Pherae
A city in Thessaly where Admetus ruled and Alcestis chose to die in her husband's place
The Story of Pherae
Pherae was an ancient city in the rich agricultural plain of Thessaly, most famous as the kingdom of Admetus, whose story is among the most moving in Greek mythology. When Apollo was sentenced to serve a mortal for killing the Cyclopes, he was sent to Pherae as a herdsman for Admetus, who treated the disguised god with such kindness that Apollo secured him a remarkable gift: when Admetus's time to die came, he could live on if someone else would die in his place. When Death arrived, Admetus's elderly parents refused to sacrifice themselves, but his young wife Alcestis volunteered without hesitation. She died and was being mourned when Heracles arrived as a guest, discovered what had happened, and wrestled Death himself at Alcestis's tomb, forcing him to release her. Euripides dramatised this story in his Alcestis, the earliest of his surviving plays, exploring themes of hospitality, selflessness, and the boundary between life and death. Pherae was also historically significant as the seat of Jason of Pherae, a fourth-century BCE tyrant whose rule was marked by brutality.
Parents
None recorded
Symbols
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
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