Orpheus: The Rest of the Story
Young Thracian Woman Carrying the Head of Orpheus
By Gustave Moreau
Did you know that Orpheus’ journey into the Underworld to save Eurydice is only half the story? After his failed attempt, he continued to honor Apollo and sing sad songs until one day a group of frenzied Maenads (female followers of Dionysus) tore him limb from limb. He died. But his severed head floated down the river and became an oracle.
Orpheus’ death and story started the highest religion order known in the ancient world: Orphism. Orpheus was more than gifted musician and ardent lover; he was revered as a prophet and religious martyr. His death is the real climax and brings the story its meaning: His voice and song transcends his death.[i]
Ancient Orphics were concerned with the art of living. They were strict vegetarians, highly ascetic, and pure. They sought rewards in the next life. In fact, they believed that you became you true self after death. They had strict directions for the afterlife and just in case you die and find yourself crossing the River Styx, here’s what you do:
· Don’t drink from the well by the cypress tree on the left of Hades’ house. This is Lethe and it will make you forget.
· Go instead to the right, to the Lake of Memory and say to the guardians, “I am a child of Earth and of Starry Heaven; But my race is of Heaven alone… And lo, I am parched with thirst and I perish. Give me quickly the Cold Water flowing forth from the Lake of Memory.” This is Mnemosyne, the water of life.
· That’s it. If you have paid for your misdeeds, then you get to join the immortals.
These instructions were found engraved on gold tablets inside of ancient tombs.[ii] Lethe, the water of forgetfulness, plays a big part in Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice and although the Orphics definitely believed Lethe was bad, a lot of other Greeks were more ambivalent about it, as reflected in Ruhl’s play.
No comments:
Post a Comment