My opinions changed by the ending because it took a huge turn. At the start, Hippolytus seemed to be a problem in general and did not have any great value for him. Also, Phaedra came off to me as pleasing and the complete opposite of Hippolytus. Phedra had all this guilt to her and it seemed as if she did not need that because of the way she was portrayed. As the story went on, it switched. I gasped when I saw that Hippolytus was being honest. Phaedra lied and tried to keep her glory. Hippolytus did not deserve what he got because he was doing what he felt was right. He suffered under a goddess even though he was doing what he believed in. I respect that and have little to no respect for Phaedra.
Artemis
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I personally feel very bad for Hippolytus by the end of the story. In the beginning, I saw Hippolytus as this terrible child whom cause more issues that he was worth. I though Phaedra was a great person and what happened to her and her guilt was undeserved. Now that I know what really happened I have completely changed my opinion of the story. When it turned out that Hippolytus was really telling the truth and Phaedra lied to protect her reputation, I couldn't help but feel that Phaedra got what she deserved and Hippolytus should have been treated better, and Theseus should have listened to his son.
Through the first half of the play, Hippolytus is annoying and self-righteous. The way he reacts to the Nurse telling him about Phaedra's desire for him seems way too dramatic. In the second half of the play, his portrayal is different. He seems to be more of just a very pious man who is trying his best to please Artemis. The way the Messenger defends him by saying he wouldn't not believe Hippolytus was evil "even if the entire race of women hang themselves and write all over Ida's pine forest," is a powerful defense for Hippolytus. It speaks to his character and nobility. The conclusion of the play makes the reader sympathetic for Hippolytus. Even though his father cursed him and he is now on the verge of death because of it, he still finds it in his heart to forgive him. He was doing what he thought was right and got caught in the wrath of a goddess.
I think in this play, we really see how a lot of Greeks viewed love as a bad thing. Phaedra says that Eros wounds her, which causes pain. She also calls love a disease. You can also see the misogyny in the Greek world, when Phaedra says "...because I am a woman, I am an object of everyone's hatred." which I think is reflected a lot in Antigone Rising.
In Hippolytus, there is much talk of women, their troubles, their faults, and their roles. The title character reveals himself to be a raging misogynist, yet contradicts himself in his admiration of Artemis. On the one hand, Hippolytus praises Artemis, calling her the “most beautiful of all maidens” (lines 64-65), but on the other hand, when he is enraged at his stepmother Phaedra, makes broad statements about women as a species, coining the phrase “this blight on human existence: women” (lines 617-618) and saying “May I never have a woman in my house who thinks more deeply than a woman should,” (lines 640-643). But at the same time, this misogyny reveals a characteristic of Hippolytus’ attraction to Artemis. Like Artemis, Hippolytus is abstinent, which we know from the beginning of the play is not only abnormal but hated by Aphrodite, so much so that she forces Phaedra to lust after Hippolytus, which is the ultimate premise of him revealing such misogyny. The whole situation also brings up a thought about Artemis; perhaps Artemis herself identifies first and foremost as a huntress, and then (or perhaps not at all) as a woman. Artemis is devoted to breaking the expectations on women at the time and will forever remain chaste and thoroughly opposed to sex, so much so that in Metamorphoses, we see her cast out a follower who was raped. She makes no exception when it comes to sex and perhaps this is why she and Hippolytus get along. Perhaps there is some sort of misogyny in Artemis, not in the cultural sense of the word, but in its literal meaning coming from the Greek "hatred of woman" as we can see through her resistance to anything characteristic to women- marriage, sex, and fragility.
In this chapter of Antigone Rising, the author mentioned that Diana asked Jupiter if she could be a virgin goddess and use a bow and arrow as her weapons, as well as a couple other things. I found this interesting, as Diana is often depicted as subverting patriarchal roles and stereotypes, however, here she asks her father permission for her activities. It made me think about whether in greek myth Diana was actually seen as opposing these values or whether that is something modern ideas have thrust upon her. She was surrounded by strong women, but I wonder whether that was simply because she was a virgin godess or whether it was because she believed in "girl power".
I absolutely LOVED reading this chapter of Antigone Rising. It had a nice connection to the modern world as well as going back in history with the background information on the statues. I found it interesting that nobody was allowed to see Artemis nude, even though nudity was more accepted. It shows her power because it was usually masculine, and it confuses me why shouldn't allow that.