The Story of Orpheus and Eurydice - A Tale of Love | Greek Mythology Explained

Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Thrace, the Thracian king, Oiagrus, and the muse, Calliope, had a son, named Orpheus. When Orpheus was still very young, the god, Apollo, taught him how to play the lyre. By the time he reached adulthood, he had perfected the lyre, and became the best musician there was. Whenever Orpheus played the lyre, all the animals came out to listen. His music made the stones and trees to dance. Once, Orpheus was playing his lyre, when he saw a very beautiful woman, whom he instantly fell in love with. The woman's name was Eurydice, and she also had fallen in love with the fine man, playing the lyre. Before long, they got married. The couple lived in happiness and harmony for many years, until one fateful day, when Eurydice decided to take a stroll. She was walking in the forest, in the company of some nymphs, when a shepherd saw her, and lusted after her. As the shepherd tried to rape her, she managed to break free, and ran. However, while running, Eurydice stepped upon a poisonous snake, and was bitten by the serpent, causing her death. When Orpheus found his wife's body, it had gone cold. The snake's venom had long killed her. In his grief, Orpheus sang a long song of sorrow. Everything living and non-living, was moved by his song. Even the gods were deeply touched by his grief. Apollo then told him, that only if he descended to Hades, would he be able to see his wife, and bring her back. Orpheus was ready to do anything. So, he agreed. No man entered, or left the realm of Hades alive. But with the protection of the gods, and the guidance of Apollo, Orpheus did. He travelled to the gloomy underworld, to the Stygian realm, where he saw many souls of the dead, both known and unknown. With his music, Orpheus enchanted Cerberus, the three-headed guardian dog, which then allowed him to go on ahead, to the throne of the king of the dead, Hades, and his queen Persephone. Orpheus knelt at the feet of Hades, intensely pleading with the god, to let him take his wife back. But the heart of Hades was as cold as ice, and he was not moved, in the slightest. Then, Orpheus began to play his lyre. He sang all the mournful songs ever known to him, so beautifully, that the hard heart of Hades softened. Hades allowed him to take Eurydice with him, but there was a condition. Orpheus would not look back at his wife, till they came into the light at the surface, or he would lose her forever. Eurydice's ghost would be walking behind him, and if Orpheus was patient enough, he would have her as his wife again, alive and normal. Orpheus thanked the god, and made his way out of the underworld. Surely, as Hades promised, Eurydice closely followed behind, waiting to come out to the light, to become flesh again. When they got close to the surface, Orpheus strained his ears, to hear Eurydice's footsteps, but heard nothing. He began to think the gods had fooled him. In his doubt, he forgot that Eurydice was a ghost, just a shadow, and one could not hear the footsteps of a shadow. Alas, Orpheus turned to see if Eurydice was behind him. Indeed, she was behind him, but because he looked back, the ghost of Eurydice was drawn back to the underworld. She was gone forever. Orpheus tried to return to the underworld, but a man could not enter Hades twice, while still alive. His impatience had cost him his wife a second time. Roaming the earth aimlessly, Orpheus wished for nothing but his own death. He wanted to join his wife in the underworld. In his sorrow, he shunned the worship of the gods, except Apollo, whom he continued to pray to. Orpheus again sang songs of sorrow, calling for his death. When the Minads, the female followers of Dionysus, saw him, they began to throw stones and sticks at him for scorning Dionysus. But the stones and sticks refused to hit him, due to the music of the lyre. Furious, the women and beasts ripped Orpheus apart during their drunken dance ritual. But Orpheus's head refused to die. Still singing mournful songs, his head and lyre floated down the river to the island of Lesbos, where the people there buried his head and built a shrine in his honor. Apollo silenced the singing head afterward, and Orpheus' soul returned to the underworld, to the Elysian fields, where he was reunited with his beloved wife, Eurydice. This is the story of Orpheus.