Phaedra

Phae·dra
P3H4A1E1D2R1A1
/ˈfiːdɹə/

proper noun

The wife of Theseus, who falls in love with but is spurned by her stepson Hippolytus, then commits suicide, but is the cause of his later death (details vary between versions).

OriginLatin Phaedra ← Ancient Greek Φαίδρᾱ →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. Greekhuman sciencesThe wife of Theseus, who falls in love with but is spurned by her stepson Hippolytus, then commits suicide, but is the cause of his later death (details vary between versions).

    We notice that Racine's Phaedra, like Euripides', displays high moral dignity because she considers her passion for Hippolytus to be abominable.

    1981, Normand Berlin, The Secret Cause: A Discussion of Tragedy, page 46
    2 more examples

    Why did Seneca decide to postpone his own Phaedra’s suicide until after Hippolytus' death? The question is by no means as futile as it may sound.

    1993, Albert S. Gérard, The Phaedra Syndrome: Of Shame and Guilt in Drama, page 20

    I may add that the notion that Aphrodite is especially cruel because she destroyed Phaedra, who was an innocent victim, since she had no choice, is not a perception that would have been shared by the ancient audience. Not only is it at the very least arguable—in fact likely—that in ancient eyes Phaedra did have a choice,¹⁶⁶ but also the very notions "innocent victim since she had no choice" and "cruel because destroying an innocent victim" are unstable cultural concepts.

    2003, Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood, Tragedy and Athenian Religion, page 331
  2. rareA female given name from Ancient Greek.
  3. astronomyThe asteroid 174 Phaedra.

Origin

  1. Ancient GreekΦαίδρᾱ
  2. LatinPhaedra
  3. EnglishPhaedra

From Latin Phaedra, from Ancient Greek Φαίδρᾱ (Phaídrā). The myth has been retold several times, in plays (in classical times in Euripides's Hippolytus and Seneca the Younger's Phaedra, later in Racine's Phèdre), and more recently in other media.

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Esperanto Fedra
  • Fedrawife of Theseus
French Phèdre
  • Phèdrewife of Theseus

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

raphead
Cite this entry
APA

Phaedra. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Phaedra

MLA

“Phaedra.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Phaedra. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Phaedra,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Phaedra.

Source: Phaedra on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.