In punishment Apollo was forced to serve
Admetus as herdsman.
And those that held Pherae by the Boebean lake, with Boebe, Glaphyrae, and the populous city of Iolcus, these with their eleven ships were led by Eumelus, son of
Admetus, whom Alcestis bore to him, loveliest of the daughters of Pelias.
While my acquaintances went unhesitatingly into trade or the professions, I contemplated this occupation as most like theirs; ranging the hills all summer to pick the berries which came in my way, and thereafter carelessly dispose of them; so, to keep the flocks of
Admetus. I also dreamed that I might gather the wild herbs, or carry evergreens to such villagers as loved to be reminded of the woods, even to the city, by hay-cart loads.
The play, which is directed by Paris Erotokritou in collaboration with the Amalgamation Choir and Vicky Anastasiou, revolves around the unusual privilege that
Admetus, King of Pherae, has managed to secure with the help of the god Apollo.
It is not possible to devote your time to study and meditation without what are quaintly but happily denominated private means; these absent, a man must contrive to earn his bread by some service to the public such as the public cares to pay him for; or, as Thoreau loved to put it, Apollo must serve
Admetus" (Familiar Studies 142).
marriage of Alcestis and
Admetus, death of Alcestis or return of
Indeed, Chapter 2 follows quite closely the itinerary along which the figure of Clizia turns from a carnally loved woman with human traits, in the first phase of Occasioni (1933-1937), to a visiting angel who starts assuming magic and goddesslike connotations in the second poetic phase (1938 1940), and finally is transformed into a Christ-like figure who chooses to sacrifice her love and life not only to save her lover (as Alcestis offered to do for her husband
Admetus), but also to redeem all of humanity.
In Alcestis of Euripides the Thessalian king
Admetus for his hospitality is granted by Apollo freedom from death, but
Admetus must find someone to take his place when Death has come to claim him.
Polyommatus (Admetusia)
admetus (Esper, [1783])###39, 41, 45, 47, 50
He concludes a list of examples in the emended Collected Works: "Apollo kept the flocks of
Admetus, said the poets.