*[image: Admetus.jpg]*
*Admetus and Alcestis:   The Ultimate Sacrifice*
Do you remember Aesculapius?  He was a son of Apollo who matured to become
the world's greatest healer.   In fact, he was so skilled at this craft
that he was able to resurrect Orion the Hunter soon after Scorpius
the Scorpion slew him.    Hades, god of the underworld, appealed to his
brother Zeus to reverse the resurrection and strike down Aesculapius.
"Surely," Hades argued, "to have a mortal invested with such power imperils
the order of the world and also jeopardizes our positions, does it not?"
Zeus acknowledged that Hades' argument was sound. With regret he killed
both Orion and Aesculpius at once.   (Zeus later placed Aesculapius in the
sky as the constellation Ophiuchus as a tribute to him for both his
prodigious skill and compassion.)    Apollo became so enraged at his son's
death that he killed the three Cyclopes who had served as Zeus' workmen.
Apollo's vengeful act precipitated a violent fight between the two gods in
which Zeus ultimately prevailed.      Even though Zeus couldn't kill Apollo
due to his immortality, he did threaten to imprison him in Tartarus, the
under world's most dreaded region.    "However," Zeus said, "your grief is
understandable and I, in the same situation, might have behaved in a
similar manner.  I shall not condemn you to Tartarus.  Instead, you shall
work for a mortal for one year as a punishment for slaying the Cyclopes."


Apollo, relieved at having been spared the worst punishment, chose Admetus,
King of Pherae, as his employer.  Admetus had developed a sterling
reputation for both kindness and hospitality throughout his kingdom.  He
shared a great portion of his wealth with poor subjects and always opened
his palace to strangers in distress.        Apollo disguised himself as a
poor beggar who then approached Admetus' palace seeking shelter.  The king
gave the beggar admittance at once and offered him a large meal and a
room.    The next day, the beggar offered to work for him for one year
in exchange
for his hospitality.   King Admetus accepted the offer immediately, though
it is not clear if he did so naturally or under divine influence.    With
this strange mendicant on his payroll, Admetus' life improved
immeasurably.  First, all of his cows gave birth to twins.   Secondly,
Admetus won the hand of Alcestis, daughter of Pelias, king of Iolcus.
Admetus had coveted Alcestis for quite some time, but never thought they
would wed because her father imposed one seemingly impossible condition on
any one who sought to marry her.   In order to wed Alcestis, a suitor had
to yoke a lion and a boar to a chariot.     Three men had tried to do so
and were all devoured in the attempt.    Admetus might have loved Alcestis,
but he loved life more.        However, the simple beggar somehow persuaded
the king to travel to Iolcus and make an attempt to achieve the feat.  "I
shall aid you, sire," the beggar assured him.   Remarkably, Admetus managed
to yoke both the lion and boar to the chariot almost without effort.   Both
creatures, though usually ferocious, were subdued when the king approached
them.     They allowed themselves to be yoked without any resistance.
 Admetus drove the chariot to Pelias and asked Alcestis to become his
wife.   She accepted at once and, though disgruntled, her father had no
choice but to consent.

Such was Admetus' eagerness to be married that the wedding was a hasty
affair.  Too hasty, as it turned out.    During the ceremony, he neglected
to offer propitiatory sacrifices to Artemis.   Consequently, when the
newlyweds retired to their bedchamber, they found it teeming with
serpents.   Apollo, still in beggar form, entered the chamber after having
watched Admetus and Alcestis flee from it.   He killed the serpents at once
and then pleaded with Artemis -who was his twin sister- to desist in her
persecution.  She promptly appeared before him and sneeringly told him, "I
have done all I need to do.   I have just been among the Fates and
persuaded them to sever Admetus' life cloth.   If I am not mistaken, dear
brother, Lachesis  is preparing to cut it away now."    Apollo immediately
traveled to see the Fates. He arrived just in time to restrain Lachesis's
hand as she was about to cut Admentus' cloth.       He tried to persuade
the Fates to draw out more cloth, but they refused.     However, they did
tell Apollo that they would permit Admetus to live provided he could find
someone who would be willing to die in his stead.

Apollo returned to the palace at once.    By the time he arrived, Admetus
and Alcestis were sleeping in their bedchamber.   Apollo awakened the King
at once and summoned him into the other room.    Once there, he transformed
himself into his undisguised form, much to Admetus' shock and fright.
Apollo quickly explained to him that he was destined to die unless he could
find someone to die in his place.    "You have until sunrise to find a
replacement.  If not, you will perish."   Admetus wept openly and begged
Apollo to space his life.  Apollo shook his head sadly.  "Alas, it is
beyond my powers to prevent your death.  Only you can do that, provided you
can persuade someone to die in your place."   Admetus hurried to his
mother's bedchamber.  (His father had died some years before.)   He roused
her from sleep and told her of his plight.  "Please, dearest mother, you
are old and infirmed.  Will you not die for me?"   His mother clasped his
hand and said, "Son, as dear as you are to me, I cannot.    I am indeed old
and my remaining days are few.  For this reason, every day is all the
richer and sweeter.   I cherish every breath and cannot relinquish a single
moment of my life...not even for you."    Admetus angrily left her chamber
and roamed the palace in desperation.   He knew that he had been a good and
kindly king and so was beloved of all.  Certainly, he thought, he could
find one person who would offer their life for him.      He woke up many
people one by one and pleaded his case.   Yet, nobody would consent to
perish in his stead.   He must have awakened around twenty people by the
time the eastern horizon started to grow bright.  Miserably, he returned to
his chamber, collapsed into bed and cried aloud with grief.   Alcestis
awoke and embraced her husband.  "What is the matter?" she asked him.    He
told her that he would be dying very soon unless he could find someone to
die in his place.   "Nobody in the palace, not even my own mother, will die
in my stead.  Dear wife, I am doomed."           Alcestis kissed him
softly.  "You are not.  I shall die for you."   Admetus wiped away his
tears.  "You?!"  he asked.   His wife smiled.  "Yes, I shall die for you.
  We are now wed and my life would be like a cold death in your absence."

Admetus called out to Apollo, who -disguised as a beggar again- entered the
chamber.   The king told him of his wife's decision.    "I shall live now,"
he announced, much relieved.  Apollo looked sadly at Alcestis, who bowed
her head solemnly and remained silent.      So, Apollo spirited Alectis
away to a distant shore where she was to await the arrival of Thanatos
(death).     Meanwhile, Admetus gathered all the people in the palace
together that day to conduct a funeral in Alectis' honor.     He prepared a
great feast and allowed everyone a day off from work.      Everyone
dutifully gathered, but the funeral was not what the king had expected.
 Yes, the mood was appropriately solemn, but very few of the attendees
showed him any sympathy for the loss of his wife.   In fact, they were
rather cool toward him and, unless he was mistaken, he could have sworn
that they often cast scornful looks toward him on occasion.     Admentus
suddenly experienced a profound sense of shame and would have disbanded the
funeral had Heracles, himself, not suddenly arrived.   The great warrior
was en route to Diamedes* and wished to lodge for a night with his kind old
friend Admetus.   Heracles did not expect to enter such a morose house and
demanded to know the cause of their grief.      Admetus sadly told Heracles
about his wife's passing and the circumstances leading up to it.     The
warrior was so appalled at the story that he raged, "And your wife is now
awaiting death even as we speak?!"    Trembling, Admetus nodded hastily.
Heracles smashed a table with his fish. "Where is she?!  Someone tell me at
once!!"     Everyone hastened to move away from the infuriated Heracles
except for the beggar.   He approached the warrior undaunted and said, "I
shall show where she is. Follow me."

Once they were alone, Apollo revealed himself to Heracles and directed him
toward the shore where he had left the condemned queen.   Heracles rushed
to the shore where he saw Thanatos approaching Alcestis.    Whenever anyone
dies by conventional means, such as a soldier in war or an old person
succumbing to a disease, Thanatos is summoned at once.   He captures the
shade and conducts it to the ferry.  However, when Alcestis offered herself
to death, his arrival was delayed until he found time to attend to her.
 He happened to arrive just before Heracles did.     Before Thanatos could
embrace Alcestis, Heracles attacked him.   They wrestled and, naturally,
Heracles won.  He pinned Thanatos to the ground and would not release him
until death agreed not to take Alcestis.   Heracles delivered her back to
Admentus' palace, much to his -and everyone else's- delight.   "How can I
ever thank you?" he said to Heracles.  "You may stay as long as you wish."
    Heracles turned away and as he walked out the door said, "I no longer
wish to avail myself of your hospitality."  Admentus turned to Alcestis.
"I am so happy you have returned," he declared as he moved to embrace his
wife.  She shied away from him and said, "I think I shall like to lie down
now."    Admentus smiled.  "Of course.   You've had quite a day." he said
with a nervous laugh.    As she left the room, so, too, did everyone from
the palace who had gathered for the funeral.      Admentus then found
himself still alive and completely alone.


*Heracles was preparing to complete his eighth labor: stealing the flesh
eating mares of Diomedes

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THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Remote Planetarium 126: Dark Energy Questions

Well, that is appropriate.   The last two articles about dark energy
elicited two questions about dark energy.    That will make for a shorter
Remote Planetarium, but, perhaps after today's mythological excursion, one
might think the shorter, the better.

*"Is it possible that dark energy doesn't exist?"*
*-LC.*
Yes, it is possible.  Researchers at  Yonsei University in Seoul, South
Korea and Lyon University recently published a paper in the Astrophysical
Journal that claimed that the luminosities of Type Ia Supernovae were not
consistent over time, but varied with age.    Were this variation to be
real, the fundamental assumption which led to the development of dark
energy theory (that Type Ia supernovae are of equal brightness and so the
observation of fainter) would no longer be valid.    However, many other
researchers believe that the research on which the aforementioned paper is
based is flawed.    More observations will be required, of course.   That
having been said, most cosmologists accept the existence of dark energy,
but not all.

*"Could there be a lot of other 'energies' that astronomers haven't yet
discovered besides dark energy?"   -B.F*
We have no idea.      It is said that while the physicist learns more and
more about less and less, astronomers learn less and less about more and
more.   If astronomy has taught us anything, it is that we can never safely
assume that we have observed and understood everything.    As the search
for dark energy commences, we are not sure what astronomers will discover.
  We'll just wait and see.



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