In Greek mythology, Hippolytus (Greek:Ἱππόλυτος meaning "unleasher of horses") was a son of Theseus and either Antiope or Hippolyte. He was identified with the Roman forest god Virbius.

The most common legend regarding Hippolytus states that he was killed after rejecting the advances of Phaedra, his stepmother, the second wife of Theseus. Spurned, Phaedra deceived Theseus saying that his son had raped her. Theseus, furious, used one of the three wishes given to him by Poseidon to curse Hippolytus. Poseidon sent a sea-monster—or, alternatively, Dionysus sent a wild bull—to terrorize Hippolytus's horses, who dragged their rider to his death.