Affreschi romani - pompei - alcesti e admeto

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, Admetus (;

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

: ''Admetos'' means 'untamed, untameable') was a king of

Pherae Pherae (Greek: Φεραί) was a city and polis (city-state) in southeastern Ancient Thessaly. One of the oldest Thessalian cities, it was located in the southeast corner of Pelasgiotis. According to Strabo, it was near Lake Boebeïs 90 stadia ...

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

Biography

Admetus succeeded his father

Pheres In Greek mythology, Pheres ( grc, Φέρης, ''Phéres'', modern pronunciation ''Féris''; la, Pheres) was the founder of Pherae in Thessaly. Family Pheres was the son of Cretheus, King of Iolcus and Tyro. He was the brother of Aeson and Amy ...

after whom the city was named. His mother was identified as

Periclymene In Greek mythology, Periclymene or Periklymene (Ancient Greek: Περικλύμενη means 'renowned') may refer to two distinct characters: * Periclymene, a Minyan princess as the daughter of King Minyas of Orchomenus and Euryanassa . She be ...

or Clymene. He was one of the Argonauts and took part in the

Calydonian Boar The Calydonian boar hunt is one of the great heroic adventures in Greek legend. It occurred in the generation prior to that of the Trojan War, and stands alongside the other great heroic adventure of that generation, the voyage of the Argonauts, ...

hunt. Admetus' wife

Alcestis Alcestis (; Ancient Greek: Ἄλκηστις, ') or Alceste, was a princess in Greek mythology, known for her love of her husband. Her life story was told by pseudo-Apollodorus in his '' Bibliotheca'', and a version of her death and return from t ...

offered to substitute her own death for his. The most famous of Admetus's children was

Eumelus Eumelus ( grc, Εὔμηλος ''Eúmēlos'' means "rich in sheep") was the name of: ''Mythology'' *Eumelus ( Gadeirus), the younger twin brother of Atlas in Plato's myth of Atlantis, and the son of Poseidon and Cleito, daughter of the autocht ...

, who led a contingent from Pherae to fight in the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...

. He also had a daughter

Perimele In Greek mythology, Perimele or Perimela ( grc, Περιμήλη) is the name of three mythical personages: *Perimele, daughter of Amythaon. She and Antion, son of Periphas, were the possible parents of Ixion. *Perimele, daughter of Admetus and ...

Mythology

Cornelis van Poelenburch - Apollo and the Cattle of Admetus - WGA7489

Divine herdsman

Admetus was famed for his

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes ...

and justice. When

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

was sentenced to a year of servitude to a mortal as punishment for killing

Delphyne In Greek mythology, Delphyne ( el, Δελφύνη) is the name given, by some accounts, to the monstrous serpent killed by Apollo at Delphi. Although, in Hellenistic and later accounts, the Delphic monster slain by Apollo is usually said to be the ...

, or as later tradition has it, the

Cyclopes In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

, the god was sent to Admetus' home to serve as his herdsman. Apollo in recompense for Admetus' treatment made all the cows bear twins while he served as his cowherd. The romantic nature of their relationship was first described by

Callimachus Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide varie ...

of Alexandria, who wrote that Apollo was "fired with love" for Admetus. Plutarch lists Admetus as one of Apollo's lovers and says that Apollo served Admetus because he doted upon him. Latin poet

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

in his

Ars Amatoria The ''Ars amatoria'' ( en, The Art of Love) is an instructional elegy series in three books by the ancient Roman poet Ovid. It was written in 2 AD. Background Book one of ''Ars amatoria'' was written to show a man how to find a woman. In book tw ...

said that even though he was a god, Apollo forsook his pride and stayed in as a servant for the sake of Admetus.

Tibullus Albius Tibullus ( BC19 BC) was a Latin poet and writer of elegies. His first and second books of poetry are extant; many other texts attributed to him are of questionable origins. Little is known about the life of Tibullus. There are only a f ...

describes Apollo's love to the king as ''servitium amoris'' (slavery of love) and asserts that Apollo became his servant not by force but by choice. Apollo later helped Admetus win the hand of

, the daughter of

Pelias Pelias ( ; Ancient Greek: Πελίας) was king of Iolcus in Greek mythology. He was the one who sent Jason on the quest for the Golden Fleece. Family Pelias was the son of Tyro and Poseidon. His wife is recorded as either Anaxibia, daughte ...

, king of

Iolcus Iolcus (; also rendered ''Iolkos'' ; grc, Ἰωλκός and Ἰαωλκός; grc-x-doric, Ἰαλκός; ell, Ιωλκός) is an ancient city, a modern village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local gove ...

. Alcestis had so many suitors that Pelias set an apparently impossible task to the suitors—to win the hand of Alcestis, they must yoke a boar and a lion to a chariot. Apollo harnessed the yoke with the animals and Admetus drove the chariot to Pelias, and thus married Alcestis. Admetus, however, neglected to sacrifice to

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

, Apollo's sister. The offended goddess filled the bridal chamber with snakes and again, Apollo came to Admetus' aid. Apollo advised Admetus to sacrifice to Artemis, and the goddess removed the snakes.

Heroism of Alcestis

The greatest aid Apollo gave to Admetus was persuading the

Fates The Fates are a common motif in European polytheism, most frequently represented as a trio of goddesses. The Fates shape the destiny of each human, often expressed in textile metaphors such as spinning fibers into yarn, or weaving threads on ...

to reprieve Admetus of his fated day of death. According to

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

Apollo made the Fates drunk, and the Fates agreed to reprieve Admetus if he could find someone to die in his place.

, '' Eumenides'' 728 Admetus initially believed that one of his aged parents would happily take their son's place of death. When they were unwilling, Alcestis instead died for Admetus. The scene of death is described in

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

' play ''

'', where

Thanatos In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; grc, Θάνατος, pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appea ...

, the god of death, takes Alcestis to the Underworld. As Alcestis descends, Admetus discovers that he actually does not want to live: The situation was saved by

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

, who rested at Pherae on his way towards the man-eating

Mares of Diomedes The Mares of Diomedes ( grc-gre, Διομήδους ἵπποι), also called the Mares of Thrace, were a herd of man-eating horses in Greek mythology. Magnificent, wild, and uncontrollable, they belonged to Diomedes of Thrace (not to be confuse ...

. Heracles was greatly impressed by Admetus's kind treatment of him as a guest, and when told of Admetus' situation, he entered Alcestis' tomb. He repaid the honor Admetus had done to him by wrestling with

until the god agreed to release

, then led her back into the mortal world. According to other accounts,

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...

, queen of the

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...

instead brought Alcestis back to the upper world.

Gallery

File:Admetus Alcestis Chiaramonti Inv1195.jpg, Scenes from the myth of Admetus and Alcestis. Marble, sarcophagus of C. Junius Euhodus and Metilia Acte, 161–170 CE. File:Farewell of Admetus & Alcestis.jpg, ''The Farewell of Admetus and Alcestis'' by George Dennis (1848) File:Constance Phillott - The Herdsmen of Admetus.png, ''The Herdsmen of Admetus'' by Constance Phillott (circa 1890) File:Alcesti.jpg, "The Death of Alcestis" by Angelica Kauffman. File:Nicolas-Antoine Taunay - Apolo visitando Admeto.jpg, ''Apollo visiting Admetus'' by Nicolas-Antoine Taunay (19th century) File:J H Tischbein dÄ Alkeste 1.jpg, ''Admetus beweint Alkeste'' by Johann Heinrich Tischbein (circa 1780) File:Wall painting - Admetos and Alkestis receiving the oracle - Herculaneum - Napoli MAN 9026 - 01.jpg, ''Alcestis and Admetus'', ancient Roman fresco (45-79 d.C.) from the House of the Tragic Poet, Pompeii, Italy

Notes

References

, translated in two volumes. 2. ''Eumenides'' by Herbert Weir Smyth, Ph.D. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1926
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
* Apollodorus, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
*

, ''Callimachus and Lycophron with an English translation by A. W. Mair ; Aratus, with an English translation by G. R. Mair'', London: W. Heinemann, New York: G. P. Putnam 1921. Internet Archive *Callimachus, ''Works''. A.W. Mair. London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1921
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Gaius Julius Hyginus, ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Graves, Robert, ''The Greek Myths'', Harmondsworth, London, England, Penguin Books, 1960. *Graves, Robert, ''The Greek Myths: The Complete and Definitive Edition.'' Penguin Books Limited. 2017. * Kerényi, Carl, ''The Gods of the Greeks'', Thames and Hudson, London, 1951. *March, J. ''Cassell's Dictionary Of Classical Mythology''. London, 1999. {{DEFAULTSORT:Admetus Argonauts Princes in Greek mythology Mythological kings of Pherae Kings in Greek mythology Male lovers of Apollo Male lovers of Heracles Characters in the Argonautica Thessalian characters in Greek mythology Characters in Greek mythology Deeds of Apollo Deeds of Artemis