The Maenads already hated Orpheus because he refused their advances, so one day, in a Dionysiac frenzy, they attacked Orpheus and tore him limb from limb. Dionysus resented Orpheus and began to complain to his Maenads about Orpheus’ neglect. Dionysus was at that time winning the region of Thrace over to his own worship, and he was celebrated at night with frenzied music and dancing. It was his custom to go up to the top of a mountain every morning in order to greet the sun. Also, he became a devoted worshipper of Apollo, the sun god. He sang constantly of his love for her and refused to look at any other women. Orpheus was inconsolable over his loss of Eurydice for the second and final time. As he looked back, he saw Hermes leading her back down to Hades, even as she stretched out her arms to him in her heart-aching sorrow. Orpheus turned back, just for an instant, to see if Eurydice was really there. Orpheus resisted this impulse until the opening of the cave was in sight, just ahead then he could no longer resist. But the journey to the upper world was long and difficult, and Orpheus desperately longed to see if Eurydice was really behind him. Orpheus agreed and turned to go, hoping that Eurydice was following him. They allowed him to bring his dear Eurydice back to life on one condition: he could not turn back and look at her until they reached the upper world. Orpheus’ singing charmed even the hearts of Hades and Persephone, rulers of the dead. Then he sang about the joys of love and the sadness that comes with love’s loss. Orpheus played for Hades and Persephone and sang them a song about the beginning of the world and the origin of gods and men. He sang to Cerberus and charmed him until the three-headed dog allowed him to enter. Orpheus found the cave that led to Hades and slowly descended into the Underworld. At last Orpheus decided to go into Hades and try to find her. Every reason for living seemed to have gone away when Eurydice died. The animals and even the trees and grasses tried to comfort him, but it was no use. He would sit and sing songs of mourning all day every day and weep as he sang. The snake turned out to be poisonous, and Eurydice died almost immediately. In her fright, she stepped on a snake, which bit her. She became frightened and ran away without looking where she was going. In the late afternoon after the wedding, a former admirer of Eurydice’s began to pursue her. They were married in an open-air ceremony on a hillside. Orpheus fell in love with a beautiful nymph (or nature spirit) named Eurydice, and he won her heart by his singing. Even animals stopped to listen to him, and stones and trees moved closer to hear him sing. Orpheus played and sang so beautifully that he enchanted everyone who heard him. Some say that Apollo was the one who taught him to play. Orpheus, said to be the son of Apollo and Calliope, lived in Thrace in Northwest Greece, and was the best lyre player in the world. Orpheus Hermes taking Eurydice back to the Underworld on a relief in the Naples Archaeological Museum
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |