Admetus

Admetus is a figure in Greek mythology, known as the legendary king of Pherae in Thessaly. He is chiefly associated with a tale about longevity granted by the gods and the price of immortality. In most versions, the god Apollo grants Admetus a long life as a reward for his hospitality, but with a condition: someone else must die in his place. When the time comes, Admetus’s wife, Alcestis, offers to die for him and does so.

The central episode follows Alcestis’s death and the king’s mourning. Heracles eventually arrives in Pherae and, in some accounts, bargainers with Death (Thanatos) to release Alcestis from Hades. He succeeds in restoring Alcestis to life, and she returns to Admetus. The tale appears in various forms, with some sources attributing the life-prolonging gift to Artemis or to the Fates rather than Apollo. Despite the differing attributions, the core motif remains: a vow of hospitality and the human cost of living longer than one’s allotted time.

Euripides’s tragedy Alcestis, written in the late 5th century BCE, is the best-known dramatic treatment of the myth. The play emphasizes themes of self-sacrifice, marital fidelity, and the fragile boundary between life and death, while exploring the strain such gifts place on family and society. Later writers and artists often referenced Admetus and Alcestis as emblematic figures in discussions of mortality and the boundaries of mortal existence.