Orpheus

For other uses, see Orpheus (disambiguation).
"Orphée" redirects here. For other meanings of Orphée, see Orphée (disambiguation).
Orpheus
Roman Orpheus mosaic, a very common subject. He wears a Phrygian cap and is surrounded by the animals charmed by lyre-playing
AbodePimpleia, Pieria
SymbolLyre
Genealogy
Born
Pimpleia, Pieria
Died
Pangaion Hills, Odomantice
ParentsOeagrus and Calliope
SpouseEurydice
ChildrenMusaeus

In Greek mythology, Orpheus (/ˈɔːrfiːəs, ˈɔːrfjuːs/; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: [or.pʰeú̯s]) was a Thracian bard,[1][2][3][4] legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece,[5] and even descended into the underworld of Hades, to recover his lost wife Eurydice.[6]

Ancient Greek authors such as Strabo and Plutarch note Orpheus's Thracian origins.[7] Orpheus was called the ruler of the Bistonian Pieria, a region inhabited by the Thracian tribes Bistones and Pieres[8] but others have identified him as a member of the Thracian tribe Ciconi, that lived in the Thracian Bisaltia.[7][9]

The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music (the usual scene in Orpheus mosaics), his attempt to retrieve his wife Eurydice from the underworld, and his death at the hands of the maenads of Dionysus, who got tired of his mourning for his late wife Eurydice. As an archetype of the inspired singer, Orpheus is one of the most significant figures in the reception of classical mythology in Western culture, portrayed or alluded to in countless forms of art and popular culture including poetry, film, opera, music, and painting.[10]

For the Greeks, Orpheus was a founder and prophet of the so-called "Orphic" mysteries.[11] He was credited with the composition of a number of works, including several theogonies, the Orphic Hymns,[12] the Orphic Argonautica,[13] the Lithica[14] and the Hexameter poem.[15] Shrines containing purported relics of Orpheus were regarded as oracles.[16]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Apollodorus, 1.9.16
  6. ^ Cartwright, Mark (2020). "Orpheus". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Strabo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Apollonius Rhodius, 1.32–34
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Geoffrey Miles, Classical Mythology in English Literature: A Critical Anthology (Routledge, 1999), p. 54.
  11. ^ Pausanias, 2.30.2
  12. ^ "Orphic Hymns". www.theoi.com.
  13. ^ "Orphic Argonautica". topostext.org.
  14. ^ Gunk, Wretch (January 1865). The Lithica -"Orpheus on Gems" taken from Natural History of Precious Stones and Gems by Charles William King.
  15. ^ Janko, Richard (2001). "The Derveni Papyrus ("Diagoras of Melos, Apopyrgizontes Logoi?"): A New Translation". Classical Philology. 96: 1–32. doi:10.1086/449521. ISSN 0009-837X. S2CID 162191106.
  16. ^ Guthrie, William Keith (1993-10-10). Orpheus and Greek Religion: A Study of the Orphic Movement. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-02499-8.