Euripides
The Alcestis of Euripides is a play that explores the themes of love, sacrifice, and death. The story revolves around Admetus, the king of Thessaly, who is saved from death by his wife Alcestis, who offers to die in his place. The play begins with Admetus mourning the death of his wife, while his father-in-law, Pheres, refuses to participate in the funeral rites. Heracles, the legendary hero, arrives at the palace and is welcomed by Admetus, who is unaware of his wife’s sacrifice. Heracles learns of Alcestis’ sacrifice and decides to rescue her from the underworld. The play culminates in a confrontation between Heracles and Death, who agrees to release Alcestis if someone else takes her place. Heracles then reveals that he has brought a servant with him who is willing to die in Alcestis’ place, and she is returned to the land of the living. The play ends with Admetus and Alcestis reunited, and Heracles departing on his next adventure. The Alcestis of Euripides is a powerful exploration of the human condition, and a reminder of the lengths that people will go to for love.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world’s literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.