The myth of Phaedra is one of the most powerful in all of classical mythology.As dramatized by the French playwright Jean Racine 163999 the dying Oueensobsessiv... » 

The myth of Phaedra is one of the most powerful in all of classical mythology.As dramatized by the French playwright Jean Racine 163999 the dying Oueensobsessive love for her stepson Hippolytus and the scrupulously uprightHippolytus love for the forbidden beauty Aricia has come to be known as one ofthe great stories of tragic infatuation a tale of love strong enough to bringdown a kingdom.In this tough unrhyming avalanche of a translation Paul Taylor TheIndependent Hughes replaces Racines alexandrines with an English verse thatserves eloquently to convey the passions of his protagonists. The translationwas performed to acclaim in London in 1998 and the London production starringDiana Rigg was staged in 1999 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. «