Phaedra is an ancient Greek name meaning “the beautiful, the bright, the shiny me”. Phaedra was daughter of king Minos and queen Pasiphae, young sister of Ariadne. She married Theseus, king of Athens and bore him two sons: Acamas & Demophon.
The couple lived as king and queen of Athens. Though married to Theseus, Phaedra fell in love with Hippolytus, Theseus' son born by Antiope, queen of the Amazons. According to some sources, Hippolytus had spurned Aphrodite to become a devotee of Artemis and Aphrodite made Phaedra fall in love with him as a punishment. He rejected her. Alternatively, Phaedra's nurse told Hippolytus of her love, and he swore he would not reveal her as a source of information. In revenge, Phaedra wrote Theseus a letter that claimed Hippolytus raped her. Theseus believed her and cursed Hippolytus with one of the three curses he had received from Poseidon. As a result, Hippolytus' horses were frightened by a sea monster and dragged their rider to his death. Alternatively, after Phaedra told Theseus that Hippolytus had raped her, Theseus killed his son and Phaedra committed suicide out of guilt for she had not intended for Hippolytus to die. Artemis later told Theseus the truth. In a third version, Phaedra simply told Theseus this and did not kill herself; Dionysus sent a wild bull which terrified Hippolytus' horses.