Alcestis (; ,
Alkestis) is an
Athenian tragedy by the
ancient Greek playwright
Euripides. It was first produced at the
City Dionysia festival in 438 BCE. Euripides presented it as the final part of a
tetralogy of unconnected plays in the competition of tragedies, for which he won second prize; this arrangement was exceptional, as the fourth part was normally a
satyr play. Its
ambiguous,
tragicomic tone—which may be "cheerfully romantic" or "bitterly ironic"—has earned it the label of a "
problem play."
Alcestis is, possibly excepting the
Rhesus, the oldest surviving work by Euripides, although at the time of its first performance he had been producing plays for 17 years.