Alcestis is one of the earliest surviving works of the Greek
playwright Euripides. The play was probably first produced
at the Dionysia in the year 438 BC, well into the author's
career. It is sometimes characterized as a satyr play and sometimes as a melodrama.
The Set-Up
Long before the start of the play, King Admetus was granted by the Fates the privilege of
living past the allotted time of his death. The Fates were persuaded by the god Apollo (who got
them drunk). This unusual bargain was struck after Apollo was exiled from Olympus for nine
years and spent the time in the service of the Thessalian king, a man renowned for his hospitality and by whom Apollo was treated well. The gift, however, comes with a price: Admetus must find
someone to take his place when Death comes to claim him.
The time of Admetus' death comes, and he still has not found a willing replacement. His father, Pheres, is unwilling to step
in and thinks it is ludicrous that he should be asked to give up the life he enjoys so much as part of this strange deal.
Finally, his devoted wife Alcestis agrees to be taken in his stead because she wishes not to leave her children fatherless or be
bereft of her lover, and at the start of the play, she is close to death.
The plot
Alcestis, on her death-bed, requests that in return for her sacrifice, Admetus never again marry, nor forget her or place a resentful stepmother in charge of their children. Admetus
agrees to this, and also promises to lead a life of solemnity in her honor, abstaining from the merrymaking that was an integral
part of his household. Alcestis then dies.
Just afterwards, Admetus' old friend Heracles arrives at the palace, having no idea of the
sorrow that has befallen the place. Hospitality is considered a great virtue, in fact it remains the main motivation for the
characters throughout the play. It would be against all manners to turn a guest away, so the king decides not to burden him with
the sad news and instructs the servants to make Heracles welcome and keep their mouths shut. By doing this, Admetus breaks his
former promise to Alcestis to abstain from merrymaking during the period that follows her death. Heracles gets drunk and begins
irritating the servants, who loved their queen and are bitter at not being allowed to mourn her properly. Finally, one of the
servants snaps at the guest and tells him what has happened.
Heracles is terribly embarrassed at his blunder and his bad behavior, and he decides to ambush and confront Death when the
funerary sacrifices are made at Alcestis' tomb. When he returns, he brings with him a veiled woman whom he tells Admetus he has
brought for his host as a new wife. After much discussion he finally forces Admetus to reluctantly take her by the hand, but when
he lifts the veil, he finds that it appears to be, in fact, Alcestis, back from the dead. Heracles has battled Death and forced
him to give her up. She cannot speak for three days after which she will be purified and fully restored to life.
Motivations
Some of the decisions by the characters in the play could raise some questions. Hospitality was considered a great virtue
among the Greeks, that is why Admetus cannot send Heracles away from his house. In turn as a reward Heracles returns Alcestis to
him. Alcestis' fate can be viewed as a reflection of the male- dominated world of fifth- century Athens- her death is decided by
her husband, in that he allows her to take his pre-ordained place in Hades; her rescue from Death comes only through Heracles'
intervention. Being led silently from the tomb perhaps symbolises the woman's role in the Athenian household as a subordinate
figure, from whom it was preferred to hear little. In all, the play shows that the rules of the male world, guest- friendship and
hospitality in particular, are more important that the whims of a female, even her dying wish is disregarded. That Heracles
rewards Admetus for his adhesion to these social mores is a reflection of this and it may be this aspect of his contemporary
society which Euripides is calling into question with this play.
Criticism
Critics find the Alcestis a richly rewarding play in many areas. D. J. Conacher explores how Euripides expanded the myth of
Admetus and Alcestis, adding comic and folk tale elements to suit the needs of his tragedy. Charles Rowan Beye, too, discusses
legendary and fairy tale aspects of the play. Another issue in Alcestis studies is how to categorize the work; because it mingles
tragic and comic elements, can it be considered a satyr-play? D. J. Conacher and others investigate this problem. The Alcestis is
also a popular text for women's studies. Numerous critics point out that the story is far more about Admetus than it is about
Alcestis; Charles Segal, for example, has written of the play's patriarchal dimension. The nature of sacrifice, especially in
ancient times, has been variously analyzed by Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz, Philip Vellacott, and Anne Pippin Burnett, who explain
that ancient Greek morality differed considerably from that of the present day. Modern interpretations of the play have been
extremely varied, so much so that critics including Ann Norris Michelini and Kiki Gounaridou find them notable for their failure
to agree on much of anything. Gounaridou believes this is fitting, positing that Euripides meant for the play to be understood in
many different ways. The psychologies and motivations of Admetus and Alcestis are especially disputed, with the question of
Admetus's selfishness strongly contested.
Translations
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