Eurydice and Orpheus

Summary: Orpheus was known for his extreme musical talents. One day, he caught the attention of a beautiful
nymph named Eurydice and they fell in love. However, Aristaeus, a son of Apollo, also fell in love with Eurydice
and decided to claim her as his own. While Aristaeus was chasing after Eurydice, Eurydice accidentally stepped on a
nest of poisonous snakes and got bitten and killed. After Eurydices death, Orpheus decided to go to the underworld
and get her back. Orpheus went up to Hades to claim his wife. Orpheus voice and the music he played through the
lyre moved Hades and Hades wife, Persephone. Hades promised Orpheus that he could bring Eurydice back only if
Orpheus does not turn around to look at Eurydice until they are both out of the darkness. Orpheus agreed and he
walked towards the exit of the underworld with Eurydice behind him. However, once Orpheus stepped out of the
underworld, he forgot his wife was still in the shadows. Orpheus only got a glimpse of Eurydice and she was
brought back to the underworld. A miserable Orpheus no longer played joyful music and a group of women killed
him and cut him into pieces.
Characters:
Orpheus: A skilled musician that was greatly praised. He fell in love with Eurydice and went to the underworld to
get her back.
Eurydice: Orpheus' wife, she was then chased after by Aristaeus and killed from a snake bite.
Hades: God of the underworld. Orpheus to bring Eurydice back.
Aristaeus: The son of Apollo. He chased after Eurydice even though she was Orpheus lover.
Allusion:
The harper = Orpheus
The harpers lover = Eurydice
Dark Queen/SUM = Hades
In the novelette, Goat Song, a harper mourns for his lovers death. SUM, a computer dominating the word, takes has
his lover in a dark underground fortress. The harper travels to the fortress and convinces SUM and the Dark Queen
to let the harper claim his wife and bring her back with him. However, he has to promise to not look back to look at
his lover until he reaches the outside of the fortress. At the last moment, the harper turns around and sees his lover
for only a brief second before she disappeared. The harper nearly goes insane in the end. This is an allusion to the
myth of Eurydice and Orpheus because both Orpheus and the harper travels to somewhere odious in order to rescue
their wives who are both dead. They both convinced the infamous leader to release their lovers. However, both of
them broke the compromise they made with the leaders the last second. Both Orpheus and the harper ruined their
chances of winning back their lovers and their stories ended as tragedies.