Preface -- Chapter 1 Narrative, Myth, and Religion -- I. Introduction -- II. Tragic Storytelling: Form and Content -- III. Tragic Worlds: Narrating the Athenian Polis -- IV. Euripides' Alcestis: Narrative and Interpretation -- Chapter 2 Narrative -- I. Introduction -- II. Death is Death is Death: Narrating a World of Perennial Suffering -- Chapter 3 Myth -- I. Introduction -- II. Mythological Intertextuality: Alcestis and Heracles -- III. Prophecy, Theory, Action: The Making of a Hero -- Chapter 4 Religion -- I. Introduction -- II. Death is Death is Life: Eleusinian Orphism and Moral Courage -- III. Death is Death is Life: Alcestis, Athens, and Mystical Salvation -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- I. Abbreviations -- II. Editions & Translations -- III. List of Works Cited -- General Index -- Index of Greek Words -- Index of Alcestis Passages.