Abstract
The article offers an analysis of Euripides’ Alcestis. This analysis singles out two plot movements, the one leading to the death Alcestis and the other to her deliverance, the main difference between which is in the figures of Apollo and Heracles determining the course of events in each of them. The contrast between Apollo and Heracles turns out to be the structural center of the drama, and its religious and political interpretation becomes the basis for interpreting the entire work. Apollo was to symbolize a peaceful, intellectual and political way of delivering the city from calamities and Heracles, a way implying the use of physical and military force. Thus, the meaning of the Alcestis is to affirm the need to use military force in a situation where a peaceful way of resolving a conflict brings no result. It is not to be ruled out that this meaning was to refer to the events of the Samian War of 440–439 B.C.
Keywords
Tragedy, Euripides, Delian League, Samian War, Apollo, Heracles
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