“Orpheus and Eurydice”
Once upon a time there lived a king in Thrace, Oiagros. And Calliope, the music of epic poetry, fell in love with him. And they had a son, Orpheus. Orpheus grew up to be a great hero. But his only weapon was his lyre and his music. People say that when he was singing the animals gathered around him and the rivers would stop flowing and the wind would stop blowing.
And there came the time that Orpheus met Eurydice. And he loved her very much and she loved him. And not long has passed and they decided to get married. And they invited all the gods and all the heroes to their wedding. Everybody was happy for the new couple. Only Aristaeus, friend of Orpheus was sitting by the fire and he was not drinking nor laughing. He was just looking at Eurydice. And he came to her and asked her to talk. And when they went away from the feast, Aristaeus tried to rape Eurydice, his best friend wife. But Eurydice fought back and run away from him. And while running she stepped on a snake and the snake bit her. And Eurydice died.
Orpheus’s pain and despair is great. He didn’t want to believe that his beloved died. He didn’t want to imagine his life away from her. And so he set of to find her. He set of to go to the place where no man alive goes. He set of to go to the Underworld, to the kingdom of Hades and Persephone. So he goes to the edge of the world, to river Acheron. And Orpheus paid the ferryman and he took him to the other side.
And so Orpheus found himself to the land of the dead. And he reached the gate of the Underworld, guarded by Cerberus, the dog with the three heads. And Orpheus played a sweet melody and Cerberus slept. And Orpheus went through the gate. And he walked among the souls of the dead until he reached the throne of Hades and the throne of Persephone.
And when he reached in front of the Underworld gods, he took his lyre and he sung. He sung for Eurydice’s beauty. He sung for his love. And he asked Eurydice back. Or else he preferred to stay there. And his voice was so sweet and his melody so charming that all the souls stopped to listen to him. And Tantalus stopped trying to reach the fruits and Sisyphus stopped pushing the stone. Even the Furies cried.
And the gods of the Underworld promised to give him Eurydice. But they warned him not to turn back and look at her before they crossed the entrance of the Underworld and be out in the light.
And so Orpheus moved forward and starting walking back. And behind him he heard the steps of his beloved. And in front of him there was the light of the sun. and he was so eager to see his beloved. And as they were approaching the exit Orpheus became more and more anxious. And just a little before they went out in the light he couldn’t hold himself and he turned. And there his love was standing. But before he could touch her and talk to her, Eurydice disappeared.
From then on people say Orpheus stayed on his own and never loved no other. And he wandered in the wilderness and played his music for the animals that always came to listen to him.