Orpheus was a legendary Thracian musician, the son of Oneiros (Dream of the Endless) and the Muse Calliope. After his wife Eurydice's death, Orpheus embarked on a journey to the Underworld to get her back.
History
On the day of his wedding to Eurydice, she died after being bitten by a venomous snake while fleeing from the satyr Aristaeus' lust. Heartbroken, he descended to the Underworld to seek her back, and on his journey, his music played on the lyre moved the infernal inhabitants, such as Charon, Cerberus, the Furies and the souls of the dead, convincing Hades and Persephone, the king and queen of the Underworld, to allow Eurydice to return to life; but Hades imposed one condition, that Eurydice would follow Orpheus right behind him and that he could never look back until they had left the Underworld. Suspicious that Hades had tricked him, near the exit of the Underworld Orpheus could not contain himself and looked back, only to see the soul of his beloved Eurydice lost back in the darkness.[1]
Years passed and Orpheus had only the wild beasts for company, who would come to hear him play the lyre, but he could never overcome his sadness over the loss of Eurydice.[1]
One night, despite being warned by his mother Calliope, who told him of the approach of Dionysus' Bacchantes in Thrace, he was surprised by the women. Despite their pleas to join them, Orpheus refused, and had his lyre destroyed and his body torn apart and devoured by them in a frenzy. Only his head, thrown into the river Hebrus and from there it went to the sea, remained; repeating Eurydice's name over and over as he was carried by the waves, he ended up on the island of Lesbos, where he was found by his father Oneiros, who had come only to say goodbye to his son, but without helping him.[1]
For a long time Orpheus had lived on the island of Naxos, also in Greece, with his head guarded by priests in his service.[2] For millennia he had prayed to die, until one day, in modern times, he received a visit from his father, the first since their farewell on the beach. Oneiros (Dream) killed his son in the temple where his head was kept, granting his request. After this, Oneiros appeared in a dream to Andros, the leader of the Priests of Orpheus that he himself had created ages ago, instructing him to, upon waking, bury Orpheus' head but without erecting any marker, and so Andros did, as the last task of the priests who had guarded Orpheus' head for generations.[3]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Demigod Physiology
- Immortality: Even after his body was torn apart, Orpheus' head continued to live for thousands of years.[4][1]
Abilities
- Music: His music was so magnificent that made the souls of the dead and the deities of the Underworld, such as Charon and the Furies, weep and Hades allowed Orpheus to take Eurydice back to the world of the living.[1]
Other Characteristics
- Restricted Mobility: With only his head left, Orpheus had no freedom of movement, always depending on the help of others.
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Orpheus' Lyre
Notes
- This character or object is an adaptation of Orpheus, a character or object in traditional stories. These include, but may not be limited to religious texts, myth, and/or folk lore. More information on the original can be found at Wikipedia.org.
- In The Dreaming #25, Apollo is called the father of Orpheus, one of the genealogies proposed for the mythical musician; this "Apollo", according to Aristeas the Raven, is the same Oneiros/Dream, father of Orpheus in the Vertigo universe.
Related
- 8 Appearances of Orpheus (New Earth)
- 1 Images featuring Orpheus (New Earth)
- Quotations by or about Orpheus (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Orpheus (New Earth)
Footnotes