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Alcestis

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

In Greek myth, the queen who selflessly offered her life to save her husband Admetus, later rescued from death by Heracles—symbolizing devotion and sacrifice.

Detailed Definition
Alcestis, daughter of Pelias, offered her life so her husband Admetus might live, embodying wifely devotion. Her rescue by Heracles is dramatized in Euripides’ play. In poetry, she symbolizes self-sacrifice, love’s redemptive power, and the triumph of virtue over death.
Example
Example in poetry:
Euripides’ Alcestis dramatizes her voluntary death to save her husband Admetus; In the Iliad, Alcestis is cited as the most virtuous of women; Pindar’s First Alcestis Ode celebrates her self-sacrifice and Heracles’ rescue; Ovid references her as a model of wifely devotion; In Roman elegy, Alcestis symbolizes conjugal love and loyalty; Later Christian poets adapted her story as an allegory of redemptive sacrifice.
Additional Notes
Alcestis, wife of Admetus, voluntarily dies to save her husband, becoming the ultimate symbol of wifely devotion. Euripides’ Alcestis (a “problem play” blending tragedy and satyr elements) explores gender, sacrifice, and resurrection (via Heracles). Students should analyze how her silence and selflessness contrast with more vocal tragic heroines. Her return from death complicates typical tragic closure. Later, she’s cited by Roman poets as an ideal of conjugal love. Related: Admetus, Heracles, the motif of substitutionary death.
Also Known As
Alcestis the Devoted Queen of Pherae Wife of Admetus Paragon of Sacrificial Love
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