Orpheus, Eurydice, and the importance of reading the underworld safety guide
Orpheus was a pretty normal dude. He went to school like everyone else, he played like every other kid, oh, and he was the son of the Muse Calliope. Y'know, the muse of epic poetry. Oh, and his dad was Oeagrus. (A king.)
Then there was Eurydice. She was a wood nymph who was the daughter of the Greek god Apollo (of the sun, poetry, and medicine.) She and Orpheus quickly fell in love and became husband and wife.
But, on the day after their wedding, Eurydice was being harassed by Aristaeus, a minor god. She was running away from him when... She stepped on an extremely deadly snake, which killed her. I bet Aristaeus felt horrible after that. He better.
Orpheus couldn't do anything after he learned of what happened to his newlywed wife. He didn't leave his house or make music. He just sat there.
...Until he hatched a plan to find his love.
Orpheus, instead of grieving like a normal human being, decided to go into the underworld and rescue Eurydice. He played such a sweet song that Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog, laid down to sleep. He played such a sweet, sad song, that the furies let him through. He went directly to King Hades and his wife Persephone.
He played a song explaining his story to the king and his wife, and it was actually Persephone who convinced Hades to let him have a second chance with Eurydice. On one condition. He cannot look behind him to see if she's following until they are both out of the underworld. Pretty easy, huh?
Orpheus took Eurydice by the hand and led her out of Hades. The guards once again let him pass, and he soon saw the light of day.
Excited, he quickly turned around.
But Eurydice wasn't fully out.
The legend simply ends with "Orpheus stood there, crying and crying."
Comments
Post a Comment