Phaedra, wife of the King of Athens Theseus, is in love with his son Hippolytus. The young man, a descendant of the Queen of the Amazons, is attracted by the innocence of the nature and detaches from family ties, rejects the offer of Phaedra, who meditate a fierce revenge on the unsuspecting Theseus. The tragedy ends up with the violent death of Hippolytus and Phaedra's suicide.