Alcestis of Euripidies - CRUCIFIED
Alcestis of Euripidies - CRUCIFIED
600 BCE
The framing of Alcestis as a crucified, virgin-born, sin-atoning female savior who was part of a divine Trinity originates from Chapter XVI of Kersey Graves’ The World’s Sixteen Crucified Saviors (1875), which referenced an essay in the English Classical Journal (Vol. 37, 1828).
In authentic classical Greek literature, Alcestis is not a deity, was never crucified, and did not die to atone for humanity's sins. She is a mortal mythological heroine in Greek legend, immortalized in the tragedy Alcestis produced by the Athenian playwright Euripides in 438 BCE.
Profile & Biographical Claims
- Timeline & Dates:
- Claimed Mythicist Date: Active ~600 BCE.
- Literary History: The tragedy was first staged at the City Dionysia festival in Athens in 438 BCE; the mythological setting dates to the legendary Heroic Age of Greece.
- Date of Birth & Age at Death:
- No calendar birth date (e.g., December 25) exists. In myth, she is a young wife and mother of two young children (Eumelus and a daughter).
- Manner of Death, Cause & Perpetrator:
- Claim: Crucified as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world.
- Classical Drama: Dies peacefully in her marital bed of natural/mystical expiration to fulfill a bargain Apollo struck with the Fates (Moirai), allowing King Admetus to avoid death if a volunteer took his place. The personified deity Thanatos (Death) arrives with a sword to cut a lock of her hair and escort her soul to the underworld.
- Geographical Locations:
- The ancient city-state of Pherae in Thessaly (northern Greece), and Mount Pelion (home of her father, King Pelias of Iolcus).
Theological Details: Mythicist Claims vs. Euripides' Text
| Category | 19th-Century Mythicist Claim (Graves) | Authentic Greek Drama (Euripides) |
|---|---|---|
| Virgin Birth | Cataloged as a virgin-born female god. | Born biologically to King Pelias of Iolcus and Queen Anaxibia (or Philomache); married to Admetus and bore children. |
| Crucifixion | Crucified as a female savior. | Died in her bed at home; crucifixion did not occur in the story. |
| Salvation / Atonement | Died as a sin offering to atone for world guilt. | Died strictly as a substitute for her husband Admetus out of wifely devotion (philia), not for general human salvation. |
| Resurrection & Descent | Descended to hell, resurrected, and ascended. | Her soul descended to Hades. Heracles ambushed Thanatos at her tomb, wrestled him, and brought her physically back to the living world veiled. |
| Title: "Son/Daughter of God" | Titled "Savior" and female person of the Trinity. | Described as ariste gynaikon ("best of women") and a noble mortal heroine. |
| Part of a Trinity | Claimed as a member of a trinity. | No trinity exists in Greek polytheism; the play features Apollo, Thanatos, Heracles, and the Olympian pantheon. |
| Judgment in Heaven | Returns to judge mankind. | Does not judge souls. Underworld judgment was handled by Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus. |
Appearance, Mythic Narrative, and Cultural Impact
- Visual Representation:
- Classical vase paintings, Roman sarcophagi, and Neoclassical art depict Alcestis swooning on her death couch surrounded by her weeping family, or being handed back to Admetus by Heracles after being rescued from Thanatos.
- Worship & Legacy:
- Alcestis was never worshiped in temple cults as a god. She was celebrated as the ultimate literary archetype of conjugal devotion and self-sacrifice.
- Origin of the 19th-Century Confusion:
- 19th-century comparative essayists in the Classical Journal analyzed Euripides’ plot using Christian allegorical language (calling her substitution an "atonement" and Heracles a "deliverer"), which Kersey Graves later literalized into a historical "crucified female savior."