Orpheus
Orpheus (OR-fee-us) was one of the greatest musicians in Ancient Greek myths. Sometimes he played on his lyre songs about the Olympian Gods and the Titans, other times he sang of the mystical creation of the universe. Orpheus even had songs about people who changed into birds and flowers.
Every time he sang, everything around him was filled with magic. His songs could charm anything, from humans and animals to rocks and rivers. It is said that once, when Orpheus was playing his music in the forest, the trees pulled themselves from the ground, followed him down the mountainside, and planted themselves on the seashore, when Orpheus ended his song.
Apollo ( "God" of music) taught him to play the lyre (also called a harp) and became so skilled that Jason and the Argonauts took him along in the quest for the Golden Fleece. Orpheus saved them from the Sirens' ( half bird, half woman) alluring songs by drowning out their music with his own.
After returning to Greece, Orpheus fell in love with a woman named Eurydice ( yew-ri-DI-see). They were married, but on the day of their wedding, Eurydice was bitten by a snake and died. Orpheus was absolutely heartbroken. He was married and widowed in the same day.
Orpheus decided to travel to the underworld and after enchanting all he passed in the underworld with his song, he made it to Hades ( "God" of the underworld). He, too, was enchanted by the music and agreed to let Eurydice go if Orpheus promised not to look back at her until they reached the outside world.
Orpheus was overjoyed. He had traveled almost all the way out of the underworld when he decided to make sure Eurydice was really there. But as soon as he turned and saw her, she disappeared back into the under world, never to return.
Orpheus promised never to marry another. This caused certain wild women to become angry. They tore Orpheus limb from limb in a fit of rage and jealousy. They then threw his head into the river, and it sang all the way to the sea.
It is believed that Orpheus is happier in the underworld. He now is with Eurydice, his wife. They stay together in this place, now never worried of being separated again.
(For the record, this is just a bunch of piddenhiddle (which is just a made up word for hogwash) and I don't believe a word of it. But it was an assignment.)
~Sophie Gabrielle
Every time he sang, everything around him was filled with magic. His songs could charm anything, from humans and animals to rocks and rivers. It is said that once, when Orpheus was playing his music in the forest, the trees pulled themselves from the ground, followed him down the mountainside, and planted themselves on the seashore, when Orpheus ended his song.
Apollo ( "God" of music) taught him to play the lyre (also called a harp) and became so skilled that Jason and the Argonauts took him along in the quest for the Golden Fleece. Orpheus saved them from the Sirens' ( half bird, half woman) alluring songs by drowning out their music with his own.
After returning to Greece, Orpheus fell in love with a woman named Eurydice ( yew-ri-DI-see). They were married, but on the day of their wedding, Eurydice was bitten by a snake and died. Orpheus was absolutely heartbroken. He was married and widowed in the same day.
Orpheus decided to travel to the underworld and after enchanting all he passed in the underworld with his song, he made it to Hades ( "God" of the underworld). He, too, was enchanted by the music and agreed to let Eurydice go if Orpheus promised not to look back at her until they reached the outside world.
Orpheus was overjoyed. He had traveled almost all the way out of the underworld when he decided to make sure Eurydice was really there. But as soon as he turned and saw her, she disappeared back into the under world, never to return.
Orpheus promised never to marry another. This caused certain wild women to become angry. They tore Orpheus limb from limb in a fit of rage and jealousy. They then threw his head into the river, and it sang all the way to the sea.
It is believed that Orpheus is happier in the underworld. He now is with Eurydice, his wife. They stay together in this place, now never worried of being separated again.
(For the record, this is just a bunch of piddenhiddle (which is just a made up word for hogwash) and I don't believe a word of it. But it was an assignment.)
~Sophie Gabrielle
Have you read the Percy Jackson books yet? They would go along perfectly with your assignment!!! I love them! They make learning about mythology a lot more interesting than what I had to do ... memorize!! :o)
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven't read those. We aren't doing a mythology unit, though. They mentioned Orpheus in "The Cricket in Times Square", so I had to research for info about him.
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