | Leda | Marsyas | Medea | Nereids | Niobids | Odysseus | Pan | Paris | Perseus | Phaedra | Phrixus | Pirithous | Saturn | Satyrs | Sophonisba | Theseus | Troy | Zeus
The frescoes depicting Phaedra and Hippolytus at the Archaeological Museum of Naples in Italy
Phaedra and the nurse, Pompeii, House of Jason
Phaedra and the Nurse Fresco – Water-based pigments on coating (130 × 102 cm)
20–25 AD
The scene perfectly illustrates the affection and trust that bound the two women together.
Phaedra was the daughter of King Minos and the sister of Ariadne.
She had been forced to leave Crete to become queen of Athens by marrying Theseus.
Phaedra turns her upper body, leaning against the back of the throne to draw closer to her nurse, who stands beside her in the manner of a confidante.
Phaedra and the Nurse The nurse holds the wax-coated diptych as she leans towards Phaedra, who is deep in thought, her hand raised as she holds the stylus, before writing her letter, likely intended for Hippolytus, with whom she is madly in love, rather than for her family.
The scene takes place at the foot of the majestic columns of a palace.
The size of the figures indicates their hierarchy:
Phaedra is larger than her nurse, who, in turn, is larger than the maid approaching from the right carrying a basket.
Phaedra on a throne and Hippolytus, Herculaneum
Fresco – Water-based pigments on coating (103 × 89 cm) 45–79 ADThis fresco depicts the beginning of a tragedy born of Phaedra’s ill-fated romantic passion for her stepson.
Before marrying Phaedra, Theseus had been married to Melanippe, an Amazon with whom he had a son, Hippolytus.
Phaedra on a throne and Hippolytus Hippolytus had inherited from his mother a love of horses and a passion for hunting, and showed little interest in the charms of women.
According to legend, the goddess of love, Aphrodite, wished to punish him for his contemptuous indifference by stirring up a fierce passion for him in Phaedra.
After offering herself to the handsome Hippolytus, who had rejected her, Phaedra took her revenge by accusing him of having attempted to rape her.
The scene takes place in Troezen, south of Epidaurus.
Hippolytus stands with dignity and proclaims his innocence in vain in the face of the accusations from the character standing beside Phaedra, who is seated, half-naked, turning her head away to show her utter indignation.
Hippolytus is about to leave the scene in his chariot drawn by his powerful horses.
Hippolytus was riding along the coast when his horses were startled by the monstrous waves caused by Poseidon, at Theseus’s request; they overturned his chariot and killed him by dragging him over the rocks.
Overcome with remorse, Phaedra committed suicide.
Mythology Achilles | Aeneas | Alcestis | Alexander | Aphrodite | Apollo | Arianne | Artemis | Ceres | Chryseis | Cupid | Daedalus | Dionysus | Dirce | Endymion | Flora | Galatea | Ganymede | Graces | Hephaestus | Hercules | Io Argos | Iphigenia | Isis | Leda | Marsyas | Medea | Nereids | Niobids | Odysseus | Pan | Paris | Perseus | Phaedra | Phrixus | Pirithous | Saturn | Satyrs | Sophonisba | Theseus | Troy | Zeus
Frescoes Mythology | Portraits | Life Leisure | Animals | Religion | Landscapes | Decoration
Artworks Sculptures | Frescoes | Eroticism
MANN Artworks | Schedule Tickets | Location | Authorizations
Museums Borbonica | MANN | Catacombs | Capodimonte | Royal | Jago | Neapolis | Diocesano | Martino | C.Elmo | Zevallos | Floridiana | Filangeri | C.Nuovo | Aquarium | Natural H. | Archivio | Pignatelli | Madre
Back to Top of Page