ALCE STIS
(Death enters the house. Apollo leaves by the
wing. The Chorus enters and forms
a group before the gates.)
Chorus
It is quiet by the palace. What does it mean?
Why is the house of Admetus so still?
Is there none here of his family, none
who can tell us whether the queen is dead	80
and therefore to be mourned? Or does Pelias*
daughter Alcestis live still, still look
on daylight, she who in my mind appears
noble beyond
all women beside in a wife's duty?	85
(Here they speak individually, not as a group.)
First Citizen
Does someone hear anything?
The sound a hand's stroke would make,
or outcry, as if something were done
and over?
Second Citizen
No. And there is no servant stationed
at the outer gates. O Paean,	9©
healer, might you show in light
to still the storm of disaster.
Third Citizen
They would not be silent if she were dead.
Fourth Citizen
No, she is gone.
Fifth Citizen
They have not taken her yet from the house.
Sixth Citizen
So sure? I know nothing. Why are you certain?	. 95