Part 2- Mythological Allusions: Eurydice and Orpheus

Eurydice and Orpheus     Mythological Allusion    Source: Edith Hamilton's Mythology

• Classic boy-girl meeting turns into a love story
• Eurydice and Orpheus get married
• During the night, Eurydice is bitten by a snake and dies
• Depressed, Orpheus travels to the underworld to bring Eurydice back
• Hades releases her but only if Orpheus walks in front of her and doesn't look back as they travel back to the living world
• The exit comes, Orpheus looks back and Eurydice is gone forever
• Orpheus is extremely said, and ends up dying as well

Commentary: The main concept of this story is true love. The fact that Orpheus loved Eurydice so much that he was willing to risk his own life to have her for himself. The example that best describes the myth Eurydice and Orpheus would be Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is willing to risk his life to marry his one true love, Juliet. He kills himself thinking that she is dead, and pays the ultimate sacrifice for love.