The Phaedra complex is primarily the sexual desire of a stepmother for her stepson, though the term has been extended to cover difficult relationships between step-parents and step-children in general.
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Origins
The complex takes its name from Greek mythology.
Phaedra was the daughter of Minos and Pasiphaƫ, wife of Theseus, sister of Ariadne, and the mother of Demophon of Athens and Acamas. Though married to Theseus, Phaedra fell in love with Hippolytus, Theseus' son born by either Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, or Antiope, her sister.
When Hippolytus refused Phaedra's advances, she falsely accused him of propositioning her. Phaedra eventually killed herself in remorse after his subsequent death.
Cultural analogues
Other use
French philosopher Georges Bataille used the same term in a very different sense to describe the morbid desire for a corpse.