Admetus and Alcestis

Admetus was famous for its hospitality and sense of justice. When married Alcestis, Admetus forgot to pay the offering to the goddess Artemis, which made his bridal chamber to be filled with snakes. Admetus was bitten and began to slowly die until Alcestis prayed to the gods to take her in her husband's place. Admetus was unhappy and guilty because he could not live knowing he was only alive because of his wife's death, that he loved so much. When Thanatos (the angel of death) came to take Alcestis, Heracles could not let a couple so in love died so soon. Heracles fought against death, literally. Thus, the gods could not refuse that they were really loved people and allowed Alcestis remain in the mortal world next to Admetus, her beloved husband.