Orpheus

Lore & Background

Orpheus's life centered on three major legends: his musical power, his descent for Eurydice, and his death at the hands of Maenads. According to Pindar, he was the son of Oeagrus and Calliope, though some sources suggest Apollo as his father or attribute different mothers like Polymnia or Menippe. While Hermes invented the lyre, Orpheus perfected it; poets like Simonides claimed his singing could coax trees into dance and divert rivers. He joined Jason's quest, using his music to drown out the Sirens' songs on the rocky islands of Sirenum scopuli, saving the Argonauts. His most famous tale involves Eurydice, who died from a viper bite after fleeing a satyr. Orpheus traveled to Hades, where his song moved the underworld powers. The earliest literary mention of her name is in the 1st-century BC Lament for Bion; earlier sources like Euripides and Plato refer to the descent without naming her.

In Their Own Story

The story of Eurydice's death begins when she was set upon by a satyr while walking among her people, the Cicones. Fleeing, she fell into a nest of vipers and suffered a fatal bite on her heel. Overcome with grief, Orpheus played such sad music that he charmed Hades. Plato offers a singular version where the gods showed him only a phantasm of his wife because he lacked the courage to die like Alcestis; for this cowardice, he was condemned to be killed by women. This death occurred when the Maenads of Dionysus, tired of his mourning for Eurydice, tore him apart. Strabo records that he lived in a village near Olympus and made money as a musician and "wizard," using the term agurteúonta which implied a charlatan. His death was not without mystery; some sources credit him with gifts like medicine, writing, and agriculture.

Reader's Guide

To understand Orpheus is to recognize his role as an archetype of the inspired singer in Western culture. He founded cults to Apollo and Dionysus and prescribed mystery rites preserved in Orphic texts. Shrines containing his purported relics were regarded as oracles. His historical existence was debated; while Aristotle doubted he existed, most ancient writers, including Pindar and Apollonius of Rhodes, accepted him as a real person living in remote antiquity, often placing him before Homer. He is mentioned by Euripides as related to the Muses and connected with Bacchanalian orgies. In art, such as Polygnotus's 5th-century BCE painting described by Pausanias, his descent was depicted without Eurydice. Later, a relief around 400 BC showed him with his wife and Hermes. His influence extended to teaching cannibals to subsist on fruit and making lions obedient, though Horace viewed this as simply introducing order to savages.

Did You Know?

• The earliest literary reference to Orpheus is a two-word fragment by the 6th-century BC poet Ibycus: 'onomaklyton Orphēn' ('Orpheus famous-of-name').
• While Hermes invented the lyre, ancient sources credit Orpheus with perfecting the instrument.
• The first mention of Eurydice's name in literature appears in the Lament for Bion (1st century BC); earlier writers like Euripides and Plato did not name her.
• Strabo characterized Orpheus as a 'charlatan' (agurteúonta) who made money as a musician and wizard, living in a village near Olympus.
• Plato offered a unique version of the myth where Orpheus was shown only a phantom of his wife because he lacked the courage to die, leading to his eventual death at the hands of women.