Orpheus

"To the world we dream about, and the one we live in now!"

- Orpheus.

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.

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, worshipped no gods except the sun, whom he called Apollo. One day, he went to pay tribute to the sun near the oracle of Dionysus, where he was caught by the Maenads, and was killed for being an infidel to the god Dionysus.

Myths and Legends
"A Greek poet who tried to retrieve his wife from Hades, but she vanished when he looked back before reaching the surface."

- The Demonic Compendium.

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.

Trivia

 * Apollo was sometimes treated as his father instead.

Image Sources

 * (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
 * (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