Relationship between Greeks and Gods in Hippolytus Greek playwright Euripides' play Hippolytus explores classical Greek religion. Throughout the play, the influence of the gods on the characters' actions is evident, especially when Aphrodite influences Phaedra's actions. Also central to the plot are the God-to-God interactions between Artemis and Aphrodite. In this essay I hope to provide answers about how Hippolytus and Phaedra's actions relate to the gods, whether or not the characters care about the gods' reaction to their behavior, what the characters expect from the gods, how the gods treat humans . , and whether or not the gods gain anything from making humans suffer. Before we can discuss the work, however, some terms need to be defined. The most important thing would be the nature of the gods. They have divine powers, but what exactly makes the Greek gods unique should be explored. The Greek gods, because they are anthropomorphic, have many of the same characteristics as humans. An obvious characteristic of the gods is jealousy. Aphrodite appears to be jealous of Artemis because Hippolytus worships Artemis as the greatest of all deities, while he tends to shy away from the worship of Aphrodite (10-16). This is important because it sets the actions of the play in motion when Aphrodite decides to take revenge on Hippolytus. However, the divine relationship between the gods is slightly different. Throughout the play, Artemis does not interfere in Aphrodite's actions, which shows that the gods, although divine, have restrictions; in this case, it shows that the gods cannot interfere with each other. (1328-1330) The gods are sometimes evil and vengeful, though, as can be seen from what Artemis has to say about Aphrodite: "I will wait until she loves a mortal next time, and with this hand - with these unerring arrows I will punish him." ." (1420-1422)The relationship between humanity and the gods also needs to be discussed. This relationship seems to be a kind of give and take relationship, in part. The Greeks believed that if they gave to the gods, through prayers and sacrifices, the gods would help them. This is especially true of Hippolytus and his almost excessive veneration of Artemis. Furthermore, Theseus praying to his father Poseidon is just another example of this