Alcestis by Euripides. Short summary

5 seconds

In tragedy, the hero of Greek myths, Hercules, once fought the demon Death hand-to-hand, defeated him and snatched the soul of the young queen Alexa, wife of King Admeta.

1 minute

The god Apollo gave King Admetus a miracle: in the hour of his death someone else could replace him. Neither his mother nor father agreed to die for him, only his wife Alextus agreed to die for her husband.

The tragedy begins with Death coming for his victim. The locals grieve for their good queen, Admet is heartbroken. Alexa prays, gives her last words to her husband, bids farewell to her children and dies.

Here Heracles appears. He is on his way to complete yet another feat. The hero wishes to take a break at Admeta’s house. The king receives his guest, saying nothing of his grief. Hercules is feasting, but here one of the servants tells him of the queen’s death. Stunned, the hero discovers where Alecsta is buried and goes there.

Admetus regrets that he agreed to trade his wife’s life for his own. But then Hercules appears before him with a woman wrapped in a veil. The hero says that he is very tired from the hard battle and asks the king to shelter the woman. The blanket falls down and under it is Aleksta, whom Heracles snatched from Death’s arms.