Hippolytus and Dante Parallels

So we read part of Canto XVII of Dante's Paradiso in class last week, and I just wanted to point out again the part where Dante writes,

"From Athens as Hippolytus took flight,
Driven by his cruel step-dame's treacherous lies,
So to thy Florence thou must bid good night."
(lines 46-48)

I think this reference is pretty interesting and clever.  Hippolytus was the son of Theseus and the Amazon Hippolyte.  Theseus' wife, Phaedra, was in love/lust with Hippolytus (her step-son).  According to Euripides' play, Aphrodite becomes angry because Hippolytus has pledged himself to the Artemis (goddess of the hunt and of chastity) rather than Aphrodite.  Aphrodite thus plans her revenge and makes Phaedra fall in love with him.

People have begun to notice that Phaedra looks ill.  Phaedra finally confesses to her nurse that she is in love with Hippolytus.  She plans to starve herself to death in order to die honorably.  Though the nurse is initially shocked, she attempts to fix the problem.  She swears Hippolytus to secrecy and then tells him about Phaedra's love for him.  Hippolytus becomes angry and threatens to tell Theseus upon his father's return.  Phaedra then hangs himself.  Theseus comes back to find his wife dead.  The chorus can't tell Theseus the truth because they also were sworn to secrecy.  Theseus finds a letter on Phaedra's body that says she was raped by Hippolytus, so Theseus curses his son (invoking Poseidon).  Hippolytus tries to tell his father that he is innocent, but he can't explain why, since he is under oath not to tell.  Theseus then exiles him.

A messenger comes to Theseus and tells him that as Hippolytus was leaving in his chariot, a bull came out of the sea and scared the horses, and so Hippolytus' chariot was crushed among the rocks, with Hippolytus dragged behind.  The messenger says Hippolytus is innocent; Theseus doesn't believe him, and instead apparently pleased with his son's suffering and impending death.

Finally, the goddess Artemis appears to Theseus.  Furious, she explains that Phaedra had lied, once more reiterating Hippolytus' innocence.  Theseus is horrified; Hippolytus is brought in on the brink of death, but he forgives his father.  Soon after, he dies.  Pretty sad.

I think the reference is clever because Dante is comparing himself to another innocent, similarly accused and wronged man.  Both were unfairly exiled for crimes they didn't commit (Boniface VIII claimed that Dante was financially corrupt during his time as city prior of Florence).

Another reason why this reference is interesting is that there are clear parallels to Joseph and the wife of Potiphar (from the Bible).  Potiphar's wife attempts to seduce Joseph, but when he refuses, she claims he attempted to rape her, and Joseph is punished and put into prison.

Yet another example of how Dante subtly synthesizes the classical and the Christian!