Abstract:

The present study compares and contrasts Alcestis, a tragedy written byEuripides in the 5th century B.C. and Deli Dumrul, an ancient Turkish epicexpressed in writing in the l4th AD. of Dede Korkut. The similar aspects of thetwo works considereddifference between them lies in the different meaning given in accordance withstructure of society in which the motifs were established. The main theme inboth works is the extreme devotion of women for the survival of their husbands.The handling of the same motifs is the most conspicuousAlcestis and Deli Dumru . Euripides makes the self-sacrifice of his heroine hisstandpoint whereas Dede Korkut considers the fights fought by his hero to be ofutmost importance. Alcestis by Euripides has been titled after the heroine in a 'social environment where the status of woman is low. Dede Korkut'shas been nameless because the epic has been titled after the hero although the work is the product of a period in which men and women were considered to be socially equal.

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