Phaedra is a Greek mythological name meaning "bright" or "radiant."
Phaedra (also spelled Phèdre or Fedra) is one of the great tragic names of the ancient world, drawn from the Greek phaidros meaning bright or shining. In Greek mythology, Phaedra was the daughter of King Minos of Crete and Queen Pasiphaë, and sister to Ariadne — placing her at the very center of the Cretan mythological cycle. She married the Athenian hero Theseus, but became consumed by a forbidden passion for her stepson Hippolytus, a devotee of the chaste goddess Artemis.
When Hippolytus rebuffed her, Phaedra accused him falsely to Theseus, who called down the wrath of Poseidon upon his son. Hippolytus died, and Phaedra, overwhelmed by guilt, took her own life. This story of desire, shame, and catastrophic consequence became one of the most enduring in Western literature.
Euripides wrote two versions of the myth (only Hippolytus survives complete), Seneca dramatized it in Rome, and Jean Racine's Phèdre of 1677 is widely considered the masterpiece of French classical tragedy — a text still performed and studied as one of the supreme achievements of dramatic literature. Sarah Bernhardt's portrayal of Phèdre became legendary, and the role remains a defining test for classical actresses. In the twentieth century, playwright Sarah Kane and others returned to the myth, and the name Phaedra has since entered the cultural lexicon as shorthand for consuming, forbidden love. As a given name today, Phaedra is genuinely rare, chosen by parents drawn to its mythological depth, its musical sound, and its shining etymology — a reminder that even names carrying tragic stories carry brightness at their root.