Long, long ago, when the gods still seemed close to us, two singers named Orpheus lived in a little town.
One of them was the Great Orpheus. He invented the Chithara, a kind of guitar, and when he plucked the strings and sang, the whole of nature around him was spellbound. The wild animals lay at his feet, the tallest trees bent down to hear. Nothing could resist the power of his music. And because he was so great, he courted the most beautiful of all women. That's when his trouble started.
The beautiful Eurydike died during the wedding festivities, and Orpheus' cup, raised high, broke in his hand. But for the Great Orpheus, death was not the end. With the help of his great art, he found the entrance to the underworld and descended into the realm of shadows, crossed the river of forgetting, passed the hounds of hell, and appeared alive before the throne of the god of death and touched him with a song.
Death set Eurydike free, but with a string attached. Orpheus was so happy that he didn't notice the malice in this boon.
He started back and behind him he could hear the footsteps of his beloved. They safely passed the hounds of hell and crossed the river of forgetting and began to climb toward the light which they could see in the distance. Suddenly, Orpheus heard a cry - Eurydike had stumbled. In panic, he turned and saw the shadows of the night fall, and he was alone. Beside himself from pain, he sang his parting song, "Now I've lost her. My happiness is gone forever."
He managed to get back to the world of light, but his experiences in the realm of the dead made life seem strange. As drunken women invited him to go with them to the festival of the new wine, he refused, and they tore him living limb from limb.
So great his unhappiness, so useless his art. But, he is known in all the world.
The other Orpheus was a smaller man. He wasn't a great musician. He sang at little parties and played for simple people. He wasn't very successful, but he made them happy and he had a lot of fun. He couldn't make a living singing, so he got a job that wasn't very special, married a woman that wasn't very special and had children that weren't very special either. He committed small and ordinary sins from time to time and was just about as happy as everyone else. He had a very ordinary life and died old and satisfied with life.
But, no one knows him -- except me.
One of them was the Great Orpheus. He invented the Chithara, a kind of guitar, and when he plucked the strings and sang, the whole of nature around him was spellbound. The wild animals lay at his feet, the tallest trees bent down to hear. Nothing could resist the power of his music. And because he was so great, he courted the most beautiful of all women. That's when his trouble started.
The beautiful Eurydike died during the wedding festivities, and Orpheus' cup, raised high, broke in his hand. But for the Great Orpheus, death was not the end. With the help of his great art, he found the entrance to the underworld and descended into the realm of shadows, crossed the river of forgetting, passed the hounds of hell, and appeared alive before the throne of the god of death and touched him with a song.
Death set Eurydike free, but with a string attached. Orpheus was so happy that he didn't notice the malice in this boon.
He started back and behind him he could hear the footsteps of his beloved. They safely passed the hounds of hell and crossed the river of forgetting and began to climb toward the light which they could see in the distance. Suddenly, Orpheus heard a cry - Eurydike had stumbled. In panic, he turned and saw the shadows of the night fall, and he was alone. Beside himself from pain, he sang his parting song, "Now I've lost her. My happiness is gone forever."
He managed to get back to the world of light, but his experiences in the realm of the dead made life seem strange. As drunken women invited him to go with them to the festival of the new wine, he refused, and they tore him living limb from limb.
So great his unhappiness, so useless his art. But, he is known in all the world.
The other Orpheus was a smaller man. He wasn't a great musician. He sang at little parties and played for simple people. He wasn't very successful, but he made them happy and he had a lot of fun. He couldn't make a living singing, so he got a job that wasn't very special, married a woman that wasn't very special and had children that weren't very special either. He committed small and ordinary sins from time to time and was just about as happy as everyone else. He had a very ordinary life and died old and satisfied with life.
But, no one knows him -- except me.
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