| Orpheus and Eurydice |  |
| If ever a man lived who could be called a sensitive musician, that man was Orpheus. He was the son of a Thracian prince and beloved of the god Apollo, a master musician himself. His mother was the musical muse, Calliope. Music rubbed off on him. It filled his mind and body. It permeated his soul! |  |
| When Orpheus went into the woods to play and sing, the trees swayed gently to his rhythm, the rocks rolled up and down with his melody, and the wild animals crept from their hiding places to listen. He was a delightful charmer. Orpheus, however, gained his inspiration from only one source his beloved Eurydice. | |
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Her soft beauty, her gentle laughter, her intense passion; all found expression in his song. For Eurydice he played. For Eurydice he sang. Eurydice; his bride. One morning, shortly after their wedding, Eurydice was in the meadow gathering wildflowers, when she stepped on a poisonous snake. She died of the viper's bite, leaving Orpheus in the depths of grief. No more singing. No more playing. Only endless wandering through the forest. |
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Even the trees, the rocks, and the wild animals could not console him. Then one day he had an idea. |
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| "I shall go to Hades, to the dark world of death, and bring my Eurydice back!" Orpheus was determined. Taking his Iyre and memory of Eurydice for inspiration, he stepped into the long, dark tunnel leading to the under-world. |  |
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"I will charm the watchdogs of Hades'gate; I will charm the dreaded Furies; I will charm the Lord of Death himself!" Singing, he approached the three-headed dog, Cerberus. Immediately, the beast's three mouths stopped growling and began singing in chorus! |
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| Passing through the gate, Orpheus was accosted by the Furies with their hair of writhing snakes. But they, too, were charmed by his song. They stepped aside, weeping real tears instead of their usual tears of blood. As he entered the great Judgement Hall, Orpheus stopped in his tracks, barely able to comprehend all that he saw. |  |
| "I see the good, at peace in the Elysian Fields. My Eurydice must be among them .... And I see the sinners enduring their eternal punishment .... It is horrible! . . . |  |
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There are the Danaids, the sisters who murdered their husbands. They are carrying jars of water to a leaky vessel. |
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| And there is Sisyphus who betrayed the gods. He will forever push a rock uphill. . . . |  |
| And Tantalus, who killed his own son for food. He is standing there in the middle of an oasis, eternally hungry and thirsty." |  |
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"I seek my wife whose budding years of life were plucked too soon. I seek the flower without whose love I am powerless." I implore you, Tie the threads of life for sweet Eurydice. Tie the threads of life for me. Will you lend her? Then, when full span of life is o'er, Retrieve Eurydice to Hades' shore." Yes, Orpheus charmed the Lord of Death himself! Eurydice would be permitted to return to the upperworld . . . on one condition: |
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| Orpheus must not look back at her as he leads her home. "Not until we both reach the upperworld may I hold her in my arms?" "One glance," said the Lord of Death, "and Eurydice returns to me." |
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| The way of ascent was long and difficult. Orpheus stopped frequently, listening for his beloved's footsteps, sniffing the air for the scent of wildflowers that had always wafted from her hair. But straining was in vain. |
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| Time and again he feared that Hades had deceived him, but he dared not take the chance. At last he stepped out of the dark tunnel, into the sunny upperworld. He turned, stretching his arms toward his love. |  |
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"Eurydice!" But Eurydice had not yet cleared the tunnel. Too late Orpheus realized his mistake. He had turned too soon. Dissolving into a fine mist, Eurydice whispered tearfully, "Farewell!" |
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| "I have dared what no other man has dared; I have been brave beyond that even I could imagine; I have endured the Underworld once I will return and ask again. But alas! no, the music would not work a second time. He was ask to leave at once, without Eurydice... |  |
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Henceforth, Orpheus wandered the familiar forest, no longer singing songs of love and joy, but songs of lament and grief . . . |
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One final time, Orpheus entered the Tunnel of Death. Orpheus smiles and whispers "Eurydice!" The End... |
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