Phaedra (mythology)

Phaedra is a lady in a very old story, kind of like a fairy tale. She was married to a brave and handsome man named Theseus. But one day, Phaedra fell in love with Theseus' son, Hippolytus. This made her feel very sad because she knew it was wrong to love her stepson.

Phaedra felt so ashamed of her feelings that she kept them a secret. She thought that nobody would ever know about her love for Hippolytus. But one day, Theseus went away on a trip and Phaedra saw her chance to tell Hippolytus how she felt.

But when she told him, Hippolytus was very upset and told her that it was very wrong to love someone who is not his mother. He refused her love and left her alone crying.

After that, Phaedra felt so ashamed and sad that she decided she could not live anymore. She wrote a letter to Theseus telling him that his son had tried to trick her into sleeping with him. He also said that she could not take the shame and that she was going to end her life.

When Theseus read the letter, he was so angry and sad that he cursed his son and asked Neptune (a powerful god) to kill him. Neptune did what Theseus asked and Hippolytus died.

So, Phaedra's love for her stepson caused a lot of problems and ended up hurting everyone involved.