From the place where Admetus lived it was only a few miles to Iolcus, a
rich city by the sea. The king of Iolcus was a cruel tyrant named
Pelias, who cared for nobody in all the world but himself. This Pelias
had a daughter named Alcestis, who was as fair as any rose in June and
so gentle and good that everybody praised her. Many a prince from over
the sea had come to woo Alcestis for his wife; and the noblest young men
in Greece had tried to win her favor. But there was only one to whom she
would listen, and that was her young neighbor, King Admetus.
So Admetus went before gruff King Pelias to ask him whether he might wed
Alcestis.
"No one shall have my daughter," said the old king, "until he proves
that he is worthy to be my son-in-law. If you want her, you must come
for her in a chariot drawn by a lion and a wild boar. If you come in any
other way, she shall not be your wife." And Pelias laughed, and drove
the young man out of his palace.
Admetus went away feeling very sad; for who had ever heard of harnessing
a lion and a wild boar together in a chariot? The bravest man in the
world could not do such a thing as that.
As he walked along and saw the sheep and goats feeding on the hilltops
near his own town, he chanced to think of Apollo and of the last words
that he had heard him say: "When you need my help, let me know."
"I will let him know," said Admetus.
Early the next morning he built an altar of stones in the open field;
and when he had killed the fattest goat of the flock, he built a fire on
the altar and laid the thighs of the goat in the flames. Then when the
smell of the burning flesh went up into the air, he lifted his hands
towards the mountain tops and called to Apollo.
"Lord of the Silver Bow," he cried, "if ever I have shown kindness to
the poor and the distressed, come now and help me. For I am in sore
need, and I remember your promise."
Hardly was he done speaking when bright Apollo, bearing his bow and his
quiver of arrows, came down and stood before him.
"Kindest of kings," he said, "tell me how I can help you."
Then Admetus told him all about the fair Alcestis, and how her father
would give her only to the man who should come for her in a chariot
drawn by a lion and a wild boar.
"Come with me," said Apollo, "and I will help you."
Then the two went together into the forest, the Lord of the Silver Bow
leading the way. Soon they started a lion from its lair and gave chase
to it. The fleet-footed Apollo seized the beast by its mane, and
although it howled and snapped with its fierce jaws it did not touch
him. Then Admetus started a wild boar from a thicket. Apollo gave chase
to it, too, making the lion run beside him like a dog. When he had
caught the boar, he went on through the forest, leading the two beasts,
one with his right hand, the other with his left; and Admetus followed
behind.
[Illustration: "IT WAS A STRANGE TEAM."]
It was not yet noon when they came to the edge of the woods and saw
the sea and the city of Iolcus only a little way off. A golden chariot
stood by the roadside as if waiting for them, and the lion and the boar
were soon harnessed to it. It was a strange team, and the two beasts
tried hard to fight each other; but Apollo lashed them with a whip and
tamed them until they lost their fierceness and were ready to mind the
rein. Then Admetus climbed into the chariot; and Apollo stood by his
side and held the reins and the whip, and drove into Iolcus.
Old King Pelias was astonished when he saw the wonderful chariot and the
glorious charioteer; and when Admetus again asked him for the fair
Alcestis, he could not refuse. A day was set for the wedding, and Apollo
drove his team back to the forest and set the lion and the wild boar
free.
And so Admetus and Alcestis were married, and everybody in the two
towns, except gruff old King Pelias, was glad. Apollo himself was one of
the guests at the wedding feast, and he brought a present for the young
bridegroom; it was a promise from the Mighty Folk upon the mountain top
that if Admetus should ever be sick and in danger of death, he might
become well again if some one who loved him would die for him.