ORPHEUS AND

EURYDICE
PRESENTER: JAIC YVAN ACULA
PRESENTOR
FOR TODAY:

JAIC YVAN
ACULA
WILL YOU GO TO
ANY LENGTH TO
REUNITE WITH
YOUR LOVED
ONE?
CHARACTERS
 ORPHEUS

IS THE SON OF APOLLO, THE

GOD OF MUSIC AND CALLIOPE,
A MUSE. HE IS KNOWN TO BE
T H E G R E AT E S T M U S I C I A N I N
GREEK MYTHOLOGY BY BEING
A B L E T O S WAY T H E E M O T I O N S
OF ALL LIVING THINGS BY
U S I N G O N LY H I S LY R E A N D
VOICE.
 E U RY D I C E

-IS THE BEAUTIFUL WIFE

OF ORPHEUS. SHE IS ALSO
AN OAK NYMPH.
 HADES

-IS THE GOD OF THE

DEAD, KING OF THE
U N D E RW O R L D
 PERSEPHONE

DEMETER’S DAUGHTER,
WIFE OF HADES, AND
QUEEN OF THE
U N D E RW O R L D .
THE STORY OF ORPHEUS
AND EURIDYCE
 Orpheus is known as the most
talented music player of the ancient
times. It is said that god Apollo was
h i s f a t h e r, f r o m w h o m t o o k h i s
extreme talent in music, and the
m u s e C a l l i o p e w a s h i s m o t h e r.
Orpheus had a divinely gifted voice
that could charm everyone who heard
it. When he was presented first the
l y r e a s a b o y, h e h a d i t m a s t e r e d i n
no time at all. The myth says that no
god or mortal could resist his music
and even the rocks and trees would
move themselves to be near him.
We l l i nto hi s youth he had
ma s te red the lyre and hi s
me l o di ous voi ce garnered
hi m a udi ences from near
a nd a fa r. In one of the
g a the r i ngs of humans and
be a s ts that hi s eyes fell on
a wo o d nymph. Her name
i s Eur y di ce.
As Eurydice and the
other nymphs dance in
the woods, she was
bitten by a viper and the
viper then fled. Orpheus
came to her but he was
too late as Eurydice lay
dead in his arms.
 A f t e r E u r y d i c e ’s d e a t h ,
Orpheus was devastated. He
u n d e r s t o o d t h a t w i t h o u t h e r,
life on Earth was
meaningless and decided
that he was ready to do
whatever it takes for his
beloved. He then took his
lyre and went to claim her
back from the dead.
In the Underworld, Orpheus
m a n a g e d t o g o t h ro u g h t h e
t h re e - h e a d e d g u a r d i a n -
hound Cerberus by
enchanting him with his
music. He then began
wandering amongst the
souls of the dead until he
re a c h e d t h e t h ro n e s o f
Hades and Persephone, the
king and queen of the
Armed with his weapons, the
l y re a n d v o i c e , O r p h e u s
a p p ro a c h e d H a d e s . H e
p l a y e d h i s l y re a n d s a n g o u t
to Hades and Persephone
t h a t E u r y d i c e w a s re t u r n e d
to him. Not even the most
stone-hearted of people or
gods could have neglected
the hurt in his voice.
Orpheus with his lyre and his music had a
profound effect throughout the Underworld.
 THE
WHEEL OF
IXION
STOOD
MOTIONLE
 SISYPHUS
SAT AT
REST UPON
HIS STONE
TANTALUS
FORGOT
HIS THIRST
 The voice of Orpheus was so
moving that Hades promised to
this desperate man that Eurydice
would follow him to the upper
world, the world of the living.
H o w e v e r, h e w a r n e d O r p h e u s t h a t
for no reason must he look back
while his wife was still in the
dark, for that would undo
e v e r y t h i n g h e h o p e d f o r. H e s h o u l d
wait for Eurydice to get into the
l i g h t b e f o r e h e l o o k e d a t h e r.
As he was approaching the exit, his
h e a r t w a s b e a t i n g f a s t e r a n d f a s t e r.
The moment he stepped on the world
of the living, he turned his head to
h u g h i s w i f e . U n f o r t u n a t e l y, h e g o t
only a glimpse of Eurydice before
she was once again drawn back into
the underworld.

When Orpheus turned his head,

Eurydice was still in the dark, she
hadn't seen the sun and, as hades
had warned Orpheus, his sweet wife
was drowned back to the dark world
of the dead.
From then on, the heart-broken
musician was wandering
d i s o r i e n t e d , d a y a f t e r d a y, n i g h t
a f t e r n i g h t , i n t o t a l d e s p a i r. H e
could find no consolation in
anything. His songs were no
more joyful but extremely sad.

The Maenads, furious for his

scorn towards them, chanced
upon him. The women killed
him, cut his body into pieces
and threw them and his lyre into
a r i v e r.
 •LOVE
•COURAGE
THEMES •HEARTBREAK
•DEATH
THANK YOU!!!
ACTIVITY