Alcestis
Alkestis ( ancient Greek Ἄλκηστις Álkēstis ; also Alkeste ) is in Greek mythology the daughter of the Iolk king Pelias , son of Poseidon , and his wife Anaxibia . Alcestis married Admetus , king of Pherai . Her story tells of boundless, self-sacrificing love for a spouse.
legend
Alcestis was the most beautiful of the daughters of King Pelias, which is why many rulers were free for her. Her father, however, announced that only he would have his daughter as his wife if he succeeded in harnessing a boar and a lion to the wedding carriage.
Admetus succeeded in doing this with the help of Apollo . Zeus had once forced him to tend Admetus' sheep and cattle, because he had killed the Cyclops in revenge for the murder of Zeus on his son Asklepios . Since Admetos had welcomed him kindly as a stranger, he finally helped with the task that was impossible for a human being. So Admetus won Alcestis. But he failed to make a sacrifice to Artemis before the wedding. Insulted, the goddess then sent snakes into the couple's wedding chamber - as a sign that Admetos would soon die. But Apollon was able to get the Moiren , the goddesses of fate, to promise that Admetus would live if someone died in his place. Since no one else was ready for this, Alcestis sacrificed himself for him.
When Heracles was visiting Admetus shortly afterwards , he offered to save Alcestis as a thank you for the hospitality he had experienced: the hero hides next to the grave of the recently deceased, and when Thanatos appeared to pick up Alcestis, he defeated him God of death in wrestling. Thanatos fled and Heracles brought her back to her husband safely. (Act of the drama Alcestis by Euripides ).
Another version of Alcestis' salvation tells that Persephone , the wife of Hades, was so impressed by the sacrifice of the loving Alcestis that she allowed the young woman to return to her husband.
Alcestis had a son Eumelus , who took part in the Trojan War , and a daughter Perimele .
Artistic arrangements
Dramas
- Phrynichos (5th / 6th century BC): Alcestis
- Euripides (480-406 BC): Alcestis , 438 BC Chr.
- Mathilde Wesendonck (1828–1902): Alkestis , 1881
- Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874–1929): Alkestis , 1911
- Thornton Wilder (1897–1975): The Alcestiad , 1955
- Franz Fühmann (1922–1984): Alkestis (libretto), 1989
- Ted Hughes (1930-1998): Alcestis
Poems
- Alcestis barcinonensis
- Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926): Alkestis , 1907
painting
- Angelika Kauffmann (1741–1807): Death of Alcestis , 1790 ( vorarlberg museum , Bregenz )
- Friedrich Heinrich Füger (1751–1818): Alkestis sacrifices himself for Admet
- Frederic Leighton (1830–1896): Heracles wrestles with death for the body of Alcestis
Operas
- Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687) Alceste (1674)
- Georg Caspar Schürmann (1672 / 73–1751): The Faithful Alceste (1719)
- Georg Friedrich Handel (1685–1759): Admeto (1727)
- Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714–1787): Alceste (1767)
- Anton Schweitzer (1735–1787): Alceste (1773)
Naming
In science and culture, the name Alkestis or Alkeste found the following echo:
- An asteroid bears this name: (124) Alkeste .
- The French black metal band Alcest has named itself after Alkestis.
See also
literature
- Beatrix Borchard , Claudia Maurer Zenck (eds.): Alkestis. Sacrificial death and return. Interpretations (= Hamburger Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft. Volume 23). Lang, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2007, ISBN 978-3-631-56183-6 .
- Michael Grant , John Hazel: Lexicon of ancient myths and figures. 17th edition. dtv, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-423-32508-9 .
- Karl Kerényi : The Mythology of the Greeks. Volume 2: The Heroes Stories. 14th edition. dtv, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-423-30031-0 .
- Peter von Möllendorff : Alkestis and Admetos. In: Maria Moog-Grünewald (Ed.): Mythenrezeption. The ancient mythology in literature, music and art from the beginnings to the present (= Der Neue Pauly . Supplements. Volume 5). Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2008, ISBN 978-3-476-02032-1 , pp. 53-61.
- Robert von Ranke-Graves : Greek Mythology. Sources and Interpretation. 17th edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-499-55404-9 .
- Georg Wentzel , Jakob Escher-Bürkli : Alkestis . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 2, Stuttgart 1894, Col. 1513 f.
Web links
- Alkestis in: The large art lexicon by PW Hartmann