Characters
- Admetus — bridegroom; forgets Artemis; propitiates her with Apollo’s aid
- Alcestis — daughter of Pelias; bride won by the yoked beasts
- Artemis — offended by omitted sacrifice; fills the chamber with snakes
- Pelias — father of Alcestis; sets the yoking contest as bride-price
- People of Crisa — herdsman-helper; solves the serpent omen
- Pheres — father of Admetus (background)
Places
- Bridal chamber — filled with serpents until Artemis is appeased
- Iolcus — Pelias’s court; contest for Alcestis
- Thessaly — Admetus’s home; wedding and bridal chamber
Themes
Narrative
Admetus son of Pheres sought Alcestis, daughter of Pelias, as wife. Pelias had vowed to give her only to a man who could yoke a lion and a boar (or wild beasts) to a chariot. Apollo, then serving Admetus as herdsman, helped his master accomplish the task; Admetus won Alcestis and brought her to Pherae.
In the joy of the wedding Admetus forgot to sacrifice to Artemis. The goddess showed her anger: when the bridal chamber was opened, it was found full of coiled serpents. Apollo—still the house’s divine friend—taught Admetus how to propitiate Artemis; the omen was allayed and the marriage stood. The episode marks Admetus as a king whose prosperity depends on exact piety toward the gods who favor him: Apollo’s help wins the bride; Artemis’s slight nearly ruins the wedding; reconciliation restores the household that will later face the Moirai’s bargain and Alcestis’s substitute death.