Necessity as the basis of the play Alcestis

Alcestis is a play based on the time and setting of ancient Greece. Life in Ancient Greece was tough and challenging. Often there were civil wars or fighting with foreign countries. There was hardly security and stability for common people. Believing in Gods and Goddesses of Greek mythology was a common matter. People lived their life because of necessity and had to accept many things because of necessity. Thus, it is natural that necessity acts as the basis of the play Alcestis.

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Death is the most obvious necessity in human life. We all have to die even if we don’t want. The Fates must capture our souls and this is their necessity. The Gods are higher than human so they don’t suffer from death. Death is not a necessity for Gods. God Apollo was a friend of Admetus. So, Apollo tried to find a way that Admetus could overcome death. Apollo found a way and cheated the Fates. 

Alcestis wanted to take the place of Admetus because she did not want her children to lose their father at a very young age. This is another example of necessity. The father of Admetus did not want to die because no one wants to die even one day earlier. 

We can also see social structure in the play. The man is higher and woman is lower. So, the sacrifice of Alcestis is not that great to the chorus. They just describe the situation as a part of necessity. Alcestis has agreed to die in the place of her husband- so she must die. This is natural. This is a form of suffering and perhaps slavery. Gods do not have to suffer from slavery either. 

After death, life must go on. Life does not stop for the death of one person. Alcestis died but life must go on for everyone. So, the Chorus was unshaken, Admetus was entertaining Heracles. If death is a necessity then mourning for the dead is a necessity too. The servants were sad and mourned from their heart. That is why, they got annoyed with Heracles. 

After hearing the story, Heracles felt that he must use his strength and save Alcestis. It was like a necessity too. He tried his best and because of it, Alcestis got saved and came to life again. 

In the prologue of the play, there is information about Apollo's humiliation as a common laborer for a mortal, Admetus. His abasement was the result of a conflict with Zeus, the king of the Olympian gods. Zeus killed Apollo's son, Asclepius, for challenging the authority of necessity. Asclepius had the power to raise the dead. Because of his power, Death was deprived of taking the souls of human beings by Asclepius. The chorus said, "For he raised up the dead." 

The play is about death, the interference of the gods and how mortals come to terms with necessity. 

Alcestis is dying in her husband's place. Thus, Admetus has got the chance to escape death. But at the end, he feels sad as his wife is leaving him alone. He admits that he cannot live without his wife. In the end of the play, they come to know how to appreciate one another and how necessary each other's lives are.