In Greek tragedy, the Prologue is the term used for any part of the play before the Chorus enters the Orchestra. Here the Prologue begins with the entry of Apollo, who tells the audience what has happened thus far: Admetus, king of Pherae in Thessaly, is fated to die an early death. However Apollo has persuaded the Fates to allow Admetus to escape death - provided he can find someone else willing to die in his place. All those he has approached have refused, including his own parents. Finally, his wife Alcestis agrees (probably offers) to act as his substitute. The day has now come on which Alcestis must die, and Death approaches to claim her.
"The Prologue of Alcestis follows the most common forms of Euripidean Prologue: a monologue followed by a short dialogue scene. More often than not, the speakers in the dialogue include the speaker of the monologue and the dialogue develops in dramatic form some aspect of the situation presented in the monologue, or else adds some additional information concerning that situation." (Conacher)
In the original tradition, Admetus' illness and the offer of Alcestis to die in his place occurred on the day of Admetus' and Alcestis' marriage. As Vellacott notes, Euripides has made a significant change to the tradition, by postponing the payment of the debt for an unspecified period; "so that the action of the play takes place on the day of Alcestis' death..... By establishing this interval the dramatist presents us with a marriage which has continued for some time under this accepted condition, and which can thus serve as a subject for study." Vellacott goes on to say that the theme is "of the whole unequal relationship of man to woman, in its most common and characteristic institution, marriage - and in marriage at its best."
2. qhÖssan is the fem. form of qhvÀ (the word for a serf or hired farm labourer), used here as an adj. qualifying travpezan: hireling's/labourer's fare.
The participial phrase qeovÀ per w[n is here used with concessive force: (though) being a god.
3-4. Zeu;"...ai[tio": Apollo informs us that his current servitude to Admetus is due to Zeus. He then goes on to explain why Zeus reduced him to this state. The trouble began when Apollo's son Asclepius (god of medicine) was persuaded by the goddess Artemis to restore to life her favourite Hippolytus. Furious at Asclepius' interference in the natural order of events, Zeus killed him with a thunderbolt. Apollo was grief-stricken at his son's death, and retaliated by slaughtering the Cyclopes who had forged the thunderbolt. For this offence, Zeus ordered that Apollo was to become the slave of Admetus for one year. The slaughter of Asclepius "is to have a symbolical significance in the play, indicating the impossibility in the traditional world of tragic myth of resurrections from the dead." (Conacher)
Make clear in your translation that the reason for Apollo's punishment was not the killing of his son (lines 3-4), but rather the revenge Apollo took in consequence of this (as indicated in lines 5-6): Zeus was responsible for this. For when he slew my son Asclepius by plunging a thunderbolt into his chest, I was angered at this and slew the Cyclopes...
kataktav" (a form found in epic poetry) is the strong aor. partic. of katakteivnw, "kill". Distinguish this form from the more usual aor. partic. form katavkteina"
5. ou| is a gen. of cause (which is used with verbs expressing emotion) after the aor. partic. colwqeiv": angered because of this.
7. tw'nde a[poina is an appositional phrase: (Zeus compelled me), as requital for this, (to serve as hireling...)
8. ejlqw;n de; gai'an: We might expect a preposition (ej") after ejlqw;n. However, the simple accus. after a verb of motion is common in the tragic playwrights (as also in Homer).
9. ej" tovd! hJmevra": up to this day.
10. oJsivou ajndrov" is gen. after ejtuvgcanon. Apollo refers to Admetus as a pious/devout/virtuous man, and uses the same epithet of himself. Conacher notes that this word is "not normally used of a god, since, when used personally, it usually describes a human attitude of respect often towards the gods or towards people or duties protected by them. However, since Apollo wishes to indicate that he appreciates the proper, guest-revering treatment which he has received from his host, and wishes to show reciprocal honour to his host, it seems natural to use the same word of both the god and the man here involved."
11. paido;" Fevrhto": the son of Pheres. The gen. paidvov" is in apposition to ajndrovv" in the preceding line.
12. ejrrusavmhn is the aor. indic. of rJuvomai, here used with the meaning "save": (whom) I saved (from death).
14. diallavxanta: The partic. is used here with conditional force: if-he-gave-in-exchange another corpse to the (gods) below.
15. pavnta"...: Literally: having put the question to and having gone through all his friends
16. q! = te, linking patevra with geraivan mhtevra: his father and aged mother.
h{ sf! (= sfe) e[tikte: (his mother) who bore him.
This line is sometimes bracketed, to suggest that it is not part of the original text - on the grounds that it does not go well with the preceding line, and that fivloi for ancient Greeks would normally include parents. If it does not belong to the original, it may have been inserted by a later editor by way of explanation or amplification of line 15.
18. eijsora'n favo" (to look upon the light) is a common poetical expression meaning "to live".
21. pevprwtai is the 3rd sing. perf. indic. of *povrw (an assumed but unattested pres. form, as conventionally illustrated by an asterisk). In the perf. tense it is used impersonally in the 3rd sing. with the accus. of the person concerned, here sf(e), + the infin.: it is fated that she die...
metasth'nai is the strong aor. infin. act. of meqivsthmi, and here means "to depart from" (+ gen.).
We might translate the line thus: On this day it is fated that she die and depart from life - what Conacher calls "an appropriately solemn and sonorous tautology".
22. mh; mivasma... kivch/: lest pollution reach me in the house. kivch/ is pres. subjunct. (formed from the verb *kivchmi) in a negative purpose clause. The reference is to the belief that the gods suffered pollution from being in the presence of death. We thus have here a convenient reason for Apollo's departure shortly after from the stage.
24-26. The arrival of Death. As we know from later references in the play, he wore a black robe (line 843), had wings (line 261), and was armed with a sword (line 74). "It is neither Hades, lord of Death, nor Charon, the 'grim ferryman' of the River Styx, but the less familiar, more ogreish figure of Death who comes to claim Alcestis: another touch serving to separate this macabre play from the traditional world of tragic myth." (Conacher) He is like the villain in a modern pantomime, whom the audience hiss and boo.
25. nin appears in tragedy as a 3rd person pronoun, equivalent to aujtovvn or aujthvn.
26. mevllei katavxein: (who) is about to lead (her) down (to the house of Hades). mevllei is regularly followed by a fut. infin., generally to be translated as a pres. infin. in English.
27. qanei'n aujth;n crewvn: Literally: (the day on which) it was necessary for her to die.
29. Note the emphatic use, twice, of the pronoun suv. Death expresses outrage at Apollo's presence. Apollo had already trespassed on the preserves of the Underworld powers by doing a deal with the Fates and thus saving Admetus from death. Death now fears that Apollo will also cheat the Underworld of Alcestis' death.
th'/de, the dat. fem. of o{de, can be used as an adverb meaning "here".
polei'" is the 2nd sing. of the verb polevw, meaning "I wander about". Don't confuse it with povlei", the Greek word for cities/city-states.
30-31. Literally: Are you again committing the offence (ajdikei'" au\) of appropriating for yourself (ajforizovmeno") and putting an end to (katapauvwn) the authority of the infernal gods (tima;" ejnevrwn)? Note the construction, belonging essentially in a legal context, of ajdikevw followed by a partic. which specifies the offence.
34. sfhvlanti is the aor. partic. of sfavllw, which literally refers to the act of making someone fall by tripping him up, and can as an extension of this, mean "baffle, trick, deceive". The partic. is in the dat. case, agreeing with soi in line 32.
We might translate lines 32-34 thus: Was it not enough for you to prevent Admetus' death, tripping up the Fates with your crafty wiles? (Strictly, dolivw/ goes with soi and sfhvlanti. However it might be better in translation to take it with tevcnh/).
35-37. Literally: having made ready (ojplivsa") your hand armed-with-bow (cevra toxhvrh), do you keep watch over (this woman) - she, the child of Pelias, who undertook (uJpevsth - 3rd sing, strong aor. indic. of uJfivsthmi) this, (namely) having set free her husband, to die in (his) stead (proqanei'n)?
38-63 presents a dialogue between Apollo and Death. It is a typical feature of Greek drama, known as Stichomythia - dialogue in lines (spoken, not sung or intoned) alternating between two speakers who are often in dispute with each other. There are a number of instances of this throughout the play.
38. qavrsei is sarcastic advice to Death. Take courage! Apollo's weapons are justice and reasoned argument; so Death need not be afraid of any violence. dikhvn e[cw is a retort to his accusation in line 30.
41. Understand suvnhqe" with proswfelei'n: We might translate the line thus: Yes and it's apparently your custom to help this family as well, outside the limits of justice. Death's own rejoinder continues the verbal jousting over the use of divkh.
(An alternative manuscript reading to ejkdivkw" ("without justice") is ejndivkw", which would give precisely the opposite meaning. If it's the correct reading, then Death is obviously being sarcastic, since ejkdivkw" is what he really means. It is possible that ejndivkw" is in fact the correct reading - on the grounds that it's the less obvious one, and therefore susceptible to change by a later editor.)
42. gavr indicates agreement with what the previous speaker has said, and then goes on to provide a reason: Yes, because...
43. nosfiei'" is the 2nd sing. fut. indic. of nosfivzomai, used here, with the accus. of the person and gen. of the thing, in the sense of "rob".
44. ejkei'non, used to indicate something more remote, refers to the first (potential) corpse - Admetus.
ajfeilovmhn is the aor. indic. mid. of ajfairevw, used here with two accusatives - the thing taken and the person from whom it is taken. In such expressions, the gen. and dat. of the person so deprived are also found.
45. kouj = kai; ouj.
46. h{kei" mevta: The preposition belongs with the verb and is normally attached to it as a prefix - meqhvkw ("I have come searching for"), followed by the accus.
47. nertevrwn uJpo; cqovna is a compressed expression for (I shall lead her off) beneath the earth and into the land of the nether beings.
48. a[n belongs with the opt. peivsaimi. Its apparent displacement from its own clause is due to oujk oi|\|da eij (I doubt whether) being treated virtually as one word. Translate: I doubt whether I could persuade you.
49. What (emphatic ge)? (Persuade me) to kill (the one) whom it's my duty (to kill)? Death deliberately misunderstands what Apollo has said in the previous line. Apollo sets him straight in the following line.
50. Understand the infin. qanei'n after (the partic.) mevllousi.
ajmbalei'n (to put off (death)) is an emendation of the manuscript reading ejmbalei'n, which would give the opposite meaning. The former makes much better sense in this particular context, and should be read in the text.
51. e[cw lovgon dhv: Ah, I see what you're saying.
52. movloi is the aor. opt. of blwvskw, "go, come", here used in an indirect question introduced by o{pw". Literally, the line reads: So is there (any way) how Alcestis might reach old age?
53. timai'" kajme; tevrpesqai: Literally: that I too (kajmev = kai; ejmev) have enjoyment of (tevrpesqai) my rights.
54. a]n lavboi": The opt. belongs to the main clause (apodosis) of a conditional statement referring to future time (for a brief summary of conditional sentences, see JACT pp. 305-06). The "if" clause (protasis) is here suppressed . You still wouldn't get more than one life (if she were to die old or young).
56. ka[n (= kai; ejavn) grau'" o[lhtai: if she dies an old woman. For ejavn + subjunct. in a conditional clause referring to fut. time, see JACT p. 306 O (iii). o[lhtai is the 3rd sing. aor. subjunct. mid. of o[llumi, which in the middle has the meaning "perish, die". Apollo offers the prospect of a richer burial in later years as an enticement to Death not to claim Alcestis now, while she is still young.
57. pro;" tw'n ejcovntwn: for the benefit of the rich (i.e. the "have's in contrast to the "have-not's"). "Death cleverly (and anachronistically) accuses Apollo in effect of arguing in an 'undemocratic' manner." (Conacher).
58. ei\pa" is the 2nd sing. aor. indic. act. of levgw. This form of the aor. is found mostly in the 2nd sing. and is a less common alternative to the usual aor. form ei\pon etc.
sofov" is a reference to the sophists, a term used particularly of the teachers in the 5th century who gave lessons (for pay) in such areas as mathematics, politics, and rhetoric. The validity and origins of law were one of the areas frequently debated by them. Though the refence to them is anachronistic in the context of this play, it is highly topical for the period in which Euripides wrote, particularly since a number of such persons had fallen into disrepute in this period, because of their sceptical views of absolute truth and morality, and their increasing emphasis on forms of expression rather than substantive knowledge. They taught their pupils how to argue persuasively, a skill which would enable them to be successful in public life. The unfavourable opinion held of them and their methods has given rise to the modern term sophistry, to indicate subtle but deceptive and false lines of reasoning.
59. The reading of this line is in some dispute. Probably the most satisfactory version is:
wjnoi'nt! (from wjnevomai "I buy") a]n oi|" pavvresti ghraioi; qanei'n : (Those) who have the wherewithal (oi|" pavvresti) would purchase a death in old age.
60. Distinguish ou[koun (not therefore) from oujkou'n (therefore).
64. h| mhvn...a[gan: Literally: Even you, I swear (h\ mhvn), will give up (i.e. cease your activities here), though being excessively savage.
This follows the reading of the manuscripts in which the verb is pauvsh/. (An alternative reading favoured by some scholars is peivsh/ (the 2nd sing. fut. indic. mid. of peivqw). If this is the correct reading, Apollo would then be declaring that Death will yield to reasoned argument. However, line 69 clearly indicates that Alcestis will be taken from Death by force. Conacher suggests that peivsh/ may be used ironically. But we should probably stick to the manuscript reading.)
65-69. toi'o"....ejxairhvsetai: In these lines Apollo prophesies the arrival of Heracles and his rescue of Alcestis. Even though Heracles is not actually named, the reference to Eurystheus and the horses of Diomedes would leave the audience in no doubt as to his identity.
Dale comments that the anticipation of the plot in these lines has caused some offence, particularly because of the irrelevance of the details in 66-67. You might consider whether this anticipation does indeed detract from the play's interest, or whether it has a specific function within the play. Why does Euripides anticipate the play's conclusion, and thus, apparently, rob it of much dramatic suspense?
65-67. toi'o"...dusceimevrwn: Such a man will come to the house of Pheres when Eurystheus sends him to fetch the team of Thracian horses from their wintry regions.
ei\si is 3rd. sing of ei\mi, I shall come/go.
metav when used with the accus. can have the meaning "in quest of". Here we might translate: to fetch.
i{ppeion o[chma: "Though o[chma means literally 'vehicle', i{ppeion o[chma is the 'team', the four mares themselves." (Dale)
Eurystheus was the king of Tiryns, whom Heracles was bound to serve for twelve years, under the orders of the goddess Hera, and who imposed upon Heracles the twelve labours. The reference here is to Heracles' eighth labour, which obliged him to fetch the mares of Diomedes, king of Thrace, who were fed with human flesh. Heracles succeeded in this labour by killing Diomedes and throwing his body to the horses; on eating his flesh they became tame.
70. kou[qe....cavri": Literally: And there will be no gratitude for you from us.
More freely: You will have earned no thanks from us.
71. dravsei" oJmoivw" tau'ta: You will do this all the same (i.e. give up Alcestis).
ajpecqhvsh/ is the 2nd sing. fut. indic. of ajpecqavnomai "I am hated".
"Here Apollo points the moral which becomes a topos, or common-place, of many cautionary tales: what one refuses to do as a favour one may one day be forced to do (or, as here, accede to) anyway, with no credit or gratitude for the event." (Conacher)
72. Note the repetition of a[n with both partic. and verb. "The first a[n is introduced as early as possible in order to show the contingency of the whole sentence; the second usually comes next to the verb, but here the order gives rhetorical prominence to pollav and oujdevn." (Dale)
74. katavrxwmai is the fut subjunct. mid. of katavrcw used in a purpose clause introduced by wJ". In the middle voice, the verb is often used in a religious context to mean "begin sacrificial ceremonies".
76. o{tou...trivca: Literally: from whose head this weapon has-taken-in-sacrifice a hair.
Distinguish kratov", the gen of krav", a poetical word for "head", from kravto", which means "strength, power".
The Parodos, one of the standard features in the structure of a Greek play, is the song accompanying the entry of the Chorus along the parodoi, "side wings" leading into the Orchestra. In this case the Chorus is made up of the old men of Pherae. They are in fact divided into two semi-choruses, each chanting in turn, and engaging in dialogue with each other (though it is not altogether clear how the lines should be divided between them).
This is the day appointed for Alcestis' death. The house of her husband Admetus is silent. Why is it silent? Does it mean that Alcestis is already dead? If she had in fact already died, one would expect sounds of lamentation and other signs of mourning. Does the silence mean that Alcestis still lives? These are the questions on which the Chorus ponders as it makes its way into the Orchestra. In the first half of its song we are introduced to "that ambiguity between life and death which, in one form or another, is to hover over the whole play, including its finale." (Conacher)
79. ajll!: Translate here as "Moreover".
80-1. povteron fqimevnhn....penqei'n: Literally: whether it is necessary (for me) to mourn the queen (as one) (already) having-died (fqimevnhn).
fqimevnhn is the fem. accus. of the aor. partic. pass.of fqivnw.
81-2. h] zw's(a)....pai'": Literally: or, still living, the child of Pelias sees this light (i.e. the light of day).
There is some uncertainty in the textual tradition over the correct sequence of words in these lines, though the overall sense is quite clear.
83-85. #Alkhsti"....gegenh'sqai: Dale comments that "Alcestis' claim to ajristeiva among wives is at the centre of the story, and is emphasised repeatedly, by the Chorus, by Admetus, by the household, and (to gain her end) by Alcestis herself."
86-88. kluvei...stevga": These lines indicate some of the sights and sounds associated with mourning for the dead. ceirw'n ktuvpon refers probably to the striking of hands against the breasts.
88. pepragmevnwn: a one-word gen. absolute: (as though all things) having been finished - i.e. as though everything was now over.
89-90. ouj ma;n oujde...puvla": A further sign of recent death was a servant standing by the gate of the house of mourning with a bowl of water. This was used for sprinkling, and purifying from the pollution of death, those who were leaving the house after paying their respects to the dead.
mavn is the Doric (and old Epic) form of the affirmative particle mhvn, "assuredly, indeed".
stativzw is a rare word, equivalent to i{sthmi, but used here with the intransitive meaning "stand".
91-2. eij ga;r....faneivh": eij gavr is used with the optative to express a wish; see JACT p. 167, sec. 153.
The precise meaning of the expression metakuvmio" (alternative reading metakoivmio") a[ta" is uncertain. Various suggestions have been offered by ancient commentators; for example, it refers to the lull between two waves, or the calm after a storm. The general sense here seems to be that Apollo is invoked as the one who might bring relief for those grief-stricken by Alcestis' imminent death - presumably by an 11th-hour rescue from Death's clutches.
Paiavn is in Homer the physician of the gods. The term is subsequently used as an epithet of gods who grant recovery and deliverance, and is particularly associated with Apollo in his capacity as a god of healing.
93. fqimevnh" stands for the protasis (the "if" clause) in a conditional statement - in this case an unfulfilled condition referring to present time. In such statements, the imperf. indic. (here ejsiwvpwn in the apodosis, or main clause) is regularly used. See JACT pp. 166-67, sec. 151.
Translate: If she were dead, they (the members of her household etc.) would not be keeping silent.
94. Metrical considerations make the precise reading of this line very uncertain. However, the general sense seems to be that the body has not yet been carried from the house - one of the reasons the Chorus hopes that Alcestis may still be alive.
96-97. pw'" introduces the main clause of an unfulfilled condition (or here assumed to be so) relating to past time. In this case, the protasis has to be understood: How would Admetus have left unattended the tomb of his dear wife (if she were dead)?
98-100. A reference again to the practice referred to in lines 89-90.
cevrnib(a) - water-for-purification; phgai'on - from-a-spring.
102. tomai'o" is here feminine, agreeing with caivta - shorn hair. (tomai'o" is here used as a two-termination adjective, i.e. one in which masc. and fem. forms are the same.)
102-03. Again, the precise reading of these lines is in some dispute, though the overall sense is clear. nekuvwn pevnqei - in mourning (dative) for the dead - is probably correct, but a{ (which would have to be equated with h{) and the verb pivtnei (the poetical form of pivptei) are more problematical. If these words are to stand, pivtnei probably refers to the falling of the cut hair, but the sense is not entirely satisfactory. A plausible alternative, cited by Conacher, is to read o{ in place of a{ and prevpei in place of pivtnei, and translate: (a thing) which is suitable/customary in mourning for the dead.
105. kuvrion, when used in reference to a specific time, can mean (as here) "fixed, appointed".
107 sfe is used in Attic and the later poets to mean "him/her".
molei'n is the aor. infin. of blwvskw - "come, go".
The line literally translates: (the day) on which it is necessary for her to go beneath the earth.
108. e[qige" is the 2nd sing. aor. indic. act. of qiggavnw, "touch", used with the gen.
109-11. crhv...nenovmistai: Literally: The good being destroyed (tw'n ajgaqw'n diaknaiomevnwn, gen. absolute) it is necessary (for anyone) who has been considered upright from the beginning to grieve.
113. Note the use of o{poi with the gen. ai[a" (ai\a is used in epic poetry and the tragedians for gai'a, a poetical form of gh'). The expression means "(to) where in the world?"
112-16 ajll! oujdev...e{dra": We might freely translate these words thus: There is nowhere in the world where an expedition might be sent, either to Lycia or to the dry wastes of Ammon, to save the life of this unfortunate woman.
h] Lukivan...e{dra": These words make reference to two famous oracles, that of Apollo at Patara in Lycia (in south-western Asia Minor), and that of the god Zeus-Ammon at the oasis of Siwa in the Libyan desert. There were of course well-known oracles closer to hand, for example at Delphi. Presumably the more distant oracles would have been sought out only if the local ones had failed to give satisfactory advice. But in this case, even the most far-flung oracles could be of no assistance to Alcestis.
steivla" in line 114 is the aor. partic. act. of stevllw - "arrange, make ready", used here in the sense of dispatching an expedition
121. poreuqw' is the 1st sing. aor. subjunct. pass. of poreuvw, "bring, carry", which in the passive commonly has the meaning "walk, go". The verb is used here in an indirect question and has deliberative force - i.e. it indicates perplexity: I don't know to what sacrificial altar of the gods I am to turn (adopting the reading ejscavran). On the use of the deliberative subjunctive in Greek, see JACT p. 233, sec. 207.
122-24. eij fw'"....pai'": If the son of Phoebus were alive and could gaze with his eyes upon this light of day,
The son of Phoebus (Apollo) is Asclepius, whose death at the hands of Zeus has been noted in lines 3-4. We are now given the reason for his death.
dedorkwv" , the perf. partic. of devrkomai, means "having sight, seeing clearly".
127. dmaqevnta" ga;r ajnivsth: For he used to raise up those having been killed.
dmaqevnta" is the accus. plur. of the aor. pass. partic. of damavzw, which means "overpower, tame", or (as here) "kill, strike dead".
ajnivsth is 3rd sing. imperf. ind. act. of ajnivsthmi.
131. prosdevcwmai is another deliberative subjunctive, used this time in a direct question: But now what hope of life am I to hold out to her (can I possibly hold out to her)?
132-35. pavnta oujdevn: The authenticity of these lines has been questioned by a number of scholars, partly on the grounds of diction and metre. However, the main objection is that they largely repeat what the Chorus has already said - that sacrifices are of no avail in saving Alcestis. Neither Dale nor Conacher (amongst others) are convinced, by this or other objections, that the lines should be deleted. Conacher comments that the Chorus' recent statement that no sacrificial prayers are effective against death need not mean that no such sacrifices will be made, either as a desperate resort or even as a matter of form.
The episodes in Greek tragedy are scenes alternating with choral lyrics and involving dialogue between two or more of the play's characters. In this first episode of Alcestis, the serving-maid after confirming in a dialogue with the Chorus that Alcestis' death is imminent, goes on to praise her mistress' qualities, particularly as wife to Admetus.
136-7. ajll! h{d!...dakrurroou'sa: But here is one of the (female) attendants (ojpadw'n ti") coming out of the house weeping.
138. despovtaisi is a dat. plur. form. The plur. of this word is often used in poetry of a single person.
139. suggnwstovn is a verbal adj. meaning "excusable, pardonable".
141. kai; zw'san...e[sti soi: It is possible (e[sti) for you to say that she is both alive and dead.
142. auJtov" = oJ auJtov". As the masculine pronoun and the pw'" a[n + optative clause indicate, the Chorus is here asking a general question, not one limited just to Alcestis: How could the same person be dead and see the light?
to; fw'" is understood as the object of blevpoi. This and similar expressions are a poetical way of saying "to be alive"; cf. the expression in lines 122-23 above.
144. oi|o" refers to Admetus (to whom the sentence is addressed), oi{a" (gen. after aJmartavnei") to Alcestis.
145. ou[pw....pavqh/: The master does not yet know this (i.e. what a wonderful wife Alcestis is), (nor will he know this) until he suffers (the loss of his wife). On the construction of pri;n a[n + subjunct., see JACT p. 226, sec. 198.
146-49 ejlpi;"....povsi": These lines seem to follow more naturally after line 143, and in some editions lines 144-45 are relocated after 149 to reflect this.
147. peprwmevnh is the perf. partic. pass. of *povrw (as indicated in note on line 21, the asterisk indicates an assumed but unattested form). It is used as an adj., meaning "allotted, fated".
148. ta; provsfora - "the appropriate duties", i.e. those being carried out, and to be carried out, for her death and burial.
150. i[stw (let her know) is the 3rd sing. pres. imperat. of oi\da. For the participial construction used with this verb, see JACT pp. 170-71, sec. 156.
151. makrw'/ is used with ajrivsth in an adverbial sense: by far the best.
153-54. tiv crh;....gunai'ka; This sentence has caused problems for scholars. It has been literally translated (by Diggle) thus: What ought the surpassing woman to be called? But what does this actually mean? Does the text need to be emended? Both the interpretation and the reading remain uncertain.
154-55. pw'" d! a]n....uJJperqanei'n; Literally: How could anyone (i.e. any wife) give proof of (evndeivxaito) honouring her husband more than being willing to die for (him)?
160. ejk kedrivnwn dovmwn: from their cedar-wood homes. The "homes" are the chests or cabinets where Alcestis kept her clothes and adornments. Dale comments that cedar-wood protected clothes from damp and moth, and notes that in line 365 coffins were made out of it.
161. hjskhvsato, the 3rd sing. aor. indic. mid. of ajskevw, here has the meaning she adorned herself.
162. eJstiva" or !Estiva"? If we capitalise, the reference is not just to the hearth, but to Hestia, the goddess of the hearth. She is in fact the goddess addressed in the next line as Devspoin(a).
164. panuvstatovn se prospivtnous(a): falling before you for the very last time....
165. ojrfaneu'sai - to take care of (my children) as orphans. tajmav = ta; ejmav.
165-66. tw'/ me;n....th'/ dev;...: to my son....to my daughter.
suvzeuxon is the 2nd sing. aor. imperat. act. of suzeuvgnumi, "join" (particularly used with reference to marriage.
167. tekou's(a) is basically the aor. partic. act. of tivktw, which means "bring forth (children)" (or "beget" when used of a father). However, it is often used as a substantive (as here) meaning "mother".
167-69. mhd! .....qanei'n ajwvrou" pai'da": (I pray) that my children not die before-their-time (ajwvrou"). ajwvrou" is here used as a predicative adjective, which has a force similar to an adverb (die before their time = die prematurely). Distinguish attributive and predicative uses of the adjective. For example: "I have clean clothes" (clean is used attributively). "I wash the clothes clean" (clean is used predicatively).
171. kajxevsteye = kai; ejxevsteye. The verb is the 3rd sing. aor. indic. act. of ejkstevfw, "deck out with garlands".
172. ptovrqwn...fovbhn: stripping (ajposcivzousa) foliage (fovbhn) from the branches (ptovrqwn) of a myrtle tree (mursivnh").
The myrtle tree, sacred to the goddess Demeter, was used in ceremonials associated with the tomb.
173. a[klauto" and ajstevnakto" are two-termination adjectives referring to Alcestis.
toujpiovn = to; ejpiovn (ejpiovn is the neut. pres. partic. of e[peimi, "go/come towards", and here qualifies kakovn - the approaching evil).
174. crwtov" is the gen. of crwv", "skin, complexion".
176. !davkruse = ejdavkruse. The initial ej is squeezed out by the preceding vowel in dhv. The term for this is prodelision.
177-78. parqevnei(a) koreuvmat(a) (a poetic plural) - "virginal maidenhood". We might omit the redundant adjective in translation.
pevri here means "for, instead of" and is used as a postposition (i.e. it follows the word it belongs with) governing the gen. ou|: (the husband) in place of whom (I die).
180. The manuscripts read movnhn as the first word in this line. If correct, the sentence may thus be translated: You have destroyed me alone - which Conacher interprets either as "the only wife so to have suffered" or "just me and not my husband as well". Since neither interpretation is altogether satisfactory, the reading has sometimes been emended to movnon, agreeing with levktron, the marriage bed which she is addressing: You alone have destroyed me. That is to say, her marriage is responsible for her death, since she has agreed to die in place of her husband.
ojknou'sa is the pres. partic. fem. of ojknevw, "shrink from (doing something").
182. Dale notes that this line was parodied thirteen years later in Aristophanes' play Knights (line 1252).
183-84. pa'n...plhmmurivdi: all the bedding became soaked with the flood-tide (plhmmurivdi) wet-with-tears (ojfqalmotevgktw/). A good instance of poetic hyperbole!
186. steivcei...demnivwn: she goes stumbling (pronwphv") headlong (ejkpesou'sa) from the bed
187. polla;....ejpestravfh: leaving the bed-chamber many times, she turned back....
ejpestravfh is the 3rd sing. aor. indic. pass. of ejpistrevfw, which in the middle and passive means "turn oneself around, go backwards and forwards".
188. koivth is yet another word meaning "bed", used often of a marriage-bed. Cf. qavlamo", levco", levktron, devmnion, all used above.
ka[rriyen = kai; e[rriyen. This type of conflation is known as crasis.
189. ejxhrthmevnoi is the perf. partic. mid. of ejxartavw, and is here used in the sense "hanging upon". It is followed by the gen. pevplwn. This is strictly a partitive gen., which is regularly used after a verb of touching, grasping, grabbing hold of etc.
190. e[klaion. Be sure to bring out the force of the imperfect: they kept on wailing. The reference to the children, who have no clear understanding of what is happening, but are nonetheless terrified and cling to their mother in despair, adds much to the pathos of the scene. So too Alcestis' attempts to soothe and comfort her children as she takes each in turn into her arms.
195. kai; proserrhvqh: and (by whom) she was (not) addressed. proserrhvqh is an aor. pass. compound of ejrw'.
197. kai; katqanwvn ta[n (= toi a[n) w[/cet(o): Literally: and having died (= if he had died), he would assuredly be departed (i.e. dead)...
katqanwvn (= kataqanwvn; the shorter form is found in epic poetry and tragedy) is the aor. partic. of kataqnhvskw, "die". It is equivalent here to the "if clause" (protasis) in an unfulfilled condition; hence the a[n in the main clause (apodosis).
w[/ceto is the 3rd sing. imperf. indic. of oi[comai, which literally means "be gone" but is commonly used as a euphemism for "be dead" - as in English we refer to "the departed". The imperf. tense indicates an unfulfilled condition relating to present time. See JACT p. 167, sec. 152.
198. The reading of the second half of this line is in doubt. ou[poq! ou| lelhvsetai is read by Conacher and a number of other editors following the emendation made to the manuscripts by the scholar Nauck. Dale objects to this reading on the grounds that it would give an unacceptably banal interpretation - such (a sorrow) as he will never forget. She prefers to read the text thus: ou| pot! - ouj lelhvsetai, with the comment: "pote, conveys 'the time will come when he remembers it all too well', ouj lelhvsetai being a litotes." (Litotes is a term used in reference to an understatement, often expressed by two negatives, intended to have the effect of an emphatic positive statement - e.g. "he accomplished this not without difficulty" = ...with great difficulty").
lelhvsetai (more commonly lhvsetai) is the 3rd sing. fut. indic. mid. of lanqavnw, which in the middle voice means "forget".
199. h\ pou - no doubt. Conacher comments that these opening particles give this reference to Admetus a slightly "throw-away" quality, since we learn in the next speech that Admetus is actually holding his wife in his arms.
202-03. tajmhvcana (= ta; ajmhvcana) zhtw'n: Literally: seeking impossible things.
204. pareimevnh ("fainting away") is the perf. partic. pass. of parivhmi, which literally means "let drop beside".
There is clearly a line (or more) missing between 204 and 205.
205. o{mw"... e[ti: Literally: However, breathing still, though little... smikrovn is used adverbially with ejmpnevous(a).
207-08. One or both of these lines are usually enclosed within square brackets, to indicate that the editors think they are probably spurious - on the grounds that they don't fit the context well, and are almost identical to lines 411-12 in Euripides' play Hecabe.
209. Distinguish the fut. tense ajggelw' from the pres. tense ajggevllw.
211. For the result clause introduced by w{ste, see JACT, pp. 228-29, sec. 201.
stavsimon is the term used in tragedy for a short song or ode sung by the Chorus after they had taken their place - i.e. "are standing" - in the Orchestra. (The term does not necessarily mean that they stood while they sang the ode.) In this case, the ode sums up the two themes introduced in the parodos and the first episode. In the first half, "the Chorus again lament, with plaintive (and ironic) cries to Apollo...the apparently inevitable fate of Alcestis; in the second...., they echo the sentiments of the serving-maid that Alcestis is 'the best of wives' whose loss Admetus will find worse than death itself." (Conacher)
The lines were apparently divided between different individuals or groups, though the precise apportionment is not clear. Dale suggests that "the whole might be sung by alternating semi-choruses, or the strophe might begin with three single voices to express general indecision."
strophe ("turn") is the term used of the passage sung by the Chorus as they danced from right to left across the Orchestra (here lines 213-25). There was a corresponding antistrophe ("counter-turn") as they danced in the opposite direction (here lines 226-37).
You will note that this and subsequent choral passages contain a number of Doric forms, most recognisable from the letter a in place of Attic h; e.g. sfaga'" for sfagh'", tavn for thvn, fivlan for fivlhn, a[mati for h[mati. This reflects the use of a version of the Doric dialect as the language of choral lyrics throughout the ancient Greek world. We don't know what effect this was intended to create for a Greek audience, especially those attending the theatre festival at Athens. "Perhaps," suggests S. Goldhill, "the Doric tones add to a Panhellenic grandeur of tragedy....Perhaps the special authority of the Chorus in drama is reinforced by this dialectical shift which, along with other elements, distinguishes the choral odes from the utterances of the characters on stage." (S. Goldhill, "The language of tragedy: rhetoric and communication" in P. Easterling, The Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy, Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 128.)
213-14. ijw; Zeu'....koiranoi'"; Literally: O Zeus, what way out from (our) troubles might there be, and (what) release from (mis-)fortune - (the things) which befall (my) master?
pai' (= papai') is an interjection expressing grief or suffering. (Note that it has exactly the same form as the vocative of pai'", "child, son"). Alternatively, we could, with Dale, read pa'/ (Doric for ph'/) = "how".
215. ei\siv ti"; Will someone go (i.e. come out) (to announce Alcestis' death)? ei\si is the 3rd sing. of ei\mi, "I shall go".
tevmw is 1st sing. aor. subjunct. act. of tevmnw. The subjunct. here has deliberative force: Am I (already) to cut my hair (i.e. as a sign of mourning)? (On the deliberative subjunctive, which is generally preceded by an interrogative word, see again JACT p. 233, sec. 207, and cf. line 121 above.)
trivca is the accus. sing. of qrivx - "hair" (so used in the sing. in Attic Greek).
217. ajmfibalwvmeq(a) is the 1st plur. aor. subjunct. mid. of ajmfibavllw: Are we to throw-around-ourselves (i.e. put on)...? The subjunct. is again deliberative. Note the switch from 1st sing. to 1st plur., without change of subject.
221. w\nax (= w\ a[nax) Paiavn is another appeal to Apollo in his capacity as a god of healing.
224. genou' is the 2nd sing aor. imperat. of givgnomai.
226. papai': Here begins the antistrophe. At this point the Chorus turns and begins to dance across the Orchestra from left to right.
226-27. oi|(a) e[praxa" davmarto" sa'" stereiv": How badly you have fared (oi|(a) e[praxa") from the loss of (literally: having been deprived of) your wife!
e[praxa" is the 2nd sing. aor. indic. act. of pravttw, which is here used as an intransitive verb (i.e. one which does not take a direct object) with the broad meaning "be in a certain condition, experience a particular fate" etc. oi|(a) is needed to complete the sense of the verb; it serves as a kind of adverb, though technically it is known as an internal accusative - how badly you have fared.
stereiv" is the 2nd aor. partic. pass. of sterevw - "deprive, bereave", used with the genitive.
227-29. aj[xia...pelavssai: Literally: These (afflictions) (are) worthy of (self-)slaughter and more than (enough) to bring-near (pelavssai is the aor. infin. of pelavzw) (one's) neck (devran) to a heaven-high noose (brovcw/ oujranivw/).
That is to say, the nature and intensity of Admetus' sufferings might well justify suicide. Two common means of suicide are indicated - cutting one's throat or hanging. (Since Admetus' sufferings are due to the fact that his wife has agreed to die in his place, the irony of these lines is self-evident.)
sfaga'" is the (Doric) gen. sing. of sfaghv (gen. after a[xia), which according to the context in which it is used means the slaughter of a sacrificial animal, the animal itself, the life-blood gushing from the wound inflicted, or the throat - the place where the wound is inflicted. By a further extension, it can refer to death caused by cutting one's throat.
230-31. fivlan ajlla; filtavtan gunai'ka: his dear - no, his dearest wife. fivlan ajllav serves to give particular intensity to the following superlative.
231: tavn is the Doric equiv. of thvn.
232. a[mati is the dat. of a\mar (= h\mar), the poetical equivalent of hJmevra.
ejpovyh/ is a middle form, serving as the 2nd sing. fut. indic. of ejforavw, "look upon".
234. bovason and stevnaxon are aor. imperatives, with ta;n ajrivstan gunai'ka as their object.
236-37. marainomevnan novsw/ ...par! $Aidan: wasting away by disease (all the way) to Hades. This is an example of what is called a constructio praegnans - a pregnant construction. The partic. marainomevnan does not in itself contain the idea of motion, but is given this force by the preposition parav.
238-43. "The Chorus follows up the judgment of the qeravpaina in line 198, but takes the case of Admetus, added to nameless others, as the basis of a generalization about marriage, which brings more grief than joy." (Dale)
239-40. toi'" te pavroiqen tekmairovmeno": judging both by the (things witnessed by me) previously.... tekmaivromai here means "make a judgment (concerning something)". The thing on which the judgment is based, or the reason for making it (here toi''" pavroiqen), is expressed in the dat. case.
242. ajplakwvn (a metrical variant of the form ajmplakwvn) is an aor. partic. form of ajmplakivskw, which means "fall short of, be deprived/bereaved (of)" and is used with the gen. case.
242-43. ajbivwton to;n e[peita crovnon bioteuvsei: for the time thereafter (i.e. for the rest of his life), he will live a-life-not-to-be-lived (ajbivwton - i.e. a life that will be intolerable).
ajbivwton is a good example of a cognate accus., with the verb bioteuvsei. In its basic sense, a cognate accus. is a noun or substantive which completes the sense of a cognate, or related verb. Compare in English expressions like "fight the good fight".
to;n e[peita crovnon is an accus. expressing time throughout which; see JACT p. 114, sec. 104.
As is clear from the metres used in this passage, Alcestis sings her lines, whereas Admetus' lines are spoken, and finally chanted or intoned. The contrast, according to Conacher, "serves to emphasise the pyschic distance which, for all Admetus' attempts to bridge it, continues throughout Alcestis' monody."
As you read the passage, you might bear in mind Conacher's further comments: "The most notable features of this unique 'death song' are the intense impression of immediacy and privacy which it expresses: we feel, with Alcestis, first the presence and then the assault of death as she sees Charon approaching and then vainly seeks to resist his summons to his bark. Admetus seems excluded from this experience, as the Queen addresses first her surroundings, both natural and domestic, then the 'grim ferryman', and finally, in a last farewell, her children. The King's attempts to share her suffering, and his pleas that she not desert him, go unheard or, if heard, unheeded. Not till Alcestis has, in a sense, 'died in the lyric mode', will she turn her conventionally 'revived' spirit towards her husband - and then he will become the only focus of her attention."
244-46. $Alie.....dromaivou: O Sun and light of day! O heavenly whirlings of swift-running/scudding clouds.
dromaivou is used here as a two-termination adj., agreeing with nefevla" which can mean either a single cloud or a bank of clouds or cloud-drift.
Note again the Doric forms - $Alie for $Hlie (O Sun), aJmevra" for hJmevra", nefevla" for nefevlh".
246-47. oJra'/...qanh'/: Literally: (The Sun) looks upon you and me, (us) two having suffered evilly, (though) having done nothing to the gods because of which you are to die.
pepragovta" is the accus. plur. of the perf. partic. of pravttw. The partic. dravsanta" is here used with concessive force. qanh'/ is the 2nd sing. fut. indic. of qnhvskw.
248-49. gai'a...!Iwlkou': O earth and palace halls and nuptial marriage-chambers of my ancestral Iolkos!
The reference to Alcestis' native Iolkos as the place of her marriage is inconsistent with line 177, which indicates that Pherae, her husband's home, was in fact the place where the marriage took place. (So too lines 911 ff.) Dale suggests that the inconsistency is simply due to an oversight on Euripides' part; all that Euripides wants to convey here is that both scenes, the palace of Pherae before her and her bridal chamber in her childhood home, are present to her vision.
250. mh; prodw'/": do not desert (me). (Cf. lines 202 and 275 for a similar appeal by Admetus.) prodw'/" is the 2nd sing. aor. subjunct. act. of prodivdwmi, used here with the meaning "abandon, forsake". For the use of mhv + subjunct. to express a negative command, see JACT pp. 306-07.
Conacher comments that "it is noteworthy that every one of Admetus' interruptions of Alcestis' monody contains references to his own plight (246-7, 250, 264-5, 274) which he seems eager to equate (espec. at 246-7) with that of Alcestis herself."
251. oijkti'rai is the aor. infin. of oijkteivrw, "have pity".
252-53. divkwpon skavfo" ejn livmna/ (Doric form): a two-oared boat on a marshy lake - a reference to Charon's ferry-boat on the river Styx. There is a "send-up" of the image of the Styx as a livmnh, a marshy lake, in Aristophanes' play The Frogs, in which the god Dionysus is set the task of rowing Charon's boat across the lake, represented in this case by the Orchestra or "dancing floor" of the theatre, while his slave Xanthias runs around the perimeter.
255. Tiv mevllei"; The verb mevllw is here used with the meaning "delay".
255-56. Alcestis already sees and hears Charon calling to her.
256. ejpeivgou is the 2nd sing. pres. imperat. mid. of ejpeivgw, which in the mid. means "urge oneself on, hurry up".
toi, a form commonly found in epic, = the dat. sing. soi. The dat. is what is known as an ethic dative. It has no close grammatical relationship with the rest of the sentence, and is often used as a means of gaining the attention of the person to whom it is addressed - here Admetus whom Alcestis "is desperately trying to make see and hear what she does." (Dale) In English, we might translate with a phrase like "Look here!" or "I tell you", and sometimes simply "Please".
spercovmeno", the pres. partic. pass. of spevrcw ("drive, urge on"), is often used, as here, with adjectival or adverbial force - "eager(ly), vehement(ly)".
259. a[gei.... In noting the threefold repetition of the verb a[gei, Conacher comments that such repetitions are a typical Euripidean device for emotional effect. He refers to Aristophanes' parody of the device in The Frogs, lines 1331 ff. and 1352 ff. (You might like to check these references for yourself.)
259-62. Note how for dramatic effect the subject of these lines is retained until the very end - pterwtov" $Aida".
263. rJevxei" is the 2nd sing. fut. indic. of rJevzw, "do, act". a[fe", the aor. imperat. of ajfivhmi, means let (me) go!
264-65. oijktra;n....tovde: Literally: A grievous (journey) to those-who-love-you, and of these (it is) especially (grievous) to me and (our) children - for whom indeed this sorrow is (experienced) in common.
266. As the plur. mevqete ("let (me) go!" - aor. imperat. of meqivhmi) makes clear, Alcestis' appeal is directed to the Chorus as well as to her husband - or perhaps to the servants (mute characters) who have supported her as she tried to rise delirious from her deathbed.
267. sqevnw posivn = "I am strong in (my) feet". posivn, the dat. plur. of pouv", "foot" should not be confused with povsin, the accus. of povsi", "husband, spouse" (or for that matter with the similarly accented povsi" meaning "drink, beverage").
269. The dual neuter noun (tw;) o[sse, "the two eyes", has 2nd declension plural forms in the gen. and dat. Hence o[ssoisi, the dat. plur. form used here.
271. sfw'/n is the dat. of the 2nd person dual pronoun sfw'i (distinguish from the 3rd person dual sfwev, dat. sfwivn). The dat. is one of possession - (the mother) to you.
272. tovde favo" oJrw'/ton: May you look (long) on this light (of day). That is to say, Long may you live. oJrw'/ton is a 2nd dual pres. opt. act. of oJravw.
273. tovd! e[po" - i.e. all that Alcestis has just said.
274. panto;" qanavtou is gen. of comparison with mei'zon.
275. mh; prov"...prodou'nai: Do not, by the gods, be-so-cruel (tlh'/") (as) to abandon me
276. ojrfaniei'" is the 2nd sing. fut. indic. of ojrfanivzw - "make (one) an orphan".
277. The adv. a[na is here used as an imperative (equivalent to ajnavsthqi): Rise up! (Similarly the adv. deu'ro is often used with imperatival force: Here! = (Come) here!)
278. sou' ga;r......a]n ei[hn: The gen. absolute sou' fqimevnh" is equivalent to the "if clause" (protasis) in a conditional statement referring to future time: If you were dead, my life would be worthless.
279. ejn soiv...: Literally: On you we are (dependent) - both to live and not (to live). That is to say, our very existence depends on your continuing to live. (The phrase kai; zh'n kai; mhv expands and explains ejsmevn.) The irony of these words, coming from one whose continuing life is due to Alcestis' sacrifice of her own, is unmistakable. Admetus has come to realise that the life which he has been so eager to cling to will lose all meaning when he can no longer share it with his wife. Conacher comments that the poet is not simply providing Admetus with the lines which are conventionally appropriate for a husband grieving at the deathbed of his wife. Rather, Euripides is exploiting such conventional utterances with ironic effect in view of the fact that the lines are singularly inappropriate to the circumstances of, and reasons for, this particular death.