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[[Image:Orph-moreau.jpg|thumb|right|Orpheus, by [[Gustave Moreau]] |
[[Image:Orph-moreau.jpg|thumb|right|Orpheus, by [[Gustave Moreau]] |
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([[1880]])]] |
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In [[Greece|Greek]] legend, '''Orpheus''' was the chief representative of the art of song and playing the [[lyre]], and of great importance in the religious history of Greece. The derivation of the name is uncertain, the most probable being that which connects it with "dark." "Orpheus" may also possibly be a derivative of "ophruoeis" - which translates to "on the river bank." This may be in reference to his untimely and brutal demise at the hands of the [[bachanntes]], and his subsequent dismembering into the river [[Hebrus]]. It might also be a reference to trees along the river bank, as his father, [[Oeagrus]], translates to "of the wild sorb-apple" and both of these things refer to the [[Hellas|Hellenic]] River Goddes, [[Halys]] (also known as Elis or Alys) Orpheus may have been originally a god of darkness; or the liberator from the power of darkness by his gift of song. It is possible, but very improbable, that Orpheus was an historical personage; even in ancient times his existence was denied. |
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In [[Greece|Greek]] legend, '''Orpheus''' was the chief representative |
|||
He was a Greek of [[Thracian]] origin; the "Orphic Mysteries", rituals of unknown content, were named after him. His name does not occur in [[Homer]] or [[Hesiod]], but he was known in the time of [[Ibycus]] (c. [[530 BC]]), and [[Pindar]] ([[522 BC|522]]—[[442 BC]]) speaks of him as “the father of songs”. |
|||
of the arts of song and the [[lyre]], and of great importance in the |
|||
religious history of Greece. He was a Greek of [[Thracian]] origin; the "Orphic Mysteries", rituals |
|||
of unknown content, were named after him. It is possible, but very improbable, that |
|||
Orpheus was an historical personage; even in ancient times his |
|||
existence was denied. |
|||
==Overview== |
|||
From the [[6th century BC]] onwards he was looked upon as one of the chief poets and musicians of antiquity, the inventor or perfecter of the lyre, who by his music and singing was able not only to charm the wild beasts, but even to draw the trees and rocks from their places, and to arrest the rivers in their course. As one of the pioneers of civilization, he was supposed to have taught mankind the arts of medicine, writing and agriculture. As closely connected with religious life, he was an augur and seer; practised magical arts, especially astrology; founded or rendered accessible many important cults, such as those of [[Apollo]] and [[Dionysus]]; instituted mystic rites, both public and private; prescribed initiatory and purificatory ritual. He was said to have visited [[Egypt]], and to have become acquainted there with the writings of [[Moses]] and with the doctrine of a future life. |
|||
The name ''Orpheus'' does not occur in |
|||
According to the best-known tradition, Orpheus was the son of [[Oeagrus]], king of [[Thrace]], and the muse [[Calliope]]. Sometimes, Calliope and [[Apollo (god)|Apollo]] were his parents. Orpheus learned music from [[Linus]], or from Apollo, who was also his lover and who gave him his own lyre (made by Hermes out of a turtle shell) as a love gift. |
|||
[[Homer]] or [[Hesiod]], but he was known in the time of [[Ibycus]] |
|||
(c. [[530 BC]]), and [[Pindar]] ([[522 BC|522]]—[[442 BC]]) |
|||
speaks of him as “the father of songs”. |
|||
From the [[6th century BC]] onwards he was looked upon as one of the |
|||
During his residence in Thrace he joined the expedition of the [[Argonauts]], whose leader [[Jason]] had been informed by [[Chiron]] that only by the aid of Orpheus would they be able to pass by the [[Siren]]s unscathed. The Sirens lived on three small, rocky islands called [[Sirenum scopuli]] and sang beautiful songs that enticed sailors to come to them. They then ate the sailors. When Orpheus heard their voices, he withdrew his lyre and played his music more beautifully than they, drowning out their music. |
|||
chief poets and musicians of antiquity, the inventor or perfecter of |
|||
the lyre, who by his music and singing was able not only to charm the |
|||
wild beasts, but even to draw the trees and rocks from their places, |
|||
and to arrest the rivers in their course. As one of the pioneers of |
|||
civilization, he was supposed to have taught mankind the arts of |
|||
medicine, writing and agriculture. As closely connected with religious |
|||
life, he was an augur and seer; practised magical arts, especially |
|||
astrology; founded or rendered accessible many important cults, such |
|||
as those of [[Apollo]] and [[Dionysus]]; instituted mystic rites, both |
|||
public and private; prescribed initiatory and purificatory ritual. He |
|||
was said to have visited [[Egypt]], and to have become acquainted |
|||
there with the writings of [[Moses]] and with the doctrine of a future |
|||
life. |
|||
But the most famous story in which he figures is that of his wife [[Eurydice]]. Eurydice is sometimes known as Agriope. While fleeing from [[Aristaeus]], she was bitten by a serpent and died. Distraught, Orpheus played such sad songs and sang so mournfully that all the nymphs and gods wept and gave him advice. Orpheus went down to the lower world and by his music softened the heart of [[Hades]] and [[Persephone]] (the only person to ever do so), who allowed Eurydice to return with him to earth. But the condition was attached that he should walk in front of her and not look back until he had reached the upper world. In his anxiety he broke his promise, and Eurydice vanished again from his sight. The story in this form belongs to the time of [[Virgil]], who first introduces the name of Aristaeus. Other ancient writers, however, speak of Orpheus' visit to the underworld; according to [[Plato]], the infernal gods only “presented an apparition” of Eurydice to him. |
|||
==Etymology== |
|||
The famous myth of Eurydice we know now may actually post date Orpheus by ages. In particular, the name ''Eurudike'' ("she whose justice extends widely") recalls cult-titles attached to [[Persephone]]. The myth may have been mistakenly deduced from another Orpheus legend in which he travels to [[Tartarus]] and charms the Snake goddess [[Hecate]]. This was misread as a snake killing of Eurydice. |
|||
While several etymologies of the name "Orpheus" have been proposed, |
|||
This story of Orpheus and Eurydice has been the subject of [[opera]]s through the history of western [[classical music]], including [[Claudio Monteverdi]]'s ''[[Orfeo]]'' (1609), [[Christoph Willibald Gluck]]'s ''[[Orfeo ed Euridice]]'' (1762), [[Jacques Offenbach]]'s [[operetta]] ''[[Orpheus in the Underworld]]'' (1858), [[Harrison Birtwistle]]'s ''[[The Mask of Orpheus]]'' (1986) and also inspired [[Baz Luhrmann]]'s ''[[Moulin Rouge!]]'' (2001). |
|||
the most probable is that it was an actor-noun derived from a hypothetical archaic verb *''orphao'', "to be deprived, to long for". Cognates would include Greek ''orphe'', "darkness", and English "orphan". "Orpheus" would therefore be sematnically close to ''goao'', "to lament, sing wildly, cast a spell", uniting his seemingly disparate roles as disappointed lover, transgressive musician and mystery-priest into a single lexical whole. |
|||
==Genealogy== |
|||
After the death of Eurydice, Orpheus swore off the love of women and took only young men as his lovers. He is reputed to be the one who introduced male love to the Thracians, teaching them to love the young in the flower of their youth. |
|||
According to the best-known tradition, Orpheus was the son of |
|||
According to a [[Late Antique]] summary of [[Aeschylus]]'s lost play ''Bassarids'', Orpheus at the end of his life disdained the worship of all gods save the sun, whom he called Apollo. One early morning he ascended Mount Pangaion (where [[Dionysus]] had an oracle) to salute his god at dawn, but was torn to death by Thracina [[Maenads]] for not honoring his previous patron, Dionysus. |
|||
[[Oeagrus]], king of [[Thrace]], and the muse [[Calliope]]. |
|||
It is significant that his death is analogous with the death of Dionysus, whose teachings he had received from his father, the river god Oeagrus, and to whom therefore he functioned as a priest and avatar. |
|||
Sometimes, Calliope and [[Apollo (god)|Apollo]] were his parents. |
|||
Orpheus learned music from [[Linus]], or from Apollo, who was also his |
|||
lover and who gave him his own lyre (made by Hermes out of a turtle |
|||
shell) as a love gift. |
|||
[[Ovid]] also recounts that the Thracian [[Maenads]], Dionysus' followers, first threw sticks and stones at him as he played, but his music was so beautiful even the rocks and branches refused to hit him. Enraged, the Maenads tore him to pieces during the frenzy of their Bacchic orgies. His head and lyre floated “down the swift [[Hebrus]] to the [[Lesbos|Lesbian]] shore,” where the inhabitants buried his head and a shrine was built in his honour near [[Antissa]]. The [[lyre]] was carried to heaven by the [[Muses]], and was placed amongst the stars. The Muses also gathered up the fragments of his body and buried them at Leibethra below [[Mount Olympus]], where the [[nightingale]]s sang over his grave. |
|||
==The Argonautic Expedition== |
|||
In Attic vase-painting, however, the women who attack Orpheus appear to be normal Thracian women, who are irate that the bard's songs have stolen their husbands away from them. |
|||
During his residence in Thrace he joined the expedition of the |
|||
A large number of Greek religious poems in [[hexameter]] were attributed to Orpheus, as they were to similar miracle-man figures like [[Bakis]], [[Musaeus]], [[Abaris]], [[Aristeas]], [[Epimenides]], and the [[Sybil]]. Of this vast literature, only two examples survive whole: a set of [[hymns]] composed at some point in the second or [[3rd century|third century CE]], and an Orphic Argonautica composed somewhere between the [[4th century|fourth]] and [[6th century|sixth centuries CE]]. Earlier Orphic literature, which may date back as far as the [[6th century BC|sixth century BCE]], survives only in [[papyrus]] scraps or in quotations by later authors. |
|||
[[Argonauts]], whose leader [[Jason]] had been informed by [[Chiron]] |
|||
that only by the aid of Orpheus would they be able to pass by the |
|||
[[Siren]]s unscathed. The Sirens lived on three small, rocky islands |
|||
called [[Sirenum scopuli]] and sang beautiful songs that enticed |
|||
sailors to come to them. They then ate the sailors. When Orpheus |
|||
heard their voices, he withdrew his lyre and played his music more |
|||
beautifully than they, drowning out their music. |
|||
In addition to serving as a storehouse of mythological data along the lines of [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', Orphic poetry was recited in mystery-rites and purification rituals. [[Plato]] in particular tells of a class of vagrant beggar-priests who would go about offering purifications to the rich, a clatter of books by Orpheus and [[Musaeus]] in tow ([[Republic]] 364c-d). Those who were especially devoted to these rituals and poems often practiced [[vegetarianism]], abstention from [[sex]], and refrained from eating eggs - which came to be known as the ''Orphikos bios'', or "Orphic way of life". |
|||
==The Eurydice Affair== |
|||
In the wake of [[James Frazer]]'s work, a number of comparitivists have labeled Orpheus a [[life-death-rebirth deity]]. |
|||
But the most famous story in which he figures is that of his wife |
|||
[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' X, 1-105; XI, 1-66; [[Apollodorus]], ''[[Bibliotheke]]'' I, iii, 2; ix, 16 & 25; [[Apollonius Rhodius]], ''[[Argonautica]]'' I, 23- 34; IV, 891-909. |
|||
[[Eurydice]]. Eurydice is sometimes known as Agriope. While fleeing |
|||
from [[Aristaeus]], she was bitten by a serpent and died. Distraught, |
|||
Orpheus played such sad songs and sang so mournfully that all the |
|||
nymphs and gods wept and gave him advice. Orpheus went down to the |
|||
lower world and by his music softened the heart of [[Hades]] and |
|||
[[Persephone]] (the only person to ever do so), who allowed Eurydice |
|||
to return with him to earth. But the condition was attached that he |
|||
should walk in front of her and not look back until he had reached the |
|||
upper world. In his anxiety he broke his promise, and Eurydice |
|||
vanished again from his sight. The story in this form belongs to the |
|||
time of [[Virgil]], who first introduces the name of Aristaeus. Other |
|||
ancient writers, however, speak of Orpheus' visit to the underworld; |
|||
according to [[Plato]], the infernal gods only “presented an |
|||
apparition” of Eurydice to him. |
|||
The famous myth of Eurydice we know now may actually post date Orpheus |
|||
by ages. In particular, the name ''Eurudike'' ("she whose justice |
|||
extends widely") recalls cult-titles attached to [[Persephone]]. The |
|||
myth may have been mistakenly deduced from another Orpheus legend in |
|||
which he travels to [[Tartarus]] and charms the Snake goddess |
|||
[[Hecate]]. This was misread as a snake killing of Eurydice. |
|||
After the death of Eurydice, Orpheus swore off the love of women and |
|||
took only young men as his lovers. He is reputed to be the one who |
|||
introduced male love to the Thracians, teaching them to love the young |
|||
in the flower of their youth. |
|||
==Death of Orpheus== |
|||
According to a [[Late Antique]] summary of [[Aeschylus]]'s lost play |
|||
''Bassarids'', Orpheus at the end of his life disdained the worship of |
|||
all gods save the sun, whom he called Apollo. One early morning he |
|||
ascended Mount Pangaion (where [[Dionysus]] had an oracle) to salute |
|||
his god at dawn, but was torn to death by Thracina [[Maenads]] for not |
|||
honoring his previous patron, Dionysus. It is significant that his |
|||
death is analogous with the death of Dionysus, whose teachings he had |
|||
received from his father, the river god Oeagrus, and to whom therefore |
|||
he functioned as a priest and avatar. |
|||
[[Ovid]] also recounts that the Thracian [[Maenads]], Dionysus' |
|||
followers, first threw sticks and stones at him as he played, but his |
|||
music was so beautiful even the rocks and branches refused to hit him. |
|||
Enraged, the Maenads tore him to pieces during the frenzy of their |
|||
Bacchic orgies. His head and lyre floated “down the swift |
|||
[[Hebrus]] to the [[Lesbos|Lesbian]] shore,” where the |
|||
inhabitants buried his head and a shrine was built in his honour near |
|||
[[Antissa]]. The [[lyre]] was carried to heaven by the [[Muses]], and |
|||
was placed amongst the stars. The Muses also gathered up the fragments |
|||
of his body and buried them at Leibethra below [[Mount Olympus]], |
|||
where the [[nightingale]]s sang over his grave. |
|||
In Attic vase-painting, however, the women who attack Orpheus appear |
|||
to be normal Thracian women, who are irate that the bard's songs have |
|||
stolen their husbands away from them. |
|||
==Orphic Poems and Rites== |
|||
A large number of Greek religious poems in [[hexameter]] were |
|||
attributed to Orpheus, as they were to similar miracle-man figures |
|||
like [[Bakis]], [[Musaeus]], [[Abaris]], [[Aristeas]], [[Epimenides]], |
|||
and the [[Sybil]]. Of this vast literature, only two examples survive |
|||
whole: a set of [[hymns]] composed at some point in the second or |
|||
[[3rd century|third century CE]], and an Orphic Argonautica composed |
|||
somewhere between the [[4th century|fourth]] and [[6th century|sixth |
|||
centuries CE]]. Earlier Orphic literature, which may date back as far |
|||
as the [[6th century BC|sixth century BCE]], survives only in |
|||
[[papyrus]] scraps or in quotations by later authors. |
|||
In addition to serving as a storehouse of mythological data along the |
|||
lines of [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', Orphic poetry was recited in |
|||
mystery-rites and purification rituals. [[Plato]] in particular tells |
|||
of a class of vagrant beggar-priests who would go about offering |
|||
purifications to the rich, a clatter of books by Orpheus and |
|||
[[Musaeus]] in tow ([[Republic]] 364c-d). Those who were especially |
|||
devoted to these rituals and poems often practiced [[vegetarianism]], |
|||
abstention from [[sex]], and refrained from eating eggs - which came |
|||
to be known as the ''Orphikos bios'', or "Orphic way of life". |
|||
==The Post-Classical Orpheus== |
|||
This story of Orpheus and Eurydice has been the subject of [[opera]]s |
|||
through the history of western [[classical music]], including |
|||
[[Claudio Monteverdi]]'s ''[[Orfeo]]'' (1609), [[Christoph Willibald |
|||
Gluck]]'s ''[[Orfeo ed Euridice]]'' (1762), [[Jacques Offenbach]]'s |
|||
[[operetta]] ''[[Orpheus in the Underworld]]'' (1858), [[Harrison |
|||
Birtwistle]]'s ''[[The Mask of Orpheus]]'' (1986) and also inspired |
|||
[[Baz Luhrmann]]'s ''[[Moulin Rouge!]]'' (2001). |
|||
[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' X, 1-105; XI, 1-66; [[Apollodorus]], |
|||
''[[Bibliotheke]]'' I, iii, 2; ix, 16 & 25; [[Apollonius Rhodius]], |
|||
''[[Argonautica]]'' I, 23- 34; IV, 891-909. |
|||
''Edited and wikified from an encyclopedia of 1911'' |
''Edited and wikified from an encyclopedia of 1911'' |
||
---- '''Orpheus''' is also the name of a hypothetical Mars-sized |
|||
---- |
|||
planet that collided with the Earth 4.5 billion years ago, possibly |
|||
creating the Moon. Also called [[Theia]]. |
|||
'''Orpheus''' is also the name of a large [[New Orleans]] [[Carnival]] |
'''Orpheus''' is also the name of a large [[New Orleans]] [[Carnival]] |
||
[[Krewe]], founded in [[1993]]. The Orpheus parade takes place on |
|||
Lundi Gras night, the night before [[Mardi Gras]]. |
|||
'''Orpheus''' is also the name of a Carnival Krewe in [[Mandeville, |
'''Orpheus''' is also the name of a Carnival Krewe in [[Mandeville, |
||
Louisiana]], which first paraded in [[1988]]. They parade in |
|||
Mandeville the Friday before Mardi Gras. |
|||
'''Orpheus''' is also the English title of the movie [[Orphée]] |
'''Orpheus''' is also the English title of the movie [[Orphée]] |
||
directed by [[Jean Cocteau]] in [[1949]]. |
|||
'''Orpheus''' is also the name of a [[Boston]] band from |
'''Orpheus''' is also the name of a [[Boston]] band from the |
||
[[1960s]]. |
|||
==External Links== |
==External Links== |
||
| Line 51: | Line 183: | ||
[http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/ Greek Mythology resource] |
[http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/ Greek Mythology resource] |
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[http://www.androphile.org/preview/Library/Mythology/Greek/ The Story |
[http://www.androphile.org/preview/Library/Mythology/Greek/ The Story |
||
of Orpheus] |
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[[de:Orpheus]] |
[[de:Orpheus]] [[fr:Orphée]] |
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[[fr:Orphée]] |
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Revision as of 11:06, 7 July 2004
In Greek legend, Orpheus was the chief representative of the arts of song and the lyre, and of great importance in the religious history of Greece. He was a Greek of Thracian origin; the "Orphic Mysteries", rituals of unknown content, were named after him. It is possible, but very improbable, that Orpheus was an historical personage; even in ancient times his existence was denied.
Overview
The name Orpheus does not occur in Homer or Hesiod, but he was known in the time of Ibycus (c. 530 BC), and Pindar (522—442 BC) speaks of him as “the father of songs”.
From the 6th century BC onwards he was looked upon as one of the chief poets and musicians of antiquity, the inventor or perfecter of the lyre, who by his music and singing was able not only to charm the wild beasts, but even to draw the trees and rocks from their places, and to arrest the rivers in their course. As one of the pioneers of civilization, he was supposed to have taught mankind the arts of medicine, writing and agriculture. As closely connected with religious life, he was an augur and seer; practised magical arts, especially astrology; founded or rendered accessible many important cults, such as those of Apollo and Dionysus; instituted mystic rites, both public and private; prescribed initiatory and purificatory ritual. He was said to have visited Egypt, and to have become acquainted there with the writings of Moses and with the doctrine of a future life.
Etymology
While several etymologies of the name "Orpheus" have been proposed, the most probable is that it was an actor-noun derived from a hypothetical archaic verb *orphao, "to be deprived, to long for". Cognates would include Greek orphe, "darkness", and English "orphan". "Orpheus" would therefore be sematnically close to goao, "to lament, sing wildly, cast a spell", uniting his seemingly disparate roles as disappointed lover, transgressive musician and mystery-priest into a single lexical whole.
Genealogy
According to the best-known tradition, Orpheus was the son of Oeagrus, king of Thrace, and the muse Calliope. Sometimes, Calliope and Apollo were his parents. Orpheus learned music from Linus, or from Apollo, who was also his lover and who gave him his own lyre (made by Hermes out of a turtle shell) as a love gift.
The Argonautic Expedition
During his residence in Thrace he joined the expedition of the Argonauts, whose leader Jason had been informed by Chiron that only by the aid of Orpheus would they be able to pass by the Sirens unscathed. The Sirens lived on three small, rocky islands called Sirenum scopuli and sang beautiful songs that enticed sailors to come to them. They then ate the sailors. When Orpheus heard their voices, he withdrew his lyre and played his music more beautifully than they, drowning out their music.
The Eurydice Affair
But the most famous story in which he figures is that of his wife Eurydice. Eurydice is sometimes known as Agriope. While fleeing from Aristaeus, she was bitten by a serpent and died. Distraught, Orpheus played such sad songs and sang so mournfully that all the nymphs and gods wept and gave him advice. Orpheus went down to the lower world and by his music softened the heart of Hades and Persephone (the only person to ever do so), who allowed Eurydice to return with him to earth. But the condition was attached that he should walk in front of her and not look back until he had reached the upper world. In his anxiety he broke his promise, and Eurydice vanished again from his sight. The story in this form belongs to the time of Virgil, who first introduces the name of Aristaeus. Other ancient writers, however, speak of Orpheus' visit to the underworld; according to Plato, the infernal gods only “presented an apparition” of Eurydice to him.
The famous myth of Eurydice we know now may actually post date Orpheus by ages. In particular, the name Eurudike ("she whose justice extends widely") recalls cult-titles attached to Persephone. The myth may have been mistakenly deduced from another Orpheus legend in which he travels to Tartarus and charms the Snake goddess Hecate. This was misread as a snake killing of Eurydice.
After the death of Eurydice, Orpheus swore off the love of women and took only young men as his lovers. He is reputed to be the one who introduced male love to the Thracians, teaching them to love the young in the flower of their youth.
Death of Orpheus
According to a Late Antique summary of Aeschylus's lost play Bassarids, Orpheus at the end of his life disdained the worship of all gods save the sun, whom he called Apollo. One early morning he ascended Mount Pangaion (where Dionysus had an oracle) to salute his god at dawn, but was torn to death by Thracina Maenads for not honoring his previous patron, Dionysus. It is significant that his death is analogous with the death of Dionysus, whose teachings he had received from his father, the river god Oeagrus, and to whom therefore he functioned as a priest and avatar.
Ovid also recounts that the Thracian Maenads, Dionysus' followers, first threw sticks and stones at him as he played, but his music was so beautiful even the rocks and branches refused to hit him. Enraged, the Maenads tore him to pieces during the frenzy of their Bacchic orgies. His head and lyre floated “down the swift Hebrus to the Lesbian shore,” where the inhabitants buried his head and a shrine was built in his honour near Antissa. The lyre was carried to heaven by the Muses, and was placed amongst the stars. The Muses also gathered up the fragments of his body and buried them at Leibethra below Mount Olympus, where the nightingales sang over his grave.
In Attic vase-painting, however, the women who attack Orpheus appear to be normal Thracian women, who are irate that the bard's songs have stolen their husbands away from them.
Orphic Poems and Rites
A large number of Greek religious poems in hexameter were attributed to Orpheus, as they were to similar miracle-man figures like Bakis, Musaeus, Abaris, Aristeas, Epimenides, and the Sybil. Of this vast literature, only two examples survive whole: a set of hymns composed at some point in the second or third century CE, and an Orphic Argonautica composed somewhere between the fourth and sixth centuries CE. Earlier Orphic literature, which may date back as far as the sixth century BCE, survives only in papyrus scraps or in quotations by later authors.
In addition to serving as a storehouse of mythological data along the lines of Hesiod's Theogony, Orphic poetry was recited in mystery-rites and purification rituals. Plato in particular tells of a class of vagrant beggar-priests who would go about offering purifications to the rich, a clatter of books by Orpheus and Musaeus in tow (Republic 364c-d). Those who were especially devoted to these rituals and poems often practiced vegetarianism, abstention from sex, and refrained from eating eggs - which came to be known as the Orphikos bios, or "Orphic way of life".
The Post-Classical Orpheus
This story of Orpheus and Eurydice has been the subject of operas through the history of western classical music, including Claudio Monteverdi's Orfeo (1609), [[Christoph Willibald Gluck]]'s Orfeo ed Euridice (1762), Jacques Offenbach's operetta Orpheus in the Underworld (1858), [[Harrison Birtwistle]]'s The Mask of Orpheus (1986) and also inspired Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! (2001).
Ovid, Metamorphoses X, 1-105; XI, 1-66; Apollodorus,
Bibliotheke I, iii, 2; ix, 16 & 25; Apollonius Rhodius,
Argonautica I, 23- 34; IV, 891-909.
Edited and wikified from an encyclopedia of 1911
Orpheus is also the name of a hypothetical Mars-sized
planet that collided with the Earth 4.5 billion years ago, possibly creating the Moon. Also called Theia.
Orpheus is also the name of a large New Orleans Carnival Krewe, founded in 1993. The Orpheus parade takes place on Lundi Gras night, the night before Mardi Gras.
Orpheus is also the name of a Carnival Krewe in [[Mandeville, Louisiana]], which first paraded in 1988. They parade in Mandeville the Friday before Mardi Gras.
Orpheus is also the English title of the movie Orphée
directed by Jean Cocteau in 1949.
Orpheus is also the name of a Boston band from the 1960s.
External Links
[http://www.androphile.org/preview/Library/Mythology/Greek/ The Story of Orpheus]