#Hades orpheus lyre how to#
#Hades orpheus lyre full#

He was killed either by beasts tearing him apart, or by the Maenads, in a frenzied mood. According to various versions of the myth, he played a mourning song with his lyre, calling for death so that he could be united with Eurydice forever. Orpheus tried to return to the underworld but was unable to, possibly because a person cannot enter the realm of Hades twice while alive. Only a few feet away from the exit, Orpheus lost his faith and turned to see Eurydice behind him, sending her back to be trapped with Hades forever.

#Hades orpheus lyre full#

Eurydice might have been behind him, but as a shade, having to come back into the light to become a full woman again. Unable to hear Eurydice’s footsteps, however, he began to fear the gods had fooled him.

Thinking it a simple task for a patient man like himself, Orpheus was delighted he thanked the gods and left to ascend back into the living world. Hades told Orpheus that he could take Eurydice back with him but under one condition: she would have to follow behind him while walking out from the caves of the underworld, and he could not turn to look at her as they walked. Orpheus played his lyre, attracting Hades. He presented himself in front of the god of the Greek underworld, Hades and his wife, Persephone. He also managed to attract Cerberus, the three-headed dog, with a liking for his music. Any other mortal would have died, but Orpheus, being protected by the gods, went to Hades and arrived at the Stygian realm, passing by ghosts and souls of people unknown. Orpheus sung his grief with his lyre and managed to move everything, living or not, in the world both humans and gods learnt about his sorrow and grief.Īt some point, Orpheus decided to descend to Hades to see his wife. While fleeing or dancing, she was bitten by a snake and died instantly. Other versions of the story relate that Eurydice was merely dancing with the Nymphs. In some versions of the story, the shepherd Aristaeus saw her, and beguiled by her beauty, made advances towards her and began to chase her. However, when Hymen was called to bless the marriage, he predicted that their perfection was not meant to last.Ī short time after this prophecy, Eurydice was wandering in the forest with the Nymphs. It had been said that “nothing could resist Orpheus’s beautiful melodies, neither enemies nor beasts.” Orpheus fell in love with Eurydice, a woman of beauty and grace, whom he married and lived with happily for a short time.

#Hades orpheus lyre how to#

The MythĪpollo gave his son Orpheus a lyre and taught him how to play. Here is a collage of excerpts from different articles I found around this theme, serving as a the first building blocks of this exploration. In the upcoming weeks, I will be studying the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in Art (poetry, literature, painting and music). (Painting : Edward John Poynter, Orpheus and Eurydice) As you please.” Ann Wroe, Orpheus: The Song of Life ‘It’s the privilege of legends to be ageless. “‘Where does our story take place, and when?’ asked Cocteau at the start of Orphée.