Orpheus and Eurydice

My favorite Greek myth is the one about Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus played an instrument called a lyre and was so talented at it that he could even make the rocks and the waters follow him. He fell in love with Eurydice but she was killed by a viper shortly after the wedding. Orpheus was so in love with her that he was determined to bring her back from the underworld so he took his faithful lyre and marched down to Tartarus to persuade Hades to give her back to him. His music was so beautiful that Hades granted Orpheus' request on only one condition, Eurydice would follow Orpheus back up to Earth and stay with him as long as he would not turn around and look at her until they both reached the surface. Orpheus was so anxious to see her again that as soon as he made it into the daylight, he turned around to see his beautiful Eurydice. Unfortunatly, she had not yet made it to the surface as he did so she vanished back to the underworld forever, saying, “Farewell” to the man she loved. Orpheus was so depressed by this that he forsook the company of others and was eventually killed by a group of Maenads.

I fell that this is a powerful love story because Orpheus loved his bride so much that he did whatever he could to bring her back. He went all the way to the underworld to bring her back from the dead, a feat that not many mortals would be able to accomplish. Orpheus would have been able to succed too only if he waited a few minutes longer to see her but he gave into human temptation and she became lost to him forever. This story teaches us that people will do anything for love and that love is more powerful than death.





Orpheus in the Underworld

 

Orpheus' Lyre

 Here are some links to versions of Orpheus' story:

http://www.thanasis.com/eurydice.htm

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/eurydice/eurydicemyth.html

http://www.greeka.com/greece-myths/orpheus-eurydice.htm