Eurydice

Eurydice was a nymph, or dryad, a female spirit of nature.

Eurydice met and fell in love with Orpheus, son of Apollo (Olympian god of the sun) and Calliope (a muse) and the pair were married. However, their joy was only short-lived as the god Hymen, who came to bless the marriage, foretold that their union would not last.

Eurydice and Orpheus chose to ignore the prophecy and take comfort in their love.

 

One day, not long after the wedding, when Eurydice was in the forest, dancing with other nymphs, she was spotted by the shepherd, Aristaeus. Aristaeus was another son of Apollo and he desired her and made advances towards her that Eurydice rejected. As she fled, she tripped and a snake bit her ankle, causing her to die instantly from the venom.

 

Upon hearing of his beloved wife’s death, Orpheus, who had previously been given a lyre by his father, played songs of his sorrow which moved those on both heaven and earth, teaching both man and god what it felt like to lose the one they loved.

 

Orpheus refused to let Eurydice go and travelled to Hades to see her. Any mortal man would have perished immediately but as Orpheus was a demi-god, he was safe to pass through the underworld, even soothing the three-headed guard dog, Cerberus, with a song. Orpheus did not stop until he reached Hades and Persephone to beg for his wife to be brought back to life, playing songs for the rulers of the underworld to persuade them.

 

Hades agreed to allow Eurydice to return to the mortal world, but on the condition that Orpheus could not turn back to see her whilst the pair travelled back to the light. Orpheus thanked Hades and made his way back through the underworld, with his beloved Eurydice following silently behind him.

 

Unfortunately, Orpheus could not hear Eurydice’s footsteps behind him and as he neared the exit of Hades, he lost his faith and turned back. There was Eurydice, but she faded away before her husband’s eyes, dragged back down into the depths of the underworld.

 

Eurydice’s tale was used by the Ancient Greeks to warn of the dangers disobeying the gods and also to symbolise how love and music can stir the soul.

Either way, this tale of star-crossed lovers is a poignant one and, in my opinion, a better version of the classic Romeo & Juliet tale.