Άλκηστις

A household crisis unfolds when a mortal's life is secured only by a pact that demands another die in his place; his devoted wife accepts the sacrifice, prompting mourning, angry exchanges, and ritual lament from family and servants. A god who once aided the household appears and a boisterous visiting hero later challenges death, enabling a dramatic reversal. The chorus frames the action with moral and communal responses, and the play examines duty, love, hospitality, the interplay of human choice and divine will, and the nature of self-sacrifice through formal speeches and tense interpersonal confrontations.