Admetus

Information about Admetus

For the king of Epirus, see .
For Handel's opera, see .
For the Amblypygid genus, see .
For Admetus, king of the Molossians, see .
For the ancient Greek epigrammatist, see .


In Greek mythology, Admetus /æd 'mi: təs/ was a king of Pherae in Thessaly, succeeding his father Pheres after whom the city was named.

Admetus was one of the Argonauts and took part in the Calydonian Boar hunt.

Mythology

Admetus was famed for his hospitality and justice. When Apollo was sentenced to a year of servitude to a mortal as punishment for killing the Cyclops, the god chose Admetus' home and became his herdsman. Apollo was so impressed by Admetus' treatment that the god made all the cows bear twins.

Apollo also helped Admetus win the hand of the princess Alcestis, the daughter of Pelias, the king of Iolcus. 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. 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.

The greatest aid Apollo gave to Admetus was persuading the Fates to reprieve Admetus of his fated day of death. Apollo made the Fates drunk, and the Fates agreed to reprieve Admetus if he could find someone to die in his place. 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 Euripedes' play Alcestis, where Thanatos, the god of death, takes Alcestis to the Underworld. As Alcestis descends, Admetus discovers that he actually does not want to live:

I think my wife's fate is happier than my own, even though it may not seem so. No pain will ever touch her now, and she has ended life's many troubles with glory. But I, who have escaped my fate and ought not to be alive, shall now live out my life in sorrow.


The situation was saved by Heracles, who rested at Pherae on his way towards the man-eating Mares of Diomedes. 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 Thanatos until the god agreed to release Alcestis, then led her back into the mortal world.

The most famous of Admetus' children was Eumelus, who led a contingent from Pherae to fight in the Trojan War. He also had a daughter Perimele

Admetus the Trojan

Admetus was also the name of one of the Trojans, killed by Philoctetes.

References

  • March, J., Cassell's Dictionary Of Classical Mythology, London, 1999. ISBN 0-304-35161-X
Molossians (Greek: Μολοσσοί Molossoi) were an ancient Greek[1] tribe that settled Epirus during Mycenaean times.
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Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices.
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Pherae (Greek: Φεραί) was an ancient Greek town in southeastern Thessaly.[1] In mythology, it was the home of King Admetus, whose wife, Alcestis, Heracles went into Hades to rescue.
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Thessalia redirects here. For the butterfly genus, see Thessalia (butterfly).


Thessaly (in Greek, Θεσσαλία — Thessalía
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Pheres, son of Cretheus, was the founder of Pherae in Thessaly. He fled there from Iolcus after his half-brother, Pelias, seized the throne. His son Admetus was the husband of the famous Alcestis, who died in his stead and was rescued by Heracles.
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Argonauts (Ancient Greek: Αργοναύται) were a band of heroes who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece.
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The introduction to this article may be too long. Please help improve the introduction by moving some material from it into the body of the article according to the suggestions at Wikipedia's .
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In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (in Greek, Ἀπόλλων — Apóllōn or Ἀπέλλων — Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros
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Alcestis is a princess in Greek mythology, known for her love of her husband. Her story was popularised in Euripides's tragedy Alcestis. She was the daughter of Pelias, king of Iolcus, and either Anaxibia or Phylomache.
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Pelias was king of Iolcus in Greek mythology, the son of Tyro, daughter of Aleus, and of either Poseidon or Cretheus. His wife is recorded as either Anaxibia, daughter of Bias, or Phylomache, daughter of Amphion.
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Artemis (Greek: (nominative) Ἄρτεμις, (genitive) Ἀρτέμιδος
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Personified concepts
  • Muses
  • Nemesis
  • Moirae
  • Cratos
  • Zelus
  • Nike
  • Metis
  • Charites
  • Oneiroi
  • Adrasteia
  • Horae
  • Bia
  • Eros
  • Apate
  • Themis
  • Eris
  • Thanatos
  • Hypnos

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Euripides (Ancient Greek: Εὐριπίδης) (ca. 480 BC–406 BC) was the last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens (the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles).
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Alcestis

Hercules Fighting Death to Save Alcestis by Frederic Lord Leighton
Written by Euripides
Chorus old men
Characters Apollo
Death
Woman Servant
Alcestis
Admetus
Eumelus
Heracles
Pheres

Setting Pherae in Thessaly
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Personified concepts
  • Muses
  • Nemesis
  • Moirae
  • Cratos
  • Zelus
  • Nike
  • Metis
  • Charites
  • Oneiroi
  • Adrasteia
  • Horae
  • Bia
  • Eros
  • Apate
  • Themis
  • Eris
  • Thanatos
  • Hypnos
In Greek mythology, Thanatos
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Heracles or Herakles ("glory of Hera", or Alcides (original name) "Ἥρα + κλέος,
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Mares of Diomedes were four man-eating horses in Greek mythology. Magnificent, wild, and uncontrollable, they belonged to the giant Diomedes (not to be confused with Diomedes, son of Tydeus), king of Thrace, a son of Ares and Cyrene who lived on the shores of the Black Sea.
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Personified concepts
  • Muses
  • Nemesis
  • Moirae
  • Cratos
  • Zelus
  • Nike
  • Metis
  • Charites
  • Oneiroi
  • Adrasteia
  • Horae
  • Bia
  • Eros
  • Apate
  • Themis
  • Eris
  • Thanatos
  • Hypnos
In Greek mythology, Thanatos
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Alcestis is a princess in Greek mythology, known for her love of her husband. Her story was popularised in Euripides's tragedy Alcestis. She was the daughter of Pelias, king of Iolcus, and either Anaxibia or Phylomache.
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Eumelus was the name of:
  • Eumelus of Corinth, an epic poet of the second half of the eighth century BC
  • Several men in Greek mythology:
  • A Eumelus succeeded Adrastus as the King of Pherae.

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Trojan War was waged, according to Greek mythology, against the city of Troy by the armies of the Achaeans (Mycenaean Greeks), after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta.
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Trojan originally referred to a citizen of the city of Troy (Ilium) made legendary by the Trojan War (and Trojan Horse).

Trojan may also refer to:

Language
  • Trojan language, the language spoken in the ancient city of Troy
Astronomy
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In Greek mythology, Philoctetes (also Philoktêtês or Philocthetes, Φιλοκτήτης) was the son of King Poeas of Meliboea in Thessaly. He was a Greek hero, famed as an archer, and was a participant in the Trojan War.
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