H FOR THE BODY OF ALCESTIS

_That through death He might bring to nought him that had the power of
death_.--HEB. ii. 14 (Revised Version).

We come now to a picture which represents a scene in one of the most
beautiful stories of ancient Greece. There was a king of Thessaly
called Admetus, with whom the god Apollo served for a time as herdsman.
Apollo had offended Zeus, the Father of the gods, by killing the
forgers of the thunderbolts with which Zeus had slain Apollo's son
Asclepius--

"And so, for punishment, must needs go slave,
God as he was, with a mere mortal lord."

He found Admetus to be a kind master, and when his term of service was
over he showed his gratitude by obtaining from the Fates a promise
that, whenever Admetus should be about to die, his life would be
spared, if only some one of his friends should be found willing to die
instead of him. The promise was very soon put to the test. Admetus
was struck down with a deadly disease. His father Pheres and his
mother were each asked if they would die for their son, but though they
were old, and had not many years of life to hope for at the best,
neither of them was willing to make the sacrifice. When they refused,
Alcestis, the wife of Admetus, offered herself to Death in the flower
of her youth and beauty. She was taken, and her husband was spared.
Hercules was the greatest hero of the Greeks--their strong man, like
Samson in the Bible. And when Alcestis died Hercules came to the
rescue. He wrestled with Death, overcame him, and gave Alcestis back
to her husband again. This beautiful tale was taken by the Greek poet
Euripides as the subject of one of his plays, the _Alcestis_, which
some of you may read when you are older. The story is also found in
English in Browning's _Balaustion's Adventure_, which is just a
translation and explanation of the poem of Euripides.

The fight of Hercules with Death for the body of Alcestis has been
painted as well as sung. Lord Leighton's large and masterly picture
brings the whole scene before us. In the centre you see the body of
Alcestis, which has been brought out of doors, and laid on a bier under
the shadow of some ancient trees. Beyond it, in the background, is the
dark blue sea, flecked with white spots of foam. The dead body is
covered with pure white drapery. The beautiful face is pale as marble,
and the brow is crowned with a garland of myrtle leaves. Roses are
strewn on the white cover