Death as a Problem to be Solved: The Philosophy of Death and Dying in Euripides’ Alcestis

Abstract

Alcestis’ death has been studied for its (feminine) heroic qualities; Admetus, too, has been studied as the central character, posing that the lesson Admetus must learn as the tragic hero is one of grieving and mourning. While these aspects do play a role in the Alcestis, I argue that it is only through taking Admetus as the central, tragic character as well as looking at the themes of death and mortality that the dynamics within the play can truly be understood and interpreted. Through juxtaposing the different perspectives and discussing the motifs of heroism, (im)mortality and (ir)replaceability, this thesis looks at the views on death and mortality of various characters and their interactions with Admetus, concluding that, as Admetus himself learns, death is not a problem that can be solved.