56
edits
Changes
no edit summary
Orpheus and Eurydice married in a beautiful ceremony and the musician would play songs and his wife would dance to them. One day, God Aristaeus, the son of Apollo. saw Eurydice and instantly fell in love with her. He was a minor God and a cultural hero, associated with practical skills such as beekeeping. Aristaeus one day chased Eurydice and tried to abduct her. The wife of Orpheus fled but as she did, she trod on a snake, that bit her, and she died. There is another version of her death, according to Ovid <ref>Ovid. Metamorphoses, x, vi</ref>. In this version, Eurydice died on her wedding day, when during a dance she stepped on a venomous snake. Naturally, Orpheus was devastated, and he was grief-stricken. The gods and the nymphs were all so saddened that they decided to help him to retrieve his wife from Hades, the realm of the dead. The gods helped Orpheus to descend into the Underworld, which was strictly out of bounds for humans. One myth narrates that Orpheus father, Apollo had Hades’ grant the musician access to his dead beloved. Another version reports that Orpheus music melted the hearts of the God of the Underworld. He allowed Eurydice to follow Orpheus out of the Underworld on the condition that he did not look back as his wife exited the Underworld <ref>. However, Orpheus was not strong enough and turned back to see his wife and immediately Eurydice was drawn back into the realm of the Dead and she returned to the shadows.
==The death of Orpheus==
Orpheus was heartbroken and wandered in a daze. Now he could only sing sad and mournful songs and his only ease was staring at the infinite skies. As he drifted in Thrace, he encountered a group of women. They demanded that he sing for them, but he refused as he was heartbroken. The Thracian women were enraged, and they attacked him and tore the singer limb from limb and flung his body parts into a river. In other versions of the myth, he is torn asunder by female followers of Dionysus (Bacchus in Roman sources), after rejecting their sexual advances. According to one story, as his head floated down the river, it was still singing<ref>Virgil, The Georgics, iv</ref>. The Muses and nymphs buried him on an island, and it was claimed that music would rise from the tomb of Orpheus. In another version, the head of the musician became an oracle of his father, Apollo. Many myths show Orpheus and Eurydice being happily reunited in the Blessed Fields, in the Underworld<ref>Ovid. Metamorphoses, x, vi</ref>.
[[File: Orpheus four.jpg|200px|thumb|left| Gold tablets with Orphic inscriptions]]
===The meaning of the myth==
The myths of Orpheus are important because they explain the importance of art in human society. In the Orphic cycle of stories, the power of music and poetry, are shown to be almost magical and possessing great powers. They can affect remarkable changes and even bring peace and order. Indeed, they could even melt the heart of the God of the Underworld. The myths were often interpreted as showing the power of love. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice in the Underworld was designed to show the power of the Gods and that humanity must abide by their commands. When Orpheus looked back, he had disobeyed the Lord of the Underworld and in punishment, he lost Eurydice. This was a common theme in many Greek myths which often had embedded in them warnings about the nature of the gods and humans lowly place in the cosmos <ref>Heath, John. "The failure of Orpheus." Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-) 124 (1994): 163-196 </ref>.
