Songs Of Love and Treachery

Last week we talked about Niobe, the tragic demigod daughter of Tantalus.  In Greek mythology, demigods were quite important aspects of the pantheon. Demigods were half god, half mortal and quite a few of them were heroes – the names of whom with which you would be instantly familiar – yet, not all of them were. Nevertheless, many of those greatly gifted and powerful beings were steeped in tragedy. (I did state before that the mythology is dark and tragic in most of its “lessons.” This tale is no exception, even though it holds at its heart the weight of true love and faithfulness.)

I’ve always held a great affinity for music.  I’ve written my fair share of lyrics and even done a bit of independent song-making (tragic though that effort may have been).  Still, I love all types and genres of music: rock, country, opera, bluegrass, rap, R&B, vocal standards, etc. If it’s good music, I enjoy it. Simple as that.

For this fact alone, I find myself drawn to a particular demigod of Greek mythology: Orpheus.

Orpheus was sort of unique in his parentage.  He was the son of Calliope, a Muse, and of Morpheus, the god of dreams. His mother, being a muse of song and epic poetry, taught her son all there was to know about music and the art of it all.  Orpheus became so well-known, in fact, that he was once acknowledged by Apollo, the god of the sun and prophecy*, who gifted the young man with a golden lyre. (A lyre is a small, harp-like instrument strummed with one hand while the fingers of the other silence the unwanted strings/notes. It is a confusing instrument and many organologists argue its classification.)

Orpheus became a master of the lyre and played it wherever he went, on quite a few journeys and adventures. The most famous of these journeys was probably his time spent with Jason and the Argonauts aboard the ship Argo, as they sought out the Golden Fleece. At one point in the journey, the Argo came dangerously close to the land of the Sirens (treacherous and lethal female creatures who lured sailors to their deaths with their gloriously beautiful voices) and the men of the crew were drawn by the Sirens’ song. A few of them leaped from the vessel and died in their efforts to reach the shore where the Sirens were. However, it was then that Orpheus began to play his lyre loud and strong, drowning out the Sirens’ voices long enough for the ship to finally escape.

Orpheus eventually met his match in Eurydice, a beautiful nymph with whom he fell madly and deeply in love.  In her, his heart was forever lost.  They were married in a gorgeous outdoor setting (she was a nymph, after all) with many bridesmaids livening up the ceremony.  Still, tragedy struck.  Almost immediately after the wedding ceremony was completed, Eurydice and her bridesmaids scampered into the woods and Eurydice was bitten by a poisonous serpent and died. Orpheus was devastated.

For days and days, the young man mourned the loss of his one true love, until he came upon a decision.  A desperate decision. He would travel into the Underworld and ask Hades and his beautiful queen, Persephone, to have Eurydice back.

Orpheus was nothing if not determined.  Love and heartbreak can drive the most timid of men into realms of danger into which they would never have otherwise ventured.  Orpheus followed through with his plan. He used his talent for song to tame the three-headed Cerberus, the dog-monster guardian of the gates of the Underworld, as well as the dark ferrier, Charon, and made his way right to the feet of Hades, himself, and Queen Persephone.

Orpheus played for them his most amazing and achingly beautiful song, one of eternal love.  So sweetly did he perform, so heartfelt was his song, that it brought the queen to tears. Persephone pleaded with Hades to let Orpheus take his love, Eurydice, back to the world above. Hades was also touched by the young man’s determination and agreed to allow him to take his young wife back with him…on one specific condition: Orpheus could not look at her until they both reached the light of the living world above.

Orpheus and Eurydice

Overjoyed and thrilled with this success, Orpheus began to lead his unseen wife to the surface, only to feel his heart overwhelmed with joy and longing to see his one true love once again.  He stole but a quick glance just as they reached the edge of the Underworld. He had forgotten that both of them needed to be in the light of the living, and his glance was one step too soon. Orpheus was shocked to see as Eurydice began to fade away, lost from him forever again.

Orpheus tried in futility to get Hades and Persephone to let him take Eurydice back, but they would no longer listen to him. His one chance to save his love, he had destroyed with a glance. He was beyond heartbroken and overcome with grief.

Now, remember, I forewarned you that many of these tales had horribly dark endings.  As if Orpheus’ story had not been tragic to this point, here is what happened next.

Orpheus came to disdain the worship of any god other than Apollo. One early morning, he headed up to the temple of Dionysus at Mount Pangaion in order to better salute his god (Apollo) at dawn.  This turned out to be a bad idea for several reasons. For one, Orpheus had spurned the love of any woman after he had lost his Eurydice; in fact, he eventually became known as the “first sodomite” since he took only young boys for lovers.

Now, Dionysus’ temple was guarded by the Maenads, Thracian women of less than stable psychology. Needless to say, they were quite upset with Orpheus for both dissing Dionysus as well as ignoring their advances.  At the sight of him, the Maenads began to throw rocks and sticks at him, only to have him play such sweet music that even those inanimate objects refused to strike him.  The girls lost it.  They attacked, screaming, and tore Orpheus apart, literally.

Maenads

The good news was that his soul returned to the Underworld, finally reunited with his love, Eurydice.

So, you tell me, folks.  Would you risk/give your life for the one you love?

Think about that before you answer.  You may learn something from your thoughts alone.

Is that your final answer? You want to phone a friend?

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* – We meet Apollo in all his brilliant glory in the novels of my Progeny series, beginning with “The Weight Of Night.”