Sexual morality in context: pudicitia and αἰδώς in public and private spaces in Euripides’ Hippolytus and Ovid’s Heroides 4

Abstract

The complexities of human morality have been problematized and developed in the literature of all time. The sexual behaviour is, of course, an issue that has not been ignored and, although moral sexuality focuses on woman’s attitude, men play an important role as well: the myth of Hippolytus and Phaedra is one of the most notable exempla of masculine chastity. In this paper, we analyse the representations about Phaedra’s and Hippolytus’ sexual behaviour in Euripides’ Hippolytus and Ovid’s Heroides 4. To do this, we confront the conceptions about sexual morality in Greek and Latin cultures, and the corresponding lexemes related to this topic in both languages (pudicitia and pudor in Latin, αἰδώς, ἁγνός and σωφροσύνη in Greek). Subsequently, we consider the enunciation and action spaces of the characters, and the problematization of the possible consequences of making public private actions.