The Chorus praises the hospitality offered by the house of Admetus. Conacher describes their song as "the prettiest ode in the play...., as indeed it is the only one with a serene and peaceful theme."

568. ejleuvqero" is the poetical equivalent of ejleuqevrio", "liberal, free-spirited".

570-74. sev toi....genevsqai: even Pythian Apollo, skilled in the lyre (eujluvra"), considered you worthy to dwell in and deigned to be a shepherd in your fields.
Note again the Doric forms in this passage; e.g. eujluvra", e[tla, mhlonovma".
e[tla is the 3rd sing. aor. indic. of *tlavw (the asterisk indicates that the verb is not attested in the pres. tense), "bear, endure, deign".

575-77. docmia'n.....uJmenaivou": Literally: along the upward-sloping hill-sides (docmia'n klituvwn) piping (surivzwn) to your flocks pastoral wedding-songs (poimnivta" uJmenaivou").

578-79. ejpoimaivnonto...luvgke": spotted (baliaiv) lynxes, beguiled by delight (cara'/) in your songs, grazed with you..
The charming of wild beasts with music is of course traditionally associated with Orpheus rather than Apollo.

580-81. Othrys was a mountain range in Thessaly.
leovntwn aJ (Doric for hJ) dafoino;" i[la: the tawny pride of lions

583-87. covreuse....molpa'/: Literally: And there danced to the music of your lyre (covreuse...kiqavran) dappled fawn (poikilovqrix nebrov") beyond the lofty foliage (uJyikovmwn pevran) going tripping on light foot (baivnous!....kouvfw/) delighting in the merry song (caivrous! eu[froni molpa'/).

588-89. toiga;r...oijkei'": therefore you (Admetus) inhabit a home most rich in flocks. (Or read oijkei', in parallel with tivqetai, kratuvnei).
"The grace of Apollo has brought unexampled prosperity to Admetus, both in the numbers of his flocks and in the extent of his dominion." (Dale)

590. livmnan (Doric for livmnhn) here means "stream" rather than (more commonly) "lake, pool".

590-96. ajrovtoi"....kratuvnei: These lines present a number of difficulties, in terms of both their precise meaning and, in the case of line 594, the actual reading of the text. In view of these difficulties, which have taxed the mental powers of a number of scholars, it will be sufficient for you just to have an overall understanding of what the passage is about. Broadly speaking, it refers to the extent of Admetus' domains, thanks to the beneficence of Apollo, stretching from the region inhabited by the Molossians in the west to the Aegean coast in the east around Mount Pelion.

597. ajmpetavsa" is the (contracted) aor. partic. of ajnapetavnnumi, "spread out, open".

598. noterw'/ blefavrw/: (although) with moist eye

599-600. ta'" fivla"....ajrtiqanh': Literally: mourning the corpse (only) recently-perished (nevkun ajrtiqanh') in (his) home, of his beloved wife.

600-01. to; ga;r eujgene;"....aijdw': It is not altogether certain what point the Chorus is trying to make in these words. to; eujgenev" means "nobility", aijdwv", "a sense of honour/respect", referring here to the honour due to a guest. Both terms are very positive ones. However, they are here connected by the verb ejkfevretai, which as Dale comments is generally used of "undesirable impulses"; hence the movement from to; eujgene;" to aijdw' would imply some sort of degeneration or decline.
Taking account of this, Conacher comments that the passage "seems to combine muted criticism with admiration for Admetus' hospitable entertainment of Heracles". By representing one good quality as "degenerating" to another good quality, "one can only infer," according to Conacher, "that this latter quality is regarded as being carried to what, in the present context, is a questionable extreme."
If we adopt this explanation (which perhaps receives some support from the servant's later comment in line 810), we might interpret the passage along the following lines: For (his) noble nature degenerates into (excessive) respect (for his guest).

602-03. pavnt(a) ....a[gamai: The manuscripts punctuate after sofiva", which would give the sense: Everything of wisdom (i.e. all wisdom) is present in good men. (This) I admire.
Alternatively (and perhaps more naturally) we might punctuate after e[nestin and take sofiva" with a[gamai (though this verb is normally used with the accus. or dat.):
In good men all things (i.e. all good qualities) are present. (Their) wisdom I admire. (I.e. wisdom is one of these qualities.)

604-05. pro;" d! ejma'/....pravxein: Literally: In my heart sits confidence that a pious mortal will fare well.
pravxein is the fut. infin of pravttw, here used intransitively with the meaning "be in a (certain) state or condition".
fw'ta is the accus. sing of fwv", "a mortal" (which as we have noted above is to be distinguished from fw'", "light".)

606. (ajndrw'n...parousiva) marks the entry of Alcestis' funeral procession, led by Admetus. Alcestis' corpse rests on a bier carried by attendants.

608. pro;" tavfon te kai; puravn: Literally: to the burial and the pyre. We know from lines 365 ff. that Alcestis is not to be cremated on a funeral pyre. Thus puvran is probably not to be understood in its literal sense here, but rather as equivalent to a word like tuvmbo", "funeral mound".

609. wJ" nomivzetai: as is customary

613. nertevrwn ajgavlmata: adornment for the dead (literally: dwellers in the underworld).
ajgalmavta is in apposition to kosvmon (here "garb, raiment")

Fourth episode, first part 614-746

Admetus and his father Pheres bitterly reproach each other for Alcestis' death. The episode provides us with an example of one of the stock features of Greek tragedy - the agon. This is a debate between two characters who took opposing or conflicting viewpoints. Though the debate often does little to advance the action of the play, it can provide some important insights into various aspects of the play's themes and characters. Euripides was responsible for the agon-scene's greatest development in Greek tragedy. The example we have here is one of the earliest such scenes in Euripides, and one of the most bitter - particularly as the opposing characters in this case are father and son, and the the argument takes place in the middle of Alcestis' funeral procession..

616. hJmavrthka" is the 2nd sing perf. indic. act. of aJmartavnw, which here has the meaning "be deprived of" (+ gen.).

In lines 618-28, Pheres turns to address his farewell to Alcestis' corpse.

621-22. kai; m! oujk.....katafqivnein: and she has not left me childless, nor allowed me to waste away in grievous old age deprived of you.
Dale comments thus: "Pheres' sentiments, especially 621-22, have in the circumstances a smooth ajnaivdeia (i.e. "effrontery, shamelessness" etc.) which makes Admetus' outburst hardly surprising." This criticism is perhaps a little harsh. We should remember that one of the things parents most feared was that their children might not survive to fulfill the sacred duty of caring for them in their old age, and providing for their burial. It is perhaps not so surprising that thoughts of this were, at this time, uppermost in Pheres' mind. And we need to recall this some lines later (lines 662 ff.), and to understand how distraught Pheres must feel when Admetus bitterly rejects him. Of course, that needs to be weighed against the fact that by refusing to die in his son's place Pheres could well have brought on himself the fate that he is here so relieved to have avoided.

627-28. fhmi;....a[xion: I say that such marriages are profitable for men, or (else) it is not worth getting married. luvein is here used intransitively with the meaning "to be profitable".
ajnaivdeia might just as appropriately be applied to what Pheres says here! However, Conacher suggests that the sardonic note in these verses probably belongs to the poet more than to the speaker, though (as he goes on to say) Pheres himself later adopts it when he angrily expresses a similar sentiment in lines 699-701.

629. ejx ejmou' klhqeiv": at my invitation. klhqeiv" is the aor. partic. pass. of kalevw.

630. ou[t! ejn fivloisi...levgw: nor do I include your presence amongst those dear (to me).
fivloisi is one of the numerous instances in this play of the old dat. plural ending -oisi, sometimes retained in poetry.

632. ouj gavr ti...tafhvsetai: Literally: for she will not be buried in-need-of (ejndehv") anything of yours.

634-35. su; d! ejkpodw;n....nekrovn; Literally: But you having kept out of the way (ejkpodw;n stav") and (though) being old having allowed another, a young person, to die, will you (now dare to) lament over this corpse?
Distinguish pareiv" which is the aor. partic. of parijhmi (here with the meaning "allow") from pavrei", 2nd sing. pres. indic. of pavreimi, "be present".

636-39. oujk h\sq!.....lavqrai: If we take these lines strictly at face value, Admetus raises serious doubts about his own legitimacy and suggests he may have been of servile origin. But would he, even at the height of his fury with his father, have made such a statement? Some scholars think not, and have removed the lines, suggesting that they came from another play, or another version of this play. But there is no need to resort to such an explanation if we take the lines purely as a rhetorical outburst by Admetus which are not meant to convey literal truth. Outbursts of this kind, in which statements made in the heat of the moment are not intended to be taken as literally true, can in fact be parallelled elsewhere in Greek tragedy.

638-39. doulivou....lavqra/: Literally: but (rather) (born) from servile blood I was secretly put beneath the breast of your wife.
uJpeblhvqhn is the 1st sing. aor. indic. pass. of uJpobavllw.

640. e[deixa"....o}" ei\: Literally: having come forth to the test (= having been put to the test - eij" e[legcon ejxelqwvn), you showed (me) who you (really) are,

642. ta[ra = toi a[ra, used to strengthen an assertion.
pavntwn diaprevpei" ajyuciva/: you surpass all in cowardice,

645-46. ajlla;...ojqneivan: but you allowed this woman, an outsider, (to do so) (i.e. to die in your son's place). Understand qanei'n with eijavsate.

648. kaivtoi....hjgwnivsw: Literally: And yet you would have contended this contest (i.e. undertaken this challenge) nobly....
This is the apodosis of an unfulfilled condition relating to past time (thus a[n + aor. indic.). The protasis is expressed in the next line by a participle construction (tou'...katqavnwn - by dying in place of your son = if you had been prepared to die in place of your son).
ajgw'n(a) is a cognate accus. with hjgwnivsw, which is the 2nd sing. aor. indic. of ajgwnivzomai, "contend". (On the cognate accus., see the note on 242-43.)
kalovn is here used adverbially - nobly.

651-52. kajgw;.... ejmoi'": These lines are generally enclosed in square brackets to indicate that they should probably be deleted, on the grounds that they interrupt the sequence of thought and are a close repetition of lines 295-96.
ch|de = kai; hJde.

656-57. w{st! oujk....diarpavsai: Literally: so that not dying childless were you going to leave a house without-heir (ojrfanovn) for others to tear apart.
More freely: so that you were not going to die childless and (thus) leave for others to tear apart a house without an heir.

658-70. ouj mh;n ejrei'"....mavlista: At least you will not (be able to) say that you handed me over to death for not honouring your old age, since I have always shown you the greatest respect.

660. h| = h|n.

661. su; chj (= kai; hJ) tekou's(a): you and she who bore me. hJ tekou'sa conveys more effectively Admetus' sense of bitterness here than would the simple term of relationship mhvthr.
hjllaxavthn is the 2nd dual aor. indic. act. of ajllavssw, "give in exchange".

662. toiga;r futeuvwn....fqavnoi": So you'd better hurry up and beget (other) children....

662-64. are heavily sarcastic. As Conacher notes, "Admetus' sarcastic advice to Pheres to hurry up and sire more sons if he wants to be looked after in his old age, is parallelled by Pheres' advice to Admetus, at 720, to keep marrying other wives to die for him. These and other parallels in the black humour of this agon only reflect, of course, the basic similarity of the two antagonists' positions, as each accuses the other of causing Alcestis' death by being unwilling to die himself."

666. toujpi; sev: as far as you're concerned.

667-68. keivnou levgw....ghrotrovfon: I say that I'm the child and loving nurse-of-the-old-age (ghrotrovfon) of that person (and therefore have no filial obligation to provide for your burial).
Conacher regards this as "surely the high-point in the bitter unconscious irony of Admetus' speech, for he himself, by accepting Alcestis' sacrifice, has ensured that she will not enjoy an old age for him to tend like a devoted son."

669-72. mavthn....baruv: Dale notes that the sentiments expressed in these lines recall the subject of the Aesopic fable of the old man and the bundle of faggots. See if you can find this fable, to assess the validity of the comparison. (And let us know when you do!)
h[n in 671 is a contraction of ejavn, which is always followed by the subjunct.

674. paroxuvnh/" is the 2nd sing. aor. subjunct. act. of paroxuvnw, "irritate, provoke", used here in a negative imperative construction.

675-705. w\ pai'....kakav: "Pheres, as presented in this scene, is without doubt one of the most unpleasant (of several unpleasant) characters in Euripides. Nevertheless, his harsh but effective indictment of Admetus in this speech and in the following dialogue should not necessarily be regarded as completely unjust, or even as completely unrepresentative of 'the general judgment' of the king." (Conacher) One might add that from a completely rational viewpoint, much of what Pheres says is quite sound, sensible, and logical. And as we have already noted, a Greek audience might well have been shocked and appalled by Admetus' rejection of his father, however great his provocation.
Note what Dale has to say about this speech: "...there can be no doubt that Pheres always wins on points in this superb speech, in its mordant wit hardly surpassed in Greek tragedy. Not that Euripides approves of the old rascal; the judgments of Alcestis and the Chorus have united with Admetus in condemning him, but the plot requires that Admetus shall be defeated here, so that when his temper has cooled he shall realize what the ill-disposed can make of his situation."

675-76. w\ pai'....sevqen: Literally: Child! What Lydian or Phrygian of yours, bought-with-silver (ajrgurwvnhton), do you take pride in attacking with these insults? That is to say: Do you think it's some Lydian or Phrygian slave of yours that you have the effrontery to attack with these insults?
Pheres rebukes his son for speaking to him not merely as though he were a slave, but one of "decadent" (from the Greek point of view) oriental origin.

679. neaniva" is here used as an adj. equivalent to neanikov", which basically means "youthful, high-spirited", but can also have a pejorative sense, "arrogant, insolent".

680. ouj...ou{tw" a[pei = the colloquial English expression you won't get away with (hurling these insolent words at me).
a[pei is the 2nd sing. of a[peimi, "go away, depart".

681-82. ejgw; de;.....sevqen: I sired (ejgeinavmhn) you and reared you (to be) master of (this) house, but I have no obligation to die in place of you.

683-84. ouj ga;r patrw'/on....@Ellhnikovn: Literally: For I have not received this (as an) ancestral law, (namely) that fathers are to die for sons, nor (as a) Greek law (either).
That is to say, "neither the law of the land nor the Rights of Man contain such a provision." (Dale)

685-86. sautw'/....e[fu": You, whether fortunate(ly) or unfortunate(ly), were born to yourself (i.e. to your own fate).
In effect, Pheres is saying this to his son: "Whether things turn out well or badly for you, your life is your own responsibility. If your fate is to die young, you cannot expect your parents to assume that fate in your place."
e[fu" is the 2nd sing. aor. indic. of fuvw, "bring forth, beget". The 2nd aor. form is intransitive, and has the meaning "grow, be produced, be born".

686. a} d! hJmw'n...e[cei": Literally: What (things) it was necessary for you to obtain from us, you (already) have.
crh'n is the imperf. tense of the impersonal crhv, "it is necessary". (The augmented form ejcrh'n is much less common.)

687-88. pollw'n is here neut. plur. gen. (after a[rcei"). It gains a more specific meaning from guva" (accus. plur. of guva, "a piece of land") at the end of the line. Thus we might translate: You (already) hold sway over much (territory), .....

689. tiv is an internal accus. with ajdivkhka: What wrong, then, have I done you?

690. qnh'/sc! is an imperative form = qnhv/ske.
tou'd'! ajndrov": Pheres means himself - Don't be dying for this man (pointing to himself), nor will I be doing any dying for you.

692-93. h| mh;n....glukuv: Literally: I calculate that the time (spent) below is assuredly long, and the time for living short, but nonetheless sweet.

694-96. su; gou'n....kataktav": But as for you (su; gou'n), without shame you fought against death and continue to live, transgressing your appointed destiny (parelqw;n th;n peprwmevnhn tuvchn) and causing this woman's death.
kataktav" is the aor. partic. (the form found in epic poetry and tragedy) of katakteivnw (cf. line 3), "kill, put to death", but here the sense is "cause the death of".

697. gunaikov" hJsshmevno": being inferior-to (i.e. shown-up-by) your wife.
hJsshmevno" is the pres. partic. of hJssavomai, "be less than, inferior to". It is used with the gen. (here gunaikov") of the thing/person with whom comparison is being made.

698-701. tou' kalou'....uJpe;r sou': Heavy-handed sarcasm! Pheres' taunts become increasingly bitter and unrestrained as his speech progresses.

701. fivloi" again refers to close family members rather than to friends in general.

704. filei'n a{panta" is an accus. and infin. construction after novmize: Consider that (just as you love your own life) everyone (else) loves (theirs too).

706. pleivw is the contracted neut. plur. (nom. and accus.) of the comparative adj. pleivwn. The comparative here has the sense "too many". (On the contracted forms of comparative adjs., see JACT p. 103, sec. 93.)
nu'n te kai; to; privn: both now and previously. If this reading is correct, to; privn would thus be an adverbial phrase, balancing nu'n. However the tov is emended from tav of the manuscript reading. If tav is in fact the correct reading (and Dale prefers to stick to it), then it would qualify kakav. But the sentence would then cease to hang together, producing what is known as an anacoluthon. Try translating the sentence with the reading ta; kakav, and you will see the problem - and what is meant by an anacoluthon.

708. levg!, wJ" ejmou' levxanto": We may have to expand this a little in translation, to bring out the full sense: You might as well go on talking (i.e. in spite of what the Chorus says) , now that I have had my say.

709-10. ouj crh'n....ejxamartavnein: The verb ejxamartavnw occurs twice in these lines. It basically means "make a serious mistake" but can also be used of doing serious wrong to someone. The latter sense applies in 709, the former in 710. There is probably intentional word-play here as Pheres deliberately changes the meaning of what his son has said. We can try to bring this out in translation thus:
Admetus: ...you should not have done this great wrong to me.
Pheres: It would have been much more wrong of me to die in your place.

711. taujto;n....qanei'n; (Is it) the same thing for a man in-his-prime (hJbw'nt(a)) and an old man to die?

713. kai; mh;n....crovnon: Then may you indeed live longer even than Zeus. As Dale notes, the word ajra'/ in 714 makes it clear that this must be taken as a wish. Dale goes on to say that in its extravagance the wish has the force of a curse (and that's certainly how Pheres interpreted it in 714), comparing the story of Tithonus. (Tithonus was a mortal who was granted by the gods the gift of eternal life. But the Dawn Goddess Eos who obtained this gift for him forgot to ask that it be accompanied by eternal youth - so that the unfortunate Tithonus became progressively older and more decrepit until (according to one account) he eventually turned into a grasshopper).

716. ajll! ouj.....ejkfevrei"; Pheres' rhetorical question effectively turns Admetus' taunt in the previous line back upon himself.

718. ou[toi ...w[let!: At least it wasn't because of us that she died.
Don't confuse ou[toi, "indeed not, at least not" with ou|toi, the nom. plur. of the demonstrative pronoun..

719. ei[q!....potev: Literally: Would that one day you might come to need this man's help.
More freely: I just hope the day comes when you find yourself needing my help!
The emphatic force of tou'de needs to be brought out in translation.

720. wJ" qavnwsi pleivone" is a purpose clause: so that more may die (for you).

722. to; fevggo" tou'to tou' qeou': this light of day

723. oujk ejn ajndravsin: An unusual expression which must mean something like (your spirit) unworthy of a man.

724. oujk ejggelai'"....nekrovn: Literally: You, carrying out a corpse, would not be mocking an old man. Pheres' statement is somewhat compressed, and we can't be altogether sure what precisely it means. Perhaps something along the following lines: My refusal to die for you means that at least you won't have the opportunity of making fun of me as you take me out for burial. That of course is not entirely logical, since if Pheres had agreed to die for his son, the latter would have treated his father with honour rather than the contempt he now shows for him. But in the heat of the present argument neither father nor son are being particular logical or rational.

725. qanh'/ dusklehv" (You will die in dishonour) o{tan qavnh/" (whenever you die).
Don't be confused by the similarity between qanh'/ and qavnh/", both from the verb qnhvskw; qanh'/ is the 2nd sing. fut. indic. mid. (1st sing. qanou'mai) of this verb; qavnh/" is the 2nd sing. aor. subjunct. act., used here in an indefinite temporal clause (see JACT pp. 303-04).

726. kakw'"...qanovnti moi: Evil repute will be of no concern to me when I'm dead.
"For Pheres living is the paramount consideration.", says Conacher, commenting that Pheres' disregard for his reputation after his death would have disgusted the Greek audience. This may be taking a somewhat idealised view of the members of a 5th century theatre audience - one wonders how many would have been prepared to uphold personally the heroic ideal of a premature death with honour in preference to a longer life at honour's expense. Perhaps Euripides himself is implicitly raising this question in his treatment of the altercation between father and son. Of course within the play's heroic context, where such store was set by one's reputation after death, the audience's expectations of the play's characters may well have differed greatly from what they expected in their own society.
The infin. phrase kakw'" ajkouvein is the subject of the verb mevlei.

728. h{de oujk ajnaidh;"....a[frona: Pheres here points to Alcestis' corpse. Her "foolishness" lay in showing such devotion to, and making the supreme sacrifice for, so worthless a husband - as Admetus now is in the eyes of his father.

731. dijka"....e[ti: and you will still (be liable to) pay the penalty to your in-laws. That is to say, Alcestis' own family may hold her husband accountable for her death, and seek vengeance.

732. oujkevti ejn ajndravsin: Very similar to the expression used in 723.

734-36. e[rrwn....ghravsket(e): Be cursed now, you yourself and she (chj) who is your mate. Grow old childless (a[paide, nom. dual of a[pai"), though your child is alive (paido;" o[nto" - gen. absolute with concessive force), just as you deserve!
e[rrwn is nom. sing. masc., pres. partic. act. of e[rrw, agreeing with aujtov".

737. nei'sq(e) is the 2nd plur. pres. indic. of nevomai, "go, come". The verb is found only in the pres. and imperf. tenses, and usually has a fut. sense: You will never again come (under the same roof)....

737-38. eij d! ajpeipei'n....ajpei'pon a[n: If it had been possible for me to renounce by means of heralds my ancestral hearth, I would have (so) renounced it.
This is an unfulfilled condition relating to past time.
Note again the use of u{po as a postposition, with the accent on the first syllable.
Conacher draws attention to Admetus' invocation of the formal legal proceeding of ajpokhruvxi", a public proclamation in which, as a general rule, a father disinherited his son. Admetus here turns the procedure around, in his renunciation of his parents. He can of course make no more than a hypothetical statement about this (eij d! ajpeipei'n crh'n...) since there was no legal procedure covering renunciation of parents by a son. Indeed the audience may well have found abhorrent his mere speculation on such a possibility, regardless of how much his father (in particular) may have warranted this treatment.

739-40. hJmei'"....nekrovn: Let us go forth (steivcwmen, a subjunct. of will), for the evil just before us (toujn (= to; en) posi;n kakovn) must be endured (oijstevon - verbal adj.), so that we may perform the burial rites.
Note the expression ejn posiv(n), "before one's feet, right in front of one", and distinguish posiv(n) (dat. plur. of pouv") from povsin (accus. sing. of povsi", "husband, spouse").
qw'men is the 1st plur. aor. subjunct. act. of tivqhmi, used here in a purpose clause.
wJ" a]n....nekrovn literally means: in order that we may place the body on a pyre. However, since Alcestis was clearly not going to be cremated (see again the note on 608), we should probably avoid any reference to this in translation, using instead a more general reference to the performance of burial rites.

743-44. provfrwn....devcoit!: The adj. provfrwn is here used predicatively with the opt. devcoit(o), which expresses a wish: May Hermes of the Underworld and Hades receive you kindly. (Though devcoito is singular, it belongs in sense with both Hermes and Hades.)
Hermes is addressed here in his role as Psychopompos, conductor of the spirits of the dead to the Underworld.

744-46. eij dev ti...paredreuvoi": Literally: If there is anything more (i.e. any further benefit) there for good (people), may you sharing these things (touvtwn metevcous(a)) sit alongside the bride of Hades (i.e. Persephone). The Chorus' wish is that Alcestis become Persephone's chief attendant, or Lady-in-Waiting.

At this point, Admetus and the Chorus leave the stage to take part in Alcestis' funeral. The stage and Orchestra are now left empty, an unusual occurrence, Conacher notes, in the middle of a Greek tragedy.

Fourth Episode, second part 747-860

Heracles learns that it is in fact the queen Alcestis and not an outsider who has died. He is mortified at having unwittingly intruded upon this scene of mourning, and in return for his host's hospitality he determines to win Alcestis back from Death.

747 ff. The servant appears alone on the stage and addresses a monologue to the audience. His speech "shows how thoroughly Admetus' promise of a house of perpetual mourning (333-34) has been breached by his hospitality to Heracles." (Conacher) Yet Conacher goes on to say that despite the real pathos of the servant's speech, the opening sentence "serves notice, perhaps, that the context of this scene (and of at least part of the ensuing conversation with the guest Heracles) will be of a comic rather than a tragic nature."

748. molovnta" is the accus. masc. plur. of the aor. partic. of blwvskw ("come, go"), qualifying xevnou".

749-50. ajlla; tou'd!..kakivon(a): but I have never before welcomed a worse guest than this one... Dale notes that this is the earliest extant appearance of what was to become so common a gambit in the dramatic monologues of comedy - the assertion of a superlative by the denial of a comparative in describing the behaviour of someone within the house. Thus here - I have never welcomed a worse guest.

752. kajtovlmhs! (= kai; ejtovlmhse) ajmeivyasqai puvla": and he had the effrontery to cross (our) threshold.
ajmeivyasqai is the aor. infin. mid. of ajmeivbw, "change, exchange". In the middle voice the verb can be used with places to mean "change (one place) for another", or "pass in/out of/through (a particular place)".

753-55. e[peita d! ou[ti......fevrein: And then, in his sensitivity (swfrovnw", used sarcastically), he did not accept the guest-fare that happened to be offered (ta; prostucovnta xevnia), though he had learned of the misfortune, but if we failed to bring anything, he insisted on (our) bringing it.
Heracles, who was a byword for gluttony and drunkenness, had apparently been offered a scratch meal, all that the household in mourning could provide. Unaware of the tragedy which so closely affected his host, and knowing of his host's reputation for hospitality, he had apparently demanded better fare. The servant had taken exception to this, mistakenly believing that the new arrival already knew of Alcestis' death and was therefore guilty of gross insensitivity when he made his demands. Of course at this stage the servant is unaware that the new arrival is in fact Heracles.

756. poth'ra kivssinon - "ivy-clad cup".

757. pivnei....mevqu: he drinks the unmixed wine of a black mother - a comically pretentious expression, particularly coming from the mouth of a servant.
eu[zwron mevqu = "unadulterated wine", i.e. wine that has not been mixed with water. In the Graeco-Roman world, wine was generally diluted with water before it was consumed. The drinking of neat wine was considered decadent, intemperate behaviour.

758. ejqevrmhn(e) is the 3rd sing. aor. indic. act. of qermaivnw, "warm, heat".

759-60. stevfei....uJlaktw'n: and braying raucously (a[mous(a) uJlaktw'n), he garlands his head with sprigs of myrtle.
Though the servant is unaware of Heracles' identity, his comments reflect the way Heracles is commonly depicted in Greek burlesque comedy - as a swaggering, drunken glutton and bully.

760. dissa; d! h\n mevlh klueivn: It was possible (h\n) (for one) to hear two different songs.

761. h\/de is the 3rd sing. aor. indic. of ajeivdw, "sing".

764. #Admhto" ga;r w|d! ejfiveto: for Admetus thus ordered us (i.e. not to display our grief in the presence of the guest of the house).
ejfiveto is the 3rd sing. imperf. indic. mid. of ejfivhmi, which basically means "launch, send against", but here has the meaning "order, command".

766. panou'rgon....tina: This statement makes it quite clear that the servant is unaware of Heracles' identity.

770. kakw'n...ejrruveto: She used to rescue us from countless misfortunes
ejrruveto is the 3rd sing. imperf. indic. of rJuvomai, "rescue".

773-802. ou|to"....sumforav: Conacher believes that there are several indications in the style and content of this speech that Heracles is at least mildly drunk as he delivers it. Do you agree, and if so what do you think these indications are?

773. ou|to": You there! Dale notes that this form of address is generally not rough or insulting. "It demands the hearer's attention with a touch of peremptoriness or impatience.....Most commonly, it introduces a protesting question, as here."
tiv semno;n...blevpei": Why are you looking solemn and careworn?
pefrontikov", here translated as "careworn", is the perf. partic. neut. of frontivzw (basically, "think, consider"), which can be used intransitively with the meaning "be thoughtful, anxious, careworn". The partic. is here used, like semnovn, as an internal accus. with blevpei".

774-75. ouj crhv....freniv: A servant should not look sullenly at guests, but receive them with a courteous attitude.

777. sunwfruwmevnw/ is the dat. sing. neut. (agreeing with proswvpw/) of the perf. partic. of sunofruovomai, "frown".

778. quraivou...e[cwn: mourning for someone outside the family. Thus has Heracles been misled by the use of the word ojqnei'o" in lines 532-33.

780. ta; qvnhtav....fuvsin; Literally; Do you know mortal affairs, what nature they have? More freely: Do you really have any understanding of the nature of mortality?
oi\da" (in place of oi\sqa) is an Ionic form of the 2nd sing. pres. indic. of oi\da, "know". The form is common in later koine Greek but rare in Attic Greek. In fact this is its only known occurrence in tragedy (which has led some editors to regard it as suspect).

781. povqen gavr; For how (could you know this)? Interrogative povqen is used after a negative statement to emphasise the impossibility of something: I think you have no idea of what mortality is all about. For how could you know this?

783-84. koujk e[sti....biwvsetai: And there is no mortal who knows for sure if he will live through the next day.
Understand hJmevran with th;n mevllousan.

784-85. to; th'" tuvch"....tevcnh/: Literally: For the (way) of fortune, whither it will proceed, (is) obscure, and is not able-to-be-taught nor is achieved by art.

788-89. to;n kaq! hJmevran....th'" tuvch": Cheer up, drink up, and count life day by day as your own, but the rest as belonging to fortune - a Greek version of the "eat, drink, and be merry" philosophy.

790-91. tivma....brotoi'sin: Honour the Cyprian as utterly the sweetest of all gods for mortals. The Cyprian is Aphrodite, so called because she was particularly venerated on the island of Cyprus.
Note the use of the double superlative plei'ston hJdivsthn for the sake of emphasis.

792. e[ason, the 2nd sing. aor. imperative of ejavw, here has the sense "let go, dismiss, forget". tau'ta refers to all that is causing the servant to appear morose and melancholy.

794-95. ou[koun....meq! hJmwn; Will you not therefore, having put aside your excessive grief, drink with us?
a[gan is an adverb here used adjectivally with luvphn - "excessive grief".
ajfeiv" is the aor. partic. of ajfivhmi, here used in the sense "give up, put aside".
pivh/ is the 2nd sing. fut. indic. of pivnw, "drink".

795-96. tavsd! uJperbalwvn....pukasqeiv": Scholars are inclined to delete these words on the grounds that they are superfluous to the advice Heracles has already given, and also anticipate very similar expressions in lines 829 and 832.

797-98. tou' nu'n skuqrwpou'....skuvfou: A somewhat complicated metaphorical expression, whose precise meaning is unclear.
xunestw'to", the gen. sing. of the (contracted) perf. partic. of xunivsthmi, "put together, combine", is here translated by Dale as "clotted" (referring to a state of mind "clotted" with sullenness).
meqormiei' is the 3rd sing. fut. indic. of meqormivzw, "remove from one place to another" (in its original sense referring to the removal of a ship to a different mooring).
pivtulo" used to be understood as the noise made by oars dipping into water, though more recently it has been argued that it refers to rhythmical movement rather than sound. Thus Dale translates pivtulo"...skuvfou as rhythmical elbow-lifting...of the carouse (a carouse is a drinking session). However, there are other contexts in which pivtulo" contains the idea of "attack, onslaught". Hence Conacher translates pivtulo"...skuvfou as the mad fit of the wine-cup. So scholars have yet to reach consensus on this matter.
ejmpeswvn = "having fallen upon (you)", i.e. "having taken hold of you".
Thus the overall sense of these lines is: The pivtulo" skuvfou (whatever those words may mean) having taken hold of you will transport you from your present sullen and clotted state of mind.

799. o[nta" de; qnhtou;"....crevwn: Since we're mere mortals, we should (also) think mortal thoughts.

801. w{" g! ejmoi crh'sqai krith'/ is a parenthetical phrase: to use me as a judge - that is to say, if you go by my judgment.

803. nu'n de; pravssomen....a[xia: But our present (mis)fortunes are such as to make revelry and laughter inappropriate.

807. tiv zw'sin; The interrogative tiv is used colloquially to introduce a question indicating surprise or indignation: What (do you mean) "they're still alive"?

809. a[gan....filovxeno": This comment recalls the Chorus' words in lines 600-01. See the note on these lines.

810. ouj crh'n....nekrou'; Should I not have been well treated just because of the death of an outsider (to the family)?

811. h\ kavrta....qurai'o" h\n: qurai'o" is read here, following Dale, in place of the manuscript reading oijkei'o". If the latter is read, then the servant would be stating emphatically that the dead person was in fact a very close member of the family. As Dale says, this would be giving the show away prematurely, and it is clear that Heracles remains unaware of the identity of the dead person until he asks a direct question in 820.

812. mw'n (= mh; ou\n) is used in direct questions to which the answer "no" is expected: Surely there was not some misfortune he didn't tell me about?

815. ouj gavr ti....orw'n: (No), for I would not then be upset by seeing you revelling.
hjcqovmhn, the imperf. indic. of aj[cqomai, "be weighed down, vexed, annoyed", is here used in the apodosis of a present unfulfilled condition (see JACT p. 167, sec. 152) with the protasis implied from the previous line.

816. ajll! h\ ....ejmw'n; Have I really been so dreadfully used by my host (who has so deceived me by leading me to believe that the dead person was an outsider)?
ajll! h\ indicates "surprised incredulity" (Dale).
pevponqa is the 1st sing. perf. indic. act. of pavscw, "suffer, experience". When used with kakw'" or similar (here deivna) + uJpo and gen., it means "be ill-used by someone".

817. oujk h\lqe"....dovmoi": Literally: You did not come to the house at an opportune time (ejn devonti) (for it) to receive you.

818-19. pevnqo"....katqanwvn; For various reasons, including the interruption of the pattern of stichomythia (which, as we've noted earlier, is dialogue in lines alternating between two speakers) these lines are considered by a number of scholars to be an interpolation - i.e. a later editorial addition to the text. Hence in some editions they are enclosed in square brackets.

822. e[peita dh'ta indicates "indignant surprise, very common in Aristophanes" (Dale). And yet you still gave me hospitality?

823. hj/dei'to is the 3rd sing. imperf. indic. mid. of aijdevomai.

824. h[mplake" is the 2nd sing. aor. indic. of ajmplakivskw, on which see the note on line 242.
xunavoro" is the Doric form of xunhvoro", one of the words for partner, spouse. Other words which we have encountered in the play with similar meaning include a[loco", davmar, povsi".

826. o[mm(a) dakrurroou'n: his eyes (literally eye) flowing-with-tears.

827-28. ajll! e[peiqe....fevrein: Yet he managed to convince me (i.e. in spite of the evidence of my own eyes - hj/sqovmhn etc.) when speaking of bringing the body of an outsider for burial.
The reason for the use of the imperf. tense e[peiqe here is not altogether clear. Dale suggests that it was probably the idiomatic use for a line of action which failed and in the event was reversed.
kh'do" basically means "care, concern (for another)", then by a series of extensions "grief, sorrow", then "mourning (for someone who is dead)", then "funeral", then the object of the funeral - "the dead".

829. biva/ qumou': Literally: with violence to my feelings. More freely: against my better feelings.

830. pravssonto" ou{tw: (in the house of a host) being in this state. The verb pravssw is here used intransitively, with the meaning "be in a certain state" (cf. note on 226-27) - in this case a state of mourning for the dead.

830-31. kavra stefavnoi" pukasqeiv": Literally: covered with garlands with respect to the head. kavra is an accus. of respect, a type of accus. often found with parts of the body.

832. sou' to; mh; fravsai: And to think you didn't tell me! sou' is a gen. of exclamation. Dale notes that this type of genitive, which gives the cause or origin of an emotion (qaumavzw se th'" ajnoiva" - I am amazed at your folly!), can be retained when the verb is replaced by an interjection (feu' th'" ajnoiva" - Oh what folly!), and, more colloquially, can be left even without an interjection if the quality causing the emotion is expressed or implied in it. The exclamatory gen. is often followed, as here, by an "epexegetic" infinitive, i.e. one which serves to explain the exclamation.
"The verse expresses Heracles' amazement that his host would let him remain in such ignorance of his bereavement, and prepares us for the hero's later rebuke to Admetus (1008-18)." (Conacher)

835-36. ojrqhvn....ejk proastivou: You will see the tomb by the road which leads directly to Larisa (one of the leading towns of Thessaly).
Note the common use of fevrei, with oJdov" (or similar) as its subject, meaning "lead (to)".
Tombs, especially of important people, commonly lined the main road leading out of a city (ejk proastivou).
katovyh/ is the 2nd sing. fut. indic. of kaqoravw, "look down on", or more generally "see, observe".
xestovn here refers to dressed stone.

837-60. w\ polla; tla'sa....: Conacher comments on the sharp contrast between the elevated tone of Heracles' monologue and that of the roystering guest of a moment before. It is a speech which informs us in advance of the violent contest that is going to happen offstage, in contrast to the usual messenger's speech which informs us in retrospect of such an event.

837. w\ polla;....cei;r ejmhv: A reference to the qualities which Heracles must now call upon in the contest which he is preparing to undertake on behalf of his host.

838. deivxon is the 2nd sing. aor. imperat. of deivknumi.

838-39. hJ Tirunqiva....Diiv: Alcmene was the daughter of Electryon, a king of Mycenae, and the wife of Amphitryon, a prince of Tiryns. During Amphitryon's absence on a military campaign, Alcmene was visited by Zeus who deceived her by assuming the form of her husband, and fathered Heracles on her.

841. kaj" = kai; eij"

842. !Admhvtw/...cavrin: "Once again the concept of cavri" ('favour for favour') is central....to the recognition of Admetus' egregious hospitality." (Conacher)

845. pivnonta...prosfagmavtwn: near the tomb drinking (the blood) of sacrifices. Note the use of pivnw + gen meaning "drink of...". "These gruesome images of Death gorging himself on the blood of sacrificial victims (see also line 851) serve to remind us of the primitive folk-tale aspects of the Alcestis legend." (Conacher)

846-49. ka[nper....meqh'/: Literally: And if (ka[nper = kai; ejavn-per) having run (suqeiv") from (my) place of ambush (locaiva" ejx e{dra") I seize (mavryw) him, having encircled him with my arms, there is no-one who will free him, (though) being distressed in-his-lungs, until he has given up the woman to me.
mavryw, the 1st sing. aor. subjunct. of mavrptw ("grasp, seize") is used in the protasis of a conditional sentence referring to future time. See JACT p. 306 O (iii).
suqeiv" is the aor. partic. pass. of seuvw, which means "drive, chase", and in the middle and passive, "run". Heracles, the archetypal strong man of Greek mythology, intends to wrestle with Death. Line 142 makes it clear that his first plan has been successful.

850. h]n (= eja;n)....movlh/: But if I miss my prey and he does not come....
These conditional clauses balance ka[nper....mavryw above, and have the same grammatical construction.
aJmartw is the 1st sing. aor. subjunct. of ajmartavnw. When used with the gen. (as here with th'sd! a[gra"), this verb has the meaning "miss, lose, be deprived of".

851. aijmathro;n pelanovn: thick pools of clotted gore (or something similar).

851-52. ei\mi....dovmou": I shall go to the sunless abode of those below, Kore and her Lord.
Kore was the name by which Persephone was worshipped in Attica.

853. pevpoiq(a), the 1st sing. 2nd perf. indic. of peivqw, means "I trust, have confidence". Contrast this form with pevpeika, the 1st perf. indic. of peivqw, which means "I have persuaded, prevailed upon".

855-60. o{" m! ej" dovmou"....gegwv": "These verses, giving Heracles' own account of his reason for undertaking this mighty favour for Admetus, might be said to mark the climax of 'the hospitality theme'....and to validate the Chorus' confidence (expressed at 602-05) that the pious man will always fare well. Taken by itself the passage appears to provide ample support for the interpretation of the play...as a simple morality tale of 'Virtue rewarded'." (Conacher)

857. e[krupte....aijdesqei;" ejmev: Literally: But he hid (his grief), being noble (referring to both his birth and his personal qualities), showing-respect-for (aijdesqeiv") me.
More freely: But he hid his grief, noble man that he is and out of respect for me.

859-60. toiga;r oujk....gegwv": Literally: Therefore, being noble, he will not (henceforth be able to) say that he has treated well an evil man. That is to say, Admetus will not be able to claim that he gave hospitality to a guest who was unworthy of it. Heracles will prove himself worthy of the treatment he has received by the service he will do his host in return. This is a further reference to the cavri" - "favour for favour" - theme.