CHORUS

Admetus, necessity makes you bear this disaster.
But you are not the first man, nor the last,
to lose a noble wife. And remember this:
all who live must die; no one escapes.

 ADMETUS
I know, I really do. And this disaster
came as no surprise: it's been coming for ages.
But now that it's here, and it's time to bury my dead,
I ask you to stay and attend me and raise your voices
in song to the god below, the implacable god.

 I hereby decree a state of public mourning
throughout the land, with all the traditional rites:
hair will be cut, only black will be worn,
even horses' manes should be trimmed short,
and everyone will abstain from the sound of music
for one full year, in honor of Alcestis.
For she is the most beloved of all my people,
the only one who would die in place of me.

 (the SERVANTS carry the body of ALCESTIS into the palace to prepare it for burial, led by THANATOS and followed by ADMETUS and the CHILDREN)