“Myths of Ancient Greece” -Orpheus in the underground kingdom. “Myths of Ancient Greece” -Orpheus in the Underground Kingdom Myths of Ancient Greece about Eurydice read

Based on Ovid's poem "Metamorphoses".

Orpheus in the Underworld

The great singer Orpheus, the son of the river god Eager and the muse Calliope, lived in distant Thrace. Orpheus' wife was the beautiful nymph Eurydice. The singer Orpheus loved her dearly. But Orpheus did not enjoy a happy life with his wife for long. One day, soon after the wedding, the beautiful Eurydice was picking spring flowers in a green valley with her young playful nymph friends. Eurydice did not notice the snake in the thick grass and stepped on it. The snake bit Orpheus's young wife in the leg. Eurydice screamed loudly and fell into the arms of her friends who ran up. Eurydice turned pale and her eyes closed. The snake's venom ended her life. Eurydice's friends were horrified and their mournful cry was heard far away. Orpheus heard him. He hurries to the valley and there he sees the cold corpse of his dearly beloved wife. Orpheus fell into despair. He could not come to terms with this loss. He mourned his Eurydice for a long time, and all nature cried, hearing his sad singing.
Finally, Orpheus decided to descend into the dark kingdom of the souls of the dead in order to beg the Lord Hades and his wife Persephone to return his wife to him. Through the gloomy cave of Tenara, Orpheus descended to the banks of the sacred river Styx.
Orpheus stands on the banks of the Styx. How can he cross to the other side, to where the dark kingdom of Lord Hades is located? The shadows of the dead crowd around Orpheus. Their groans are barely audible, like the rustle of falling leaves in the forest in late autumn. Then the splash of oars was heard in the distance. This is the approaching boat of the carrier of the souls of the dead, Charon. Charon moored to the shore. Orpheus asks to transport him along with the souls to the other side, but the stern Charon refused him. No matter how Orpheus prays to him, he still hears one answer from Charon - “no!”
Then Orpheus struck the strings of his golden cithara, and the sounds of its strings spread in a wide wave along the shore of the gloomy Styx. Orpheus charmed Charon with his music; He listens to Orpheus playing, leaning on his oar. To the sound of music, Orpheus entered the boat, Charon pushed it away from the shore with an oar, and the boat sailed through the gloomy waters of the Styx. Charon transported Orpheus. He got out of the boat and, playing the golden cithara, walked through the dark kingdom of the souls of the dead to the throne of the god Hades, surrounded by souls who had flocked to the sounds of his cithara.
Playing the cithara, Orpheus approached the throne of Hades and bowed before him. He struck the strings of the cithara harder and began to sing; he sang about his love for Eurydice and how happy his life was with her on the bright, clear days of spring. But the days of happiness quickly passed. Eurydice died. Orpheus sang about his grief, about the torment of broken love, about his longing for the dead. The entire kingdom of Hades listened to the singing of Orpheus, everyone was enchanted by his song. The god Hades listened to Orpheus with his head bowed on his chest. Leaning her head against her husband’s shoulder, Persephone listened to the song; Tears of sadness trembled on her eyelashes. Fascinated by the sounds of the song, Tantalus forgot the hunger and thirst that tormented him. Sisyphus stopped his hard, fruitless work, sat down on the stone that was rolling up the mountain, and thought deeply, deeply. Enchanted by the singing, the Danaids stood, they forgot about their bottomless vessel. The formidable three-faced goddess Hecate herself covered herself with her hands so that the tears in her eyes could not be seen. Tears glistened and in the eyes that did not know pity, Erinyes even touched them with his song Orpheus. But the strings of the golden cithara sound ever quieter, the song of Orpheus becomes quieter, and it froze, like a barely audible sigh of sadness.
Deep silence reigned all around. The god Hades interrupted this silence and asked Orpheus why he came to his kingdom, what he wanted to ask him for. Hades swore an unbreakable oath of the gods - by the waters of the River Styx - that he would fulfill the request of the wondrous singer. This is how Orpheus answered Hades:
- Oh, mighty lord Hades, you accept all of us mortals into your kingdom when the days of our lives end. I did not come here to look at the horrors that fill your kingdom, not to lead away, like Hercules, the guardian of your kingdom - the three-headed Kerberus. I came here to beg you to release my Eurydice back to earth. Bring her back to life; you see how I suffer for her! Think, lord, if they took away your wife Persephone from you, you too would suffer. You don’t return Eurydice forever. She will return again to your kingdom. Our lord Hades is a short life. Oh, let Eurydice experience the joys of life, because she came to your kingdom so young!
The god Hades thought and finally answered Orpheus:
- Okay, Orpheus! I will return Eurydice to you. Lead her back to life, to the light of the sun. But you must fulfill one condition: you will go forward following the god Hermes, he will lead you, and Eurydice will follow you. But while traveling through the underworld, you should not look back. Remember! You look back, and Eurydice will immediately leave you and return forever to my kingdom.
Orpheus agreed to everything. He is in a hurry to go back as soon as possible. Quick as a thought, Hermes brought the shadow of Eurydice. Orpheus looks at her with delight. Orpheus wants to hug the shadow of Eurydice, but the god Hermes stopped him, saying:
- Orpheus, you are only hugging a shadow. Let's go quickly; our path is difficult.
We hit the road. Hermes walks ahead, followed by Orpheus, and behind him the shadow of Eurydice. They quickly passed the kingdom of Hades. Charon ferried them across the Styx in his boat. Here is the path that leads to the surface of the earth. The path is difficult. The path rises steeply, and it is all cluttered with stones. There is deep twilight all around. The figure of Hermes walking ahead is slightly visible in them. But then a light appeared far ahead. This is the way out. It seemed like everything was brighter all around. If Orpheus had turned around, he would have seen Eurydice. Is she following him? Didn't she remain in the complete darkness of the kingdom of the souls of the dead? Maybe she fell behind, because the path is so difficult! Eurydice fell behind and will be doomed to wander forever in the darkness. Orpheus slows down and listens. Can not hear anything. How can the steps of an ethereal shadow be heard? Orpheus becomes increasingly worried about Eurydice. More and more often he stops. Everything is brighter all around. Now Orpheus would clearly see the shadow of his wife. Finally, forgetting everything, he stopped and turned around. Almost next to him he saw the shadow of Eurydice. Orpheus extended his hands to her, but further, further the shadow - and drowned in darkness. Orpheus stood as if petrified, overcome with despair. He had to endure the secondary death of Eurydice, and he himself was the culprit of this second death.
Orpheus stood for a long time. It seemed as if life had left him; it looked like a marble statue standing there. Finally, Orpheus moved, took a step, then another, and walked back to the shores of the gloomy Styx. He decided to return to the throne of Hades again, again begging him to return Eurydice. But old Charon did not take him across the Styx in his fragile boat, Orpheus begged him in vain - the prayers of the inexorable singer Charon were not touched. For seven days and nights, sad Orpheus sat on the bank of the Styx, shedding tears of sorrow, forgetting about food, about everything, lamenting gods of the dark kingdom of the souls of the dead. Only on the eighth day did he decide to leave the banks of the Styx and return to Thrace.

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In the north of Greece, in Thrace, lived the singer Orpheus. He had a wonderful gift of songs, and his fame spread throughout the land of the Greeks.

The beautiful Eurydice fell in love with him for his songs. She became his wife. But their happiness was short-lived.

One day Orpheus and Eurydice were in the forest. Orpheus played his seven-stringed cithara and sang. Eurydice was picking flowers in the meadows. Unnoticed, she moved far from her husband, into the wilderness of the forest. Suddenly it seemed to her that someone was running through the forest, breaking branches, chasing her, she got scared and, throwing the flowers, ran back to Orpheus. She ran, without knowing the road, through the thick grass and in a rapid run stepped into a snake’s nest. The snake wrapped itself around her leg and bit her. Eurydice screamed loudly in pain and fear and fell onto the grass.

Orpheus heard his wife's plaintive cry from a distance and hurried to her. But he saw large black wings flash between the trees - it was Death that was carrying Eurydice into the underworld.

Great was the grief of Orpheus. He left people and spent whole days alone, wandering through the forests, pouring out his melancholy in songs. And there was such power in these melancholy songs that the trees moved from their places and surrounded the singer. Animals came out of their holes, birds left their nests, stones moved closer. And everyone listened to how he missed his beloved.

Nights and days passed, but Orpheus could not console himself, his sadness grew with every hour.

No, I can’t live without Eurydice! - he said. - The land is not dear to me without her. Let Death take me too, let me at least be in the underworld with my beloved!

But Death did not come. And Orpheus decided to go to the kingdom of the dead himself.

For a long time he searched for the entrance to the underground kingdom and, finally, in the deep cave of Tenara he found a stream that flowed into the underground river Styx. Along the bed of this stream, Orpheus descended deep underground and reached the bank of the Styx. Beyond this river began the kingdom of the dead.

The waters of the Styx are black and deep, and it is scary for the living to step into them. Orpheus heard sighs and quiet crying behind him - these were the shadows of the dead, like him, who were waiting for crossing into a country from which no one can return.

A boat separated from the opposite shore: the carrier of the dead, Charon, was sailing for new newcomers. Charon silently moored to the shore, and shadows obediently filled the boat. Orpheus began to ask Charon:

Take me to the other side too! But Charon refused:

I only transfer the dead to the other side. When you die, I will come for you!

Have pity! - Orpheus prayed. - I don’t want to live anymore! It's hard for me to stay on earth alone! I want to see my Eurydice!

The stern ferryman pushed him away and was about to set sail from the shore, but the strings of the cithara rang plaintively, and Orpheus began to sing. Sad and gentle sounds echoed under the gloomy arches of Hades. The cold waves of the Styx stopped, and Charon himself, leaning on his oar, listened to the song. Orpheus entered the boat, and Charon obediently transported him to the other side. Hearing the hot song of the living about undying love, the shadows of the dead flew from all sides. Orpheus walked boldly through the silent kingdom of the dead, and no one stopped him.

So he reached the palace of the ruler of the underworld, Hades, and entered a vast and gloomy hall. High on the golden throne sat the formidable Hades and next to him his beautiful queen Persephone.

With a sparkling sword in his hand, in a black cloak, with huge black wings, the god of Death stood behind Hades, and his servants, Kera, crowded around him, flying on the battlefield and taking the lives of warriors. The stern judges of the underworld sat to the side of the throne and judged the dead for their earthly deeds.

Memories were hidden in the dark corners of the hall, behind the columns. They had scourges made of live snakes in their hands, and they painfully stung those standing before the court.

Orpheus saw many kinds of monsters in the kingdom of the dead: Lamia, which steals small children from mothers at night, and the terrible Empusa with donkey legs, drinking the blood of people, and ferocious Stygian dogs.

Only the younger brother of the god of Death - the god of Sleep, young Hypnos, beautiful and joyful, rushed around the hall on his light wings, stirring a sleepy drink in his silver horn, which no one on earth can resist - even the great Thunderer Zeus himself falls asleep when Hypnos splashes into it with your potion.

Hades looked menacingly at Orpheus, and everyone around him began to tremble.

But the singer approached the throne of the gloomy ruler and sang even more inspired: he sang about his love for Eurydice.

*1 King Calydon*2, Oeneus, father of the hero Meleager, incurred the wrath of the great goddess Artemis. Once, celebrating the harvest of fruits in his gardens and vineyards, he made rich sacrifices to the Olympian gods, and only Artemis did not offer sacrifices. Artemis punished Oineas for this. She sent a formidable boar to the country. A ferocious, huge boar devastated the entire environs of Calydon. With his monstrous fangs, he uprooted entire trees, destroyed vineyards and apple trees covered with delicate flowers. The boar did not spare people if they came his way. Grief reigned in the vicinity of Calydon. Then the son of Oeneus Meleager, seeing the general sadness, decided to organize a raid and kill the boar. He gathered many heroes of Greece for this dangerous hunt. Those who came from Spirits included Castor and Polydeuces, Theseus from Athens, King Admetus from Thera, Jason from Iolcus*3, Iolaus from Thebes, Peirithois from Thessaly, Peleus from Phthia*4, Telamon from the island of Salamis*5. and many other heroes. Atlas also came from Arcadia to hunt, fast in running, like the fastest-footed deer. She was raised in the mountains. Her father ordered her to be taken to the mountains immediately after her birth, since he did not want to have daughters. There, in the gorge, Atlanta was nursed by a bear, and she grew up among hunters. As a huntress, Atlas was equal to Artemis herself. ___________ *1 The following feature is interesting in the myth about Meleager: Meleager’s mother, Althea, having learned that he killed her brother in battle, prays to the gods to punish her son, and Apollo kills Meleager. Why is Meleager’s crime so great that his own mother curses and condemns her only son to death? This can only be explained by the fact that this myth is a relic of the time of maternal law, when the mother’s brother was her closest relative, and the murder of a close relative had to be avenged. The myth of Meleager, as proof that the Greeks had maternal right in ancient times, was used by F. Engels in his work “The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State.” Then a wild boar appeared, rushing like a whirlwind, chased by dogs. The hunters rushed towards him. Each of them was in a hurry to hit the boar with his spear, but the fight with the monstrous boar was difficult; not one of the hunters experienced the power of its terrible fangs. The boar struck to death with its fangs the intrepid hunter, the Arcadian Ankey, when he, swinging his double-edged ax, wanted to kill the boar. Then Atlanta pulled her tight bow and shot a sharp arrow at the boar. At that moment Meleager also arrived. With a mighty blow from his spear he killed a huge boar. The hunt is over. Everyone rejoiced at their good fortune. She begged him to think about the evil fate that would befall both the city and the vanquished, to think that the victors would take their wives and children into heavy slavery. Does he really want such a fate to befall her? The mighty Meleager heeded the pleas of his wife. He quickly put on shiny armor, girded himself with a sword, and took his huge shield and spear in his hands. Meleager rushed into battle, repelled the Kuretes and saved his native Calydon. But death awaited Meleager himself. The gods of the kingdom of shadows of the dead heard the prayers and curses of Althea. Meleager fell in battle, struck to death by the golden arrow of the far-striking god Apollo, and Meleager’s soul flew off into the sad kingdom of shadows.*1 CYPRESS Based on Ovid's poem "Metamorphoses" On the island of Keos*2 in the Carthean Valley, there was a deer dedicated to the nymphs. This deer was beautiful. His branched horns were gilded, a pearl necklace adorned his neck, and precious jewelry hung from his ears. The deer completely forgot his fear of people. He entered the houses of the villagers and willingly extended his neck to anyone who wanted to stroke it. All the inhabitants loved this deer, but most of all he was loved by the young son of King Keos, Cypress, the beloved friend of the archer Apollo. The cypress led blindly to clearings with lush grass and to loudly murmuring streams; he decorated its mighty horns with wreaths of fragrant flowers; often, playing with a deer, young Cypress, laughing, jumped onto his back and rode him around the flowering Carpheus valley. ___________ *1 There were also the following myths about the death of Meleager. When Meleager was born, the Moira goddesses of fate appeared to his mother Althea, and one of them told her: “Your son will die when this brand burns on the hearth.” Hearing this, Althea immediately extinguished the brand, hid it in a casket and carefully kept it. And so, when Meleager killed his mother’s brother in battle, she remembered the prophecy of Moira. Angry with her son, she took the brand out of the casket and burned it. As soon as the brand burned and turned into ashes, the hero Meleager died. *2 One of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. Based on Ovid's poem "Metamorphoses" ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERGROUND KINGDOM The great singer Orpheus, the son of the river god Eager and the muse Calliope, lived in distant Thrace. Orpheus' wife was the beautiful nymph Eurydice. The singer Orpheus loved her dearly. But Orpheus did not enjoy a happy life with his wife for long. One day, soon after the wedding, the beautiful Eurydice was picking spring flowers in a green valley with her young playful nymph friends. Eurydice did not notice the snake in the thick grass and stepped on it. The snake bit Orpheus's young wife in the leg. Eurydice screamed loudly and fell into the arms of her friends who ran up. Eurydice turned pale and her eyes closed. The snake's venom ended her life. Eurydice's friends were horrified and their mournful cry was heard far away. Orpheus heard him. He hurries to the valley and there he sees the cold corpse of his dearly beloved wife. Orpheus fell into despair. He could not come to terms with this loss. He mourned his Eurydice for a long time, and all nature cried, hearing his sad singing. But the days of happiness quickly passed. Eurydice died. Orpheus sang about his grief, about the torment of broken love, about his longing for the dead. The entire kingdom of Hades listened to the singing of Orpheus, everyone was enchanted by his song. With his head bowed on his chest, the god Hades listened to Orpheus. Leaning her head against her husband’s shoulder, Persephone listened to the song; Tears of sadness trembled on her eyelashes. Fascinated by the sounds of the song, Tantalus forgot the hunger and thirst that tormented him. Sisyphus stopped his hard, fruitless work. I sat down on that stone that was rolling up the mountain and thought deeply, deeply. Enchanted by the singing, the Danaids stood, they forgot about their bottomless vessel. The formidable three-faced goddess Hecate herself covered herself with her hands so that the tears in her eyes could not be seen. Tears glistened in the eyes of Erinyes, who knew no pity; even Orpheus touched them with his song. But now the strings of the golden cithara sound ever quieter, the song of Orpheus becomes quieter, and it freezes, like a barely audible sigh of sadness. Let's go quickly; our path is difficult. The birds flocked to listen to the singer. Even the trees moved and surrounded Orpheus; oak and poplar, slender cypresses and broad-leaved plane trees, pines and spruces crowded around and listened to the singer; not a single branch, not a single leaf trembled on them. All nature seemed enchanted by the wondrous singing and sounds of Orpheus’ cithara. Suddenly loud exclamations, the ringing of tympanums and laughter were heard in the distance. It was the Kikonian women who celebrated the merry festival of the noisy Bacchus. The bacchantes were getting closer, and then they saw Orpheus, and one of them exclaimed loudly: “Here he is, the hater of women!” Now Orpheus can turn around without fear to see if Eurydice is following him. It was a hot summer afternoon; the sun was burning; the whole air was full of heat. The deer took refuge in the shade from the midday heat and lay down in the bushes. By chance, where the deer lay, Cypress was hunting. He did not recognize his favorite deer, since it was covered by foliage, so he threw a sharp spear at it and struck it to death. Cypress was horrified when he saw that he had killed his pet. In grief, he wants to die with him. Apollo consoled him in vain. Cypress's grief was inconsolable; he prayed to the silver-bowed god that God would let him be sad forever. Apollo heeded him. The young man turned into a tree. His curls became dark green pine needles, his body was covered with bark. Like a slender cypress tree he stood before Apollo; like an arrow, its top went into the sky. Apollo sighed sadly and said: “I will always grieve for you, wonderful young man, and you will also grieve for someone else’s grief.” Always be with those who mourn! Based on Ovid's poem "Metamorphoses" Beautiful, equal to the Olympian gods themselves in his beauty, the young son of the king of Sparta, Hyacinth, was a friend of the arrow god Apollo. Apollo often appeared on the banks of the Eurotas in Sparta to visit his friend and spent time there with him, hunting along the mountain slopes in densely overgrown forests or having fun with gymnastics, in which the Spartans were so skilled. Since then, the Greeks hung a branch of cypress at the door of a house where there was a deceased person; its needles decorated funeral pyres on which they burned the bodies of the dead, and planted cypress trees near the graves. The beautiful Nereid Galatea loved the son of Simefida, young Akidas, and Akidas loved the Nereid. Akid was not the only one captivated by Galatea. The huge cyclops Polyphemus once saw the beautiful Galatea, when she was swimming out of the waves of the azure sea, shining with her beauty, and he was inflamed with frantic love for her. Oh, how great is your power, golden Aphrodite! To the stern Cyclops, whom no one dared to approach with impunity, who despised the Olympian gods, and you breathed love into him! Polyphemus burns from the flame of love. He forgot his sheep and his caves. The wild Cyclops even began to take care of his beauty. He combs his shaggy hair with a pick and trims his scraggly beard with a sickle. He even became less wild and bloodthirsty. From the stream appeared a waist-deep young man with a bluish complexion, wearing a wreath of reeds. It was Akid - he became the river god.

In the north of Greece, in Thrace, lived the singer Orpheus. He had a wonderful gift of songs, and his fame spread throughout the land of the Greeks.

The beautiful Eurydice fell in love with him for his songs. She became his wife. But their happiness was short-lived. One day Orpheus and Eurydice were in the forest. Orpheus played his seven-stringed cithara and sang. Eurydice was picking flowers in the meadows. Unnoticed, she moved far from her husband, into the wilderness of the forest. Suddenly it seemed to her that someone was running through the forest, breaking branches, chasing her, she got scared and, throwing the flowers, ran back to Orpheus. She ran, without knowing the road, through the thick grass and in a rapid run stepped into a snake’s nest. The snake wrapped itself around her leg and bit her. Eurydice screamed loudly in pain and fear and fell onto the grass. Orpheus heard his wife's plaintive cry from a distance and hurried to her. But he saw large black wings flash between the trees - it was Death that was carrying Eurydice into the underworld.

Nights and days passed, but Orpheus could not console himself, his sadness grew with every hour.

No, I can’t live without Eurydice! - he said. - The land is not dear to me without her. Let Death take me too, let me at least be in the underworld with my beloved!

But Death did not come. And Orpheus decided to go to the kingdom of the dead himself.

Take me to the other side too! But Charon refused:

I only transfer the dead to the other side. When you die, I will come for you!

Have pity! - Orpheus prayed. - I don’t want to live anymore! It's hard for me to stay on earth alone! I want to see my Eurydice!

So he reached the palace of the ruler of the underworld, Hades, and entered a vast and gloomy hall. High on the golden throne sat the formidable Hades and next to him his beautiful queen Persephone.

Memories were hidden in the dark corners of the hall, behind the columns. They had scourges made of live snakes in their hands, and they painfully stung those standing before the court.

Hades looked menacingly at Orpheus, and everyone around him began to tremble.

But the singer approached the throne of the gloomy ruler and sang even more inspired: he sang about his love for Eurydice.

Persephone listened to the song without breathing, and tears rolled from her beautiful eyes. The terrible Hades bowed his head on his chest and thought. The God of Death lowered his sparkling sword.

The singer fell silent, and the silence lasted for a long time. Then Hades raised his head and asked:

What are you looking for, singer, in the kingdom of the dead? Tell me what you want and I promise to fulfill your request.

Orpheus said to Hades:

Lord! Our life on earth is short, and Death overtakes us all someday and takes us to your kingdom - no mortal can escape it. But I, alive, myself came to the kingdom of the dead to ask you: give me back my Eurydice! She had lived so little on earth, had so little time to rejoice, loved so briefly... Let her go, lord, to earth! Let her live in the world a little longer, let her enjoy the sun, warmth and light and the greenery of the fields, the spring beauty of the forests and my love. After all, she will return to you after all!

So spoke Orpheus and asked Persephone:

Intercede for me, beautiful queen! You know how good life is on earth! Help me get my Eurydice back!

Let it be as you ask! - Hades said to Orpheus. - I will return Eurydice to you. You can take her with you up to the bright earth. But you have to promise...

Anything you want! - Orpheus exclaimed. - I’m ready to do anything to see my Eurydice again!

You must not see her until you come out into the light,” Hades said. - Return to earth and know: Eurydice will follow you. But don't look back and try to look at her. If you look back, you will lose her forever!

And Hades ordered Eurydice to follow Orpheus.

Orpheus quickly headed towards the exit from the kingdom of the dead. Like a spirit, he passed through the land of Death, and the shadow of Eurydice followed him. They entered Charon's boat, and he silently transported them back to the shore of life. A steep rocky path led up to the ground.

Orpheus slowly climbed the mountain. It was dark and quiet around him and quiet behind him, as if no one was following him. Only his heart was beating:

“Eurydice! Eurydice!

Finally it began to get lighter ahead, and the exit to the ground was close. And the closer the exit was, the brighter it became ahead, and now everything around was clearly visible.

Anxiety squeezed Orpheus’s heart: is Eurydice here? Is he following him? Forgetting everything in the world, Orpheus stopped and looked around.

Where are you, Eurydice? Let me look at you! For a moment, very close, he saw a sweet shadow, a dear, beautiful face... But only for a moment. Eurydice's shadow immediately flew away, disappeared, melted into the darkness.

Eurydice?!

With a desperate cry, Orpheus began to go back down the path and again came to the shore of the black Styx and called for the ferryman. But in vain he prayed and called: no one responded to his prayers. For a long time Orpheus sat on the bank of the Styx alone and waited. He didn't wait for anyone.

He had to return to earth and live. But he could not forget his only love - Eurydice, and the memory of her lived in his heart and in his songs.

Literature:
Smirnova V. //Heroes of Hellas, - M.: "Children's Literature", 1971 - p.103-109

The great singer Orpheus, the son of the river god Eager and the muse Calliope, lived in distant Thrace. Orpheus' wife was the beautiful nymph Eurydice. The singer Orpheus loved her dearly. But Orpheus did not enjoy a happy life with his wife for long. One day, soon after the wedding, the beautiful Eurydice was picking spring flowers in a green valley with her young playful nymph friends. Eurydice screamed loudly and fell into the arms of her friends who ran up. Eurydice turned pale and her eyes closed. The snake's venom ended her life. Eurydice's friends were horrified and their mournful cry was heard far away. Orpheus heard him. He is in a hurry. Eurydice did not notice the snake in the thick grass and stepped on it. The snake bit Orpheus's young wife in the leg. into the valley and there he sees the cold corpse of his dearly beloved wife. Orpheus fell into despair. He could not come to terms with this loss. He mourned his Eurydice for a long time, and all nature cried, hearing his sad singing.
Finally, Orpheus decided to descend into the dark kingdom of the souls of the dead in order to beg the Lord Hades and his wife Persephone to return his wife to him. Through the gloomy cave of Tenara, Orpheus descended to the banks of the sacred river Styx.
Orpheus stands on the banks of the Styx. How can he cross to the other side, to where the dark kingdom of Lord Hades is located? The shadows of the dead crowd around Orpheus. Their groans are barely audible, like the rustle of falling leaves in the forest in late autumn. Then the splash of oars was heard in the distance. This is the approaching boat of the carrier of the souls of the dead, Charon. Charon moored to the shore. Orpheus asks to transport him along with the souls to the other side, but the stern Charon refused him. No matter how Orpheus prays to him, he still hears one answer from Charon - “no!”
Then Orpheus struck the strings of his golden cithara, and the sounds of its strings spread in a wide wave along the shore of the gloomy Styx. Orpheus charmed Charon with his music; He listens to Orpheus playing, leaning on his oar. To the sound of music, Orpheus entered the pad, Charon pushed it away from the shore with an oar, and the boat sailed through the gloomy waters of the Styx. Charon transported Orpheus. He got out of the boat and, playing the golden cithara, walked through the dark kingdom of the souls of the dead to the throne of the god Hades, surrounded by souls who had flocked to the sounds of his cithara.
Playing the cithara, Orpheus approached the throne of Hades and bowed before him. He struck the strings of the cithara harder and began to sing; he sang about his love for Eurydice and how happy his life was with her on the bright, clear days of spring. But the days of happiness quickly passed. Eurydice died. Orpheus sang about his grief, about the torment of broken love, about his longing for the dead. The entire kingdom of Hades listened to the singing of Orpheus, everyone was enchanted by his song. The god Hades listened to Orpheus with his head bowed on his chest. Leaning her head against her husband’s shoulder, Persephone listened to the song; Tears of sadness trembled on her eyelashes. Fascinated by the sounds of the song, Tantalus forgot the hunger and thirst that tormented him. Sisyphus stopped his hard, fruitless work. I sat down on that stone that was rolling up the mountain and thought deeply, deeply. Enchanted by the singing, the Danaids stood, they forgot about their bottomless vessel. The formidable three-faced goddess Hecate herself covered herself with her hands so that the tears in her eyes could not be seen. Tears glistened in the eyes of Erinyes, who knew no pity; even Orpheus touched them with his song. But the strings of the golden cithara sound ever quieter, the song of Orpheus becomes quieter, and it froze, like a barely audible sigh of sadness.
Deep silence reigned all around. The god Hades interrupted this silence and asked Orpheus why he came to his kingdom, what he wanted to ask him for. Hades swore an unbreakable oath of the gods - by the waters of the River Styx - that he would fulfill the request of the wondrous singer. This is how Orpheus answered Hades:
- Oh, mighty lord Hades, you accept all of us mortals into your kingdom when the days of our lives end. I did not come here to look at the horrors that fill your kingdom, not to lead away, like Hercules, the guardian of your kingdom - the three-headed Kerberus. I came here to beg you to release my Eurydice back to earth. Bring her back to life; you see how I suffer for her! Think, lord, if they took away your wife Persephone from you, you too would suffer. You don’t return Eurydice forever. She will return again to your kingdom. Our lord Hades is a short life. Oh, let Eurydice experience the joys of life, because she came to your kingdom so young!
The god Hades thought and finally answered Orpheus:
- Okay, Orpheus! I will return Eurydice to you. Lead her back to life, to the light of the sun. But you must fulfill one condition: you will go forward following the god Hermes, he will lead you, and Eurydice will follow you. But while traveling through the underworld, you should not look back. Remember! You look back, and Eurydice will immediately leave you and return forever to my kingdom.
Orpheus agreed to everything. He is in a hurry to go back as soon as possible. Quick as a thought, Hermes brought the shadow of Eurydice. Orpheus looks at her with delight. Orpheus wants to hug the shadow of Eurydice, but the god Hermes stopped him, saying:
- Orpheus, you are only hugging a shadow. Let's go quickly; our path is difficult.
We hit the road. Hermes walks ahead, followed by Orpheus, and behind him the shadow of Eurydice. They quickly passed the kingdom of Hades. Charon ferried them across the Styx in his boat. Here is the path that leads to the surface of the earth. The path is difficult. The path rises steeply, and it is all cluttered with stones. There is deep twilight all around. The figure of Hermes walking ahead is slightly visible in them. But then a light appeared far ahead. This is the way out. It seemed like everything was brighter all around. If Orpheus had turned around, he would have seen Eurydice. Is she following him? Didn't she remain in the complete darkness of the kingdom of the souls of the dead? Maybe she fell behind, because the path is so difficult! Eurydice fell behind and will be doomed to wander forever in the darkness. Orpheus slows down and listens. Can not hear anything. How can the steps of an ethereal shadow be heard? Orpheus becomes increasingly worried about Eurydice. More and more often he stops. Everything is brighter all around. Now Orpheus would clearly see the shadow of his wife. Finally, forgetting everything, he stopped and turned around. Almost next to him he saw the shadow of Eurydice. Orpheus extended his hands to her, but further, further the shadow - and drowned in darkness. Orpheus stood as if petrified, overcome with despair. He had to endure the secondary death of Eurydice, and he himself was the culprit of this second death.
Orpheus stood for a long time. It seemed as if life had left him; it looked like a marble statue standing there. Finally, Orpheus moved, took a step, then another, and walked back to the shores of the gloomy Styx. He decided to return to the throne of Hades again, again begging him to return Eurydice. But old Charon did not take him across the Styx in his fragile boat, Orpheus begged him in vain - the pleas of the singer inexorable Charon were not touched. For seven days and nights sad Orpheus sat on the bank of the Styx, shedding tears of sorrow, forgetting about food, about everything, lamenting gods of the dark kingdom of the souls of the dead. Only on the eighth day did he decide to leave the banks of the Styx and return to Thrace.

Taenar (now Cape Matapan) is located in the southern Peloponnese.

Collected from the book “Myths of Ancient Greece”

edited news VENDETTA - 7-03-2012, 10:33