Euripides

Alcestis is an Athenian tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides. It was first produced at the City Dionysia festival in 438 BCE. Euripides presented it as the final part of a tetralogy of unconnected plays in the competition of tragedies, for which he won second prize; this arrangement was exceptional, as …

"Using to the full the last half century's great accessions to the comparative study of religion, [Dodds] has given a coherent and convincing reconstruction of the Dionysiac background--and, indeed, foreground--of the play, illustrating it with many instructive non-Greek and modern parallels.... Equally instructive …