The Story of Orpheus and Eurydice

 Orpheus was the son of Apollo and Orpheus belonged to the city of Thrace or Thrake.

Apollo is the Greek/Roman God of archery, music, dance, truth and prophecy. Apollo is the twin brother of Goddess Artemis, who is the Goddess of the hunt.

Orpheus’s mother is Calliope. Calliope is called as the chief of all Muses and she is the Muse of Eloquence and Poetry. Muses are inspirational Goddesses to all literature, science and art.

When Orpheus was young his father taught him to play the lyre. Orpheus learnt to play the instrument so well that it was said that nothing could resist Orpheus’s music.

Eurydice was the nymph who was found in pastures and vales.

Orpheus and Eurydice both loved each other. They got married and they had a perfect life.

Hymen was asked to bless the marriage of Orpheus and Eurydice. Hymen is the God of marriage ceremonies and it is believed that if Hymen does not attend any marriage ceremony, then the marriage would be disastrous.

Hymen looked at Orpheus and Eurydice and he became very sad, because he realized immediately that this perfect marriage was not to last.

Unknown of their fate, Eurydice and Orpheus were living happily.

Once after her marriage, Eurydice was in the forest with the other nymphs. She was laughing and running around in the woods when unknowingly she stepped on a serpent there.

The serpent bit Eurydice and she died immediately.

Eurydice’s soul left the body and went to the underworld, which was controlled by Hades.

Hades is the God of the Dead and the king of the underworld. Hades rules the underworld with his wife Persephone. (Persephone is the Goddess of food grains. She is the daughter of Goddess Demeter and Zeus, the king of the Greek Gods.)

Orpheus was heartbroken on seeing his beloved wife dead.

For days, Orpheus was in despair and he played his lyre turning his misery to music, and the music moved everyone and everything around him. The music that Orpheus created was so soulful that even stones melted.

The same thing happened in the opening of the Underworld.

The opening of the Underworld was guarded by huge boulders. But when Orpheus played his lyre, the boulders opened up, letting Orpheus enter the Underworld though he was alive.

There Orpheus continued to play his lyre and charm everyone.

Charon was the ferryman who took the souls to the Underworld through the River Styx and Charon forgot to ask for his payment of a single gold coin from Orpheus when he heard the musical notes from Orpheus’s lyre.

Similarly, Cerberus, the ferocious three headed dog which guarded the Underworld let Orpheus inside.

Orpheus played the lyre before Hades and Persephone.

Hades was mesmerized by the notes and he had the soul of Eurydice brought before Orpheus.

Hades even let Orpheus take Eurydice back to the world of the living, without letting Eurydice drink from the waters of the River Lethe. (In the Underworld, the souls drink from the river of Lethe. Any soul which drinks the water of the River Lethe forgets all about their human life and settles in the Underworld.)

However, Hades imposed a condition.

Orpheus was to lead the way for Eurydice to the land of the living and Orpheus was not supposed to turn back at any point of time until he reached the surface.

Orpheus was overjoyed that he had finally gotten his love back. He walked back to the land of the living and he did not see whether Eurydice was following him or not. He could not turn back, but he kept his faith and kept walking. However, in the Underworld, Orpheus was not able to hear the footsteps of his beloved, following him.

That was when Orpheus had a doubt of whether Hades had kept his word or whether Hades had fooled him.

Orpheus nearly reached the surface, but then he just could not get rid of his doubt of whether Eurydice was actually following him.

Just before reaching the surface, unfortunately Orpheus turned back to see whether Eurydice was following him.

Eurydice had been following Orpheus and she faded as soon as Orpheus turned back.

Orpheus was taken to the land of the living without his wife and his wife was lost to the Underworld forever.

After that, try as he might, Orpheus could not return to the Underworld.

He then played the most beautiful music on his lyre, begging Death to come and take him so that Orpheus could be reunited with his Eurydice forever.

Orpheus was killed by animals in a frenzied mood or most probably Zeus struck Orpheus dead with his lightning staff.

Orpheus’s head was kept alive by the Muses so that it could keep singing melodies and charm people. Orpheus’s lyre was supposedly thrown to the sky to make it a constellation.