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    Orpheus Summary

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    GretelJanjury Valeza
    Orpheus fell in love with Eurydice but she died after marrying him. Orpheus journeyed to the Underworld and used his beautiful singing to convince Hades and Persephone to allow Eurydice to return with him, with the sole condition that he could not look back at her until they reached the land of the living. However, overcome with doubt, Orpheus glanced back and saw Eurydice being taken back to the Underworld, dooming her to remain there forever.

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    Orpheus Summary

    Uploaded by

    GretelJanjury Valeza
    157 views2 pages
    Orpheus fell in love with Eurydice but she died after marrying him. Orpheus journeyed to the Underworld and used his beautiful singing to convince Hades and Persephone to allow Eurydice to return with him, with the sole condition that he could not look back at her until they reached the land of the living. However, overcome with doubt, Orpheus glanced back and saw Eurydice being taken back to the Underworld, dooming her to remain there forever.

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    Orpheus fell in love with Eurydice but she died after marrying him. Orpheus journeyed to the Underworld and used his beautiful singing to convince Hades and Persephone to allow Eurydice to return with him, with the sole condition that he could not look back at her until they reached the land of the living. However, overcome with doubt, Orpheus glanced back and saw Eurydice being taken back to the Underworld, dooming her to remain there forever.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    157 views2 pages

    Orpheus Summary

    Uploaded by

    GretelJanjury Valeza
    Orpheus fell in love with Eurydice but she died after marrying him. Orpheus journeyed to the Underworld and used his beautiful singing to convince Hades and Persephone to allow Eurydice to return with him, with the sole condition that he could not look back at her until they reached the land of the living. However, overcome with doubt, Orpheus glanced back and saw Eurydice being taken back to the Underworld, dooming her to remain there forever.

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    Orpheus and Eurydice: summary

    The lyrist Orpheus fell in love with the beautiful Eurydice, only for her to die shortly after; Orpheus made
    the journey into Hades, the Underworld, to try to bring his beloved back. His wish was granted – but on
    the condition that he mustn’t look back at Eurydice as she followed him out of Hades, until they were
    both safely back in the land of the living. Orpheus couldn’t resist one quick glance … and Eurydice was
    lost to him forever.

    Eurydice was a nymph – a dryad, specifically (a nymph associated with the forests) who married
    Orpheus. One day, while she was out among the Thracian countryside, she was pursued by a shepherd,
    Aristaeus, who wanted her. As she fled from him, she stood on a serpent which reared up and bit her on
    the leg, killing her with its venom.

    Orpheus grieved at the loss of the love of his life. But the one thing he had was his song, and so he went
    to the Underworld (or Hades, or, if you like, Hell) to beg for the return of Eurydice to the land of the
    living.

    Orpheus used his lyre and his beautiful singing to charm the demons of the Underworld. His singing even
    charmed Hades, the god of the Underworld, and his wife (for half the year, anyway), Persephone,
    goddess of the Underworld. Perhaps because Hades and Persephone knew, as husband and wife, what it
    was like to love someone, they were moved not only by Orpheus’ music but by his petition as well; they
    certainly agreed to his request, and allowed Eurydice to return with Orpheus to the land of the living.
    Orpheus’ song, and his perilous journey into the Underworld, were proof of his love and devotion to
    Eurydice.

    However, Hades and Persephone imposed one condition: Orpheus was to lead the way out of the
    Underworld, with Eurydice following behind him – but on no account was Orpheus to turn back and look
    at his wife until they were clear of the Underworld and back in the world of the living.

    Orpheus agreed, but as he was making his way back from the Underworld, he was gripped by a terrible
    doubt. What if Hades and Persephone had tricked him, and he was leaving his wife behind? What if she
    wasn’t behind him at all? Eventually – when he was not far from exiting the Underworld – Orpheus
    couldn’t resist any longer, and turned back to see his wife, Eurydice. He shouldn’t have doubted.

    But in looking back, he had broken the one condition Hades and Persephone had laid down: not to
    glance back until they were both out of the Underworld. And so he had to watch in horror and despair
    as Eurydice was taken back down into the Underworld – all because he looked back at her. So, Eurydice
    died a second time – this time thanks to her husband.

    Orpheus tried to return down into the Underworld to plead with the gods again, but he found the
    entrance to Hades barred – this time for good. Not even his song could gain him entry.

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