Orpheus

The Father of Songs

**Orpheus** was a Greek demigod, as well as a musician, magic caster, poet, and oracle. He is most famously known for venturing into the underworld in order to recover his deceased love Eurydice.

## Overview

His mother was the muse Calliope, and his father was Oeagrus, a king of Thrace and his godfather was god Apollo, who also was the patron of music. Other myths credit him with the invention of civilization, vegetarianism, homosexuality and a set of magical practices called the Orphic mysteries.

The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music (the usual scene in Orpheus mosaics), his attempt to retrieve his wife Eurydice from the underworld, and his death at the hands of the maenads of Dionysus who wastired of his mourning for his late wife Eurydice.

## Powers and Abilities

Orpheus was one of the greatest and most talented musicians in ancient times, if not the best. It is said that his playing even brought the god Apollo to tears.

## History

### Beginnings

Orpheus' father was the king of Thrace, Oeagrus, and his mother was the muse Calliope. According to Tzetzes, he was from Bisaltia. His birthplace and place of residence was Pimpleia close to the Olympus.

Strabo mentions that he lived in Pimpleia. According to the epic poem Argonautica, Pimpleia was the location of Oeagrus' and Calliope's wedding. While living with his mother and her eight beautiful sisters in Parnassus, he met Apollo, who was courting the laughing muse Thalia. Apollo, as the god of music, gave Orpheus a golden lyre and taught him to play it. Orpheus' mother taught him to make verses for singing. He is also said to have studied in Egypt.

### The Argonauts

Orpheus was once an Argonaut. Orpheus took part in this adventure and used his skills to aid his companions. Chiron told Jason that without the aid of Orpheus, the Argonauts would never be able to pass the Sirens; the same Sirens encountered by Odysseus. The Sirens lived on three small, rocky islands called Sirenum scopuli and sang beautiful songs that enticed sailors to come to them, which resulted in the crashing of their ships into the islands. When Orpheus heard their voices, he drew his lyre and played music that was louder and more beautiful, drowning out the Sirens' bewitching songs.

### Travel to the Underworld

The most famous story in which Orpheus figures is that of his wife Eurydice. While walking among her people, the Cicones, in tall grass at her wedding, Eurydice was set upon by a satyr. In her efforts to escape the satyr, Eurydice fell into a nest of vipers and suffered a fatal bite on her heel. Her body was discovered by Orpheus who, overcome with grief, played such sad and mournful songs that all the nymphs and gods wept.

On their advice, Orpheus traveled to the underworld. His music softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone, who agreed to allow Eurydice to return with him to earth on one condition: he should walk in front of her and not look back until they both had reached the upper world. Orpheus set off with Eurydice following; however, as soon as he had reached the upper world, he immediately turned to look at her, forgetting in his eagerness that both of them needed to be in the upper world for the condition to be met.

As Eurydice had not yet crossed into the upper world, she vanished for the second time, this time forever.

### Orpheus' Death

Orpheus, during the end of his life, refused the worship of all gods except the sun, whom he called Apollo. One day during the early morning, he went to the oracle of Dionysus at Mount Pangaion to salute and pay tribute his god at dawn while also abstaining from taking any lovers. Feeling spurned by Orpheus for no taking any lovers so becoming an infidel to the god Dionysus., the Maenads, followers of Dionysus, first threw sticks and stones at him as he played, but his music was so beautiful even the rocks and branches refused to hit him. Enraged, the women killed him by tearing him to pieces during the frenzy of their Bacchic orgies.

His head and lyre, still singing mournful songs, floated down the River Hebrus into the sea, after which the winds and waves carried them to the island of Lesbos, at the city of Methymna; there, the inhabitants buried his head and a shrine was built in his honour near Antissa; there his oracle prophesied, until it was silenced by Apollo. In addition to the people of Lesbos, Greeks from Ionia and Aetolia consulted the oracle, and his reputation spread as far as Babylon.

Orpheus' lyre was carried to heaven by the Muses, and was placed among the stars. The Muses also gathered up the fragments of his body and buried them at Leibethra below Mount Olympus, where the nightingales sang over his grave. After the river Sys flooded Leibethra, the Macedonians took his bones to Dion. Orpheus' soul returned to the underworld, to the fields of the Blessed, where he was reunited at last with his beloved Eurydice.

## Myths and Legends

Plato's representation of Orpheus is that of a coward, as instead of choosing to die in order to be with the one he loved, he instead mocked the gods by trying to go to Hades to bring her back alive. Since his love was not "true"—he did not want to die for love—he was actually punished by the gods, first by giving him only the apparition of his former wife in the underworld, and then by being killed by women.

## Quotes

* *"A Demigod of an old story. A Greek poet who tried to retrieve his wife from Hades, but she vanished when he looked back before reaching the surface."* - Aradia speak about Orpheus.

## Gallery

*Orpheus lamenting his loss**Orpheus falling to rescue Eurydice from Hades**Orpehus bring Eurydice to the Overworld**Orpheus trying to catch Eurydice**Armored Orpheus*
## Trivia

* Apollo was sometimes treated as his father instead.
	+ By being the son of Apollo, he would actually be a god himself due to his divine mother.
* The name Orpheus may have come from the Proto-Indo-European word "h₃órbʰos" meaning "orphan".

### Image Sources

* (Orpheus by pegasusdaniel df3lnmo-fullview.jpg) Orpheus by PegasusDaniel
* (Orpheus by w15nu91-daqxpyt.jpg) Orpheus by wisnutan
* (Franc Kavčič - The Lament of Orpheus.jpg) The Lament of Orpheus by Franz Caucig
* (Orpheus-in-hades-pierre-marcel-beronneau.jpg) Orphée by Pierre Marcel-Beronneau
* (The Hymn of Orpheus.jpg) The Hymn of Orpheus by Artemis-Yates
* (+O is for Orpheus+.jpg) +O is for Orpheus+ by Tasuki-no-Miko
* (Orpheus by ryuhime d3blt3h-fullview.jpg) Orpheus by RyuHime
* (Orpheus and Eurydice.png) Orpheus and Eurydice by forgottenpantaloons
* (Returned from the Underworld.jpg) Returned from the Underworld by gpalmer
* (Orpheus and eurydice by genzoman-d9um4fv.jpg) Orpheus and Eurydice by GENZOMAN
* (Orpheus and eurydice by irenhorrors ddsixsi-fullview.jpg) Orpheus and Eurydice by IrenHorrors
* (Orpheus Chevalier de la Lyre.png) Orpheus Chevalier de la Lyre by Niiii-Link