Editorial note (July 9, 2026). This post was written about ten days earlier and had already been scheduled for publication before the news of Bonnie Tyler’s death. I have chosen to publish it unchanged. What began as a reflection on Euripides’ Alcestis has now also become, unintentionally, a tribute to the unforgettable voice behind songs such as Holding Out for a Hero and Total Eclipse of the Heart. Today, needless to say, we all wish we could be Heracles and wrest Bonnie back from the grip of cruel Thanatos.
May Euripides forgive me, but at certain points in his tragedy Alcestis, the lyrics of a rather famous rock song feel incredibly fitting:
Holding Out for a Hero
by Bonnie Tyler
Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the Gods?
Where’s the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn’t there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and I turn,
And I dream of what I need!
I need a hero, I’m holding out for a hero
‘Til the end of the night!
He’s gotta be strong,
And he’s gotta be fast,
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight!
I need a hero, I’m holding out for a hero
‘Til the morning light!
He’s gotta be sure,
And it’s gotta be soon,
And he’s gotta be larger than life!
Somewhere after midnight,
In my wildest fantasy,
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There’s someone reaching back for me!
Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat
It’s gonna take a Superman to sweep me off my feet!
Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I could swear that there’s someone somewhere watching me!
Through the wind and the chill and the rain,
And the storm and the flood,
I can feel his approach like a fire in my blood!
