Orpheus and Eurydice Essay

Ryan Thiel
Orpheus and Eurydice
Mythology 2
September 23, 2008
Orpheus and Eurydice
Drugs, sex, and rock n’ roll is what defines the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, minus the drugs. Music and love are significant to every living person, and this myth represents our connection to them both on three levels: natural, social, and psychological. Because music and love are so important, interpreting this myth on these three levels can mean something to everyone.
Orpheus was the son of a muse and a Thracian King; he was half divine and half human. His mother blessed him with the gift of music, and he was the greatest musician to live, apart from Apollo himself. Anyone he played for would immediately forget any trouble they had, follow him and listen to him sing and play his lyre. He could serenade any woman with his music, but he married a girl named Eurydice. Directly after their wedding, Eurydice was walking across a field with her bridesmaids and was bit by a venomous snake and died. Orpheus was so distressed by her death that he traveled into the underworld to find her. He persuaded Hades and Persephone to release Eurydice from the underworld by singing and playing his lyre. Orpheus was allowed to take her back under one condition: he could not look back at her as she followed him out of the underworld. When Orpheus was out from under the cave, he turned to look at Eurydice, but she was still in the cave, and she vanished instantly. Orpheus tried to go back but the gods would not allow him to go back to the underworld a second time. Orpheus roamed the land in deep sorrow, and eventually a group of crazed Maenads found him and tore him to pieces.
Everybody has a connection to music in some way, it is said that music is the universal language. Orpheus represents music in itself, in the same way his god-like looks and his musical talent appeals to any person he encounters. Everybody listens to music, or music is a part of everyone’s life in some way. When Orpheus persuades Hades and Persephone to let him bring Eurydice out of the underworld, this represents the way music can change a person’s mood for the better. Regardless of who a person is or the circumstances they are in, music will always be a refuge for people to escape to from their problems or worries.
Every person needs to feel loved in life, and in the same way people need to feel like they can love others. The way Orpheus goes into the underworld to regain his lost love represents that people will do anything to get the love they need. This myth also touches on the concept of death. For example when Orpheus turns to look at Eurydice when he exits the cave to the underworld, she vanishes because of the agreement that Orpheus and Hades had. This represents the loss that every human faces after a death, and Orpheus’ failed attempt to bring her back represents the stages a person goes through after the death of a loved one. Every person wants to bring back lost loved ones, but after a death everybody has to come the realization of the loss.
This myth represents the way love and music play a big role in every person’s life. Music can amplify the feeling of love and loss, or it can console a person after a loss. We will all face the loss of loved ones in our lives, and we will all feel the loss that Orpheus felt. Music will always continue to influence people’s lives, like the way it influenced Orpheus’s life. The tale of Orpheus helps us take a closer look at the way music and love affect us all.