Chapter XXIV: Admetus and Alcestis

Apollo once displeased Zeus by acting against his wishes, and the king of the gods said that for a punishment he must serve a mortal for the space of a year, and that the mortal must not know that he was a god, but treat him just like any other slave. So Apollo entered the service of the young king Admetus, who made him the keeper of his flocks. Admetus was a good master, and Apollo found himself well-treated, and he repaid the kindness he received by making the flocks prosper and increase till there were none like them in the whole country. Admetus had never had such a good herdsman, and he treated him even better than his other servants. When the year had passed, Apollo told him who he was, and said that if ever Admetus was in need and prayed to him, lie would come and help him. Then Apollo went back to Olympus, and Admetus had another herdsman, but Apollo still blessed the flocks, so that they continued to prosper.

Time passed by and Admetus wished to marry, and he travelled through the country seeking for the fairest and noblest woman in the land to be his wife. He heard that no one could compare with Alcestis, the {92} daughter of King Pelias, and he went to her father and asked to be allowed to marry her. But the king said that his daughter was not to be won so easily, and that whoever wanted her for his wife must come and sue for her in a chariot drawn by a lion and a wild boar. Admetus was a brave hero and a skilled huntsman, but his heart sank when he heard this, for he feared he should never be able to procure such a team as this, and tame them for his service. Then he remembered how Apollo had promised to help him in the time of need, and he prayed to him, and Apollo came and asked what he wanted. When he had been told what it was, he went into the forest with Admetus, and gave chase to a lion whom he caught and held fast by the mane, although the lion roared horribly and tried to snap at him with his great jaws. Presently he spied a boar and pursued him also, making the lion run by his side; and when he had caught the boar, he grasped him by the ear and dragged him along too, so that he had the lion on one side of him and the boar on the other. The wild animals looked at each other angrily and tried to bite one another, but Apollo would not let them do so. He brought them out of the forest and harnessed them to a magnificent chariot, and he had a goad with which he pricked them whenever they tried to hurt one another, until at last they were tame and obedient to the rein. Admetus however would not have been able to keep them under control, so Apollo drove them himself, and thus Admetus arrived at the palace of King Pelias with the god for his charioteer, and with the team that the king had required, and a second time asked for his daughter's {93} hand in marriage. The king could no longer refuse, and when he had promised that Admetus should have the beautiful Alcestis for his wife, Apollo drove back into the forest and released the two wild animals. Soon afterwards the wedding was celebrated in the palace with great magnificence, and Apollo was one of the guests. As a wedding-present, he brought a promise from the goddesses of Fate, that if ever Admetus were sick and in danger of death and one of his nearest relations would consent to die instead of him, the life thus offered would be accepted instead of the life of Admetus, and he would become well again.

Admetus and Alcestis loved each other dearly, and lived happily together for many years. But after some time had passed, Admetus was smitten with a sore sickness, and everyone said that he must die unless his life could be saved according to the promise of Apollo. The people thought that as his father and mother were now very old and could not hope to live much longer in any case, they would be willing to die instead of Admetus; but they loved life more than they loved their son, and would not part with it until they were obliged. Then the beautiful Alcestis went into her chamber and prayed to the gods that they would allow her to give up her life to save her husband, and when she had ended her prayer, she lay down on the bed and died. At the same moment Admetus became suddenly well, and was able to stand up and walk about. He did not know how it was that he had been so quickly cured until he went into the chamber of Alcestis, and saw her lying dead upon the couch; then he understood how it was, but he felt that {94} he would much rather have died himself. All through the palace there was loud lamentation, for all the household loved Alcestis dearly because she was so good and kind to them. Admetus would not leave her couch, but sat beside it holding her cold hand, which was ever wet with his tears. Night came on, and morning dawned again, but he gave no heed to it, and the corpse had already become quite cold--when suddenly it began to grow warm again, and presently Alcestis heaved a deep sigh, opened her eyes, and was once more alive.

Never before had such a wonder taken place, and this was how it came to pass. When Alcestis died, her shade passed into the Lower World, and the Shadow-Leader, who conducted the dead thither, told the queen of the Lower World the reason of her death. So many shadows came into their dominions who had had a sad end, that the gods of the Lower World had at last exhausted all their pity, and ceased to weep for them. But when the queen heard how Alcestis had died in the full bloom of her youth and beauty in order that Admetus might live, she was deeply moved, and commanded the Shadow-Leader to take her back to the Upper World and restore her to life.

So Alcestis awoke to life again, and she lived with her husband in happiness and prosperity for many years after this; gods and men united to do them honour, and when they had reached a good old age, they both died at the same time.

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