A less usual atoning god was Alcestis, who was female, the only example of a feminine god atoning for the sins of the world by self-sacrifice, unless the Danaids are considered in the same light. Her husband, Admetus, who wins her in marriage by riding a chariot pulled by a lion and a boar, forgets to sacrifice to Artemis on his wedding day and, entering the bedchamber, sees a coil of snakes. This will be a polite way of saying snakes copulating, which is considered a bad omen in India still, and plainly relates to the bridal chamber.

It signifies his early death, but the sun god Apollo, whom he had done a favour for, arranges for him to escape death if someone would die in his place. His elderly parents refuse telling him to accept his fate, and only Alcestis is willing to die for him. She takes poison in the canonical myth, and dies but Persephone in Hades refuses to accept her because of her devotion and sends her back. So the saviour goddess dies and is resurrected.

The chariot of Admetus pulled by a boar and a lion suggests the full year, since these are the symbols of the two half years. The implication is that Admetus was another sun god, whose chariot was the half year of winter represented by a boar and the summer represented by a lion. The sun often is depicted as riding a chariot or as a charioteer. Admetus has the same form as Prometheus and Epimetheus, so might stand for the full year.

Mithras of Persia atoned for mankind, and prepared for the salvation of mankind through slaying the primaeval bull—the first sacrifice. He was born on the twenty-fifth day of December, and his celebrations at the spring and autumn equinoxes were associated with crucifixion on a tree. These were the Persian New Year festivities described in the scriptural book of Esther, and involved the crucifixion of the old year, considered wicked, so that a new and uncorrupted year could take its place. This was seen as an annual rehearsal of the eschaton when the wicked world is finally replaced by the purity of the original creation of Ahuramazda. Christian writers, like Tertullian, imply that Mithras was slain, and yet do not say how. It has been suppressed. The Romans saw a great deal in common between Mithras and Christ, probably because they both originated in Persian mythology.