keeper of death and corrector of same

"Orpheus Death of Orpheus, Louvre G416 In Greek legend, Orpheus (Ορφέας) was the chief representative of the arts of song and the lyre, and of great importance in the religious history of Greece. The mythical figure of Orpheus was borrowed by the Greeks from their Thracian neighbours; the Thracian "Orphic Mysteries", rituals of unknown content, were named after him. 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 Thracian god Dionysus; instituted mystic rites, both public and private; prescribed initiatory and purificatory ritual. 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 semantically 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 gift. The Argonautic expedition Despite his Thracian origin 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. Death of Eurydice 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 which brought her to her death. 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 agreed to allow 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. Ovid says that Eurydice's death was not caused by fleeing from Aristaeus but dancing with Naiads on her wedding day. Orpheus and Eurydice, Anselm Feuerbach, 1861 The famous story of Eurydice may actually be a late addition to the Orpheus myths. In particular, the name Eurudike ("she whose justice extends widely") recalls cult-titles attached to Persephone. The myth may have been mistakenly derived from another Orpheus legend in which he travels to Tartarus and charms the goddess Hecate. " __the claim that eurodike was a tale added to orpheus in the modern age is tenious. The connection the author points to is the unity between Eurodike, Canathea is another name and teh original. The connection to persephone is the cult ties of orpheus ' wife with the death cult exeplified by teh story of her death, the myth that explores the death rituals that led to a change onm epoch, there is more to orpheus that just the destruction of the old nased on the death rituals, but the new ideas concerning death helped shape the reality of teh ancients who were exposed to it. Orpheus descent into hades that predates tarturus as a name for teh place of teh dead is a myth atht predates modern time, as the material appears in texts such as plato and ariostophany. The tale of clasatha appears in cults that worship persephony and other gods and goddess of death and change, she is most renowned for calling birds to perch and message through song and cherping. Orpheus descent in taturus was his journey to complete the mournful rituals and ideas of immortality anmd scention, in this takle hacade is charmed by him and given a crystal sceptor to rule over the punishment plains and correction plains that lie below hades. she keeps the dead and he corrects thsm. each has a place in teh otehrs realm." next post coming up.