the drunken sisters

The Drunken Sisters is Wilder’s satyr play that followed The Alcestiad, his adaptation of the ancient Greek “Alcestis” story.

Apollo ventures into the land of the three sisters of Fate who control the threads of each man’s life, and here in disguise he tricks the sisters into releasing their death hold on King Admetus. His trick: 3 flagons of wine which he declares to be Aphrodite’s beauty drink but which make the sisters drunk. He then foils them with a riddle, releasing the king from their snares– but only on the understanding that another is to die in his stead.