Glorification of Alcestis:

Alcestis is queen of Greek mythology. She is known her love for her husband, Admetus. Her story was popularized in
Euripides's tragedy Alcestis .the central action of the play is that Alcestis sacrifices her wife in order to bring back her
husband, Admetus, from death.
In this play, Apollo, the friend of Admetus has persuaded Parace to let Admetus escape from the death if someone else
can be found to die in his place. The time of Admetus death comes and he still has not found a willing substitute .finally,
his devoted wife Alcestis agrees to be taken in his place .life is the most valuable gift that we got from our creator. But
Alcestis sacrificed her life to save her love, her husband. From this act, it is clear that she is women rare quality.
If we notice some other queen of greek mythology, we will find a vast difference between them and Alcestis.
Clytemnestra killed her husband, Agamemnon. Helen cheated her husband by making illicit relation with Paris. But
Alcestis willingly embraced the pain of death. We note from the chorus comment Daughter of Pelias one alone the
noblest of all women.
She is also the devoted mother who dies to ensure her childrens safety and to preserve the kingdom for her son. On stage,
she appears rather cold and reserves her passion for her children, but only because she has come to realize that though she
loves them deeply, she has to leave when she never wants to. Her helplessness shows following lines;
My children, my children,
Never more, Oh, never more
Shall your mother be yours!
Alcestis asks Admetus to watch over the children and to remain unmarried after she dies. A stepmother, she says, would
be envious of the children and treat them poorly. Even in her last prayer of life she asked for a loving wife and helpmate
for his son and noble husband and lord for her daughter.
Alcestis was also heartly connected with the servants. She took each one by the hand, and spoke to eacheven the
humblest. she shows how she cared for the servants by being so thoughtful during her sufferings. Later in the play
another servant hails Alcestis as a mother figure. With such a bond between them ,the servants see things from Alcestis
point of view .In telling the chorus the events of the day ,the servant speaks entirely with sympathy for Alcestis ,recalls
what she has said and done and how she is becoming weaker and weaker. They state,
Truly she is the noblest; who could question that?
....how
Could any wife give clearer testimony that she
Honors her husband, than by freely dying for him?

Another device that Euripides used to glorify Alcestis is chorus .At her funeral the Chorus speaks of how heroic her action
was, "So beautiful in love, so strong and brave, you gave your life to take his place in death! For love you went below.
Rest peacefully, Alcestis," Alcestis' death is her most noble act. The fact that she would give her life for her husband truly
shows how brave she was. The Chorus emphasizes this sacrifice throughout the play to ensure the audience knows how
strong and noble she was. They also express their worry and grief over the imminent death of so great and noble a lady
and wishes Apollos son Asclepius were still alive to raise her from dead. They laments bitterly at the loss of so great a
women, expressing their undying loyalty to her they said,
In my belief, and in everyones,
She is the noblest wife a man ever had.

She is not only adoring and passionate women; she had reason behind her act. She knows dying herself will create an
unrecoverable loss in her family and household, still she chooses to die. She chose to die because it would be better that
Admetus lived with children and the family remained intact, than if she lived without him at mercy of a new man who put
his children above hers. Her final request to her husband was that he would never marry, sparing her children from an
uncaring stepmother.
Admetus praise the generosity and compassion of Alcestis who being an outsider died for him ,while his own parents
being close to death refuse to sacrifices the bliss of life for the sake of their son. On the other hand, Admetus father,
Pheres, calls Admetus a coward and selfish who let her jewel like wife to die in his place and then pretending to be
wounded. He eulogized Alcestis saying,
By her brave, noble sacrifice she gives
New dignity to the whole female sex.
In sum up, Euripides has sketch the character of Alcestis in a pattern that she is a criterion for excellence in womanhood.
us orders him to go away.