Editing Hippolyta (section)

== Shakespeare character ==
[[File:Hippolyte wax.jpg|upright|thumb|A wax sculpture of Hippolyta at [[Samsun]]]]
In [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', Hippolyta is engaged to Theseus, the duke of Athens. In Act I, Scene 1, Theseus and Hippolyta discuss their fast-approaching wedding, which will take place under the new moon in four days (I.i.2). Theseus declares to Hippolyta that, although he "wooed her with his sword," he will wed her "with pomp, with triumph, and with revelling" and promises to begin a celebration that will continue until the wedding (I.i.19).

The characterization of Hippolyta in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (as well as that of Theseus), like many other mytho-historical characters found in Shakespeare's plays, is based on ancient biographical accounts found in [[Plutarch]]'s work ''[[Parallel Lives]]''. In ''The Life of Theseus'', according to Plutarch, it was Hippolyta who concluded a four month long war between Athens and the Amazons with a peace treaty, resulting in the marriage between Theseus and Hippolyta. The representation of Hippolyta and Theseus in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' appears to be the playwright's invention.

The character Hippolyta appears in ''[[The Two Noble Kinsmen]]'', a play co-written by Shakespeare and [[John Fletcher (playwright)|John Fletcher]].