Chapter V
Orpheus
Orpheus was the hero-singer of the Thracians, who in the ancient times dwelt at the foot of the mountains Olympus, Parnassus, and Helicon. He was the son of Apollo[9] and the muse Calliope[10] and the husband of Eurydice. His name became so celebrated among later poets that his power of song was said to have produced most marvellous effects. When he struck his lute, the fable says, the lions of the forest fawned upon him like dogs, rivers halted in their course, and the trees and rocks listened to him. He accompanied the Argonauts on their expedition and accomplished by his music many marvellous escapes for them. When he returned from the expedition his young wife, Eurydice, and her companions danced upon a beautiful grass plat one day. While engaged in their sports a snake stung her in the foot and she died in the very bloom of her youth.[11] The inconsolable husband poured out his grief in tones that filled all hearts with sorrow. Taking his lute, he ventured to the entrance of the underworld, Tartarus, and entreated Persephone, spouse of Hades, god of the underworld, to give him back Eurydice. The bars of the gate flew back as he sang. With ever tenderer tones he approached the place where departed spirits wander. Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guards the entrance, quietly wagged his tail as he passed, Ixion’s wheel stood still,[12] and Sisyphus stopped his fruitless task to listen to him.[13]
Persephone graciously heard Orpheus’ entreaty and said: “Go back whence you came. Eurydice shall silently follow. But have a care that you do not look at her until you have reached the upper world. If you gaze at her but an instant she will be lost to you forever.”
Orpheus turned back. He had not yet seen her. Would she follow him or not? A goddess surely would not deceive him. But he heard no step behind him. Singing, he went his way for a time, and when in the distance he saw the gleam of the upper world, he cried “Eurydice” in tender, eager tones. No answer was made. Overcome by grief and anxiety, he forgot the warning of the goddess. An irresistible desire to see her caused him to turn his head, and behold his wife was quietly and lightly following him. He stretched out his arms to her and in an instant the goddess’s warning was realized. Eurydice suddenly went back and was never again seen by him.
His soul was rent with anguish. He wandered despairingly with his lute in the Thracian forest, where he found among the rocks a swarm of Mænades, those creatures who foregather at the festivals of Bacchus and, excited with wine and wild debauches, go through the woods inciting everyone to attend the revels which are given in honor of that divinity. They made a loud clamor by clashing their cymbals together and blowing trumpets and horns and swung their wands, wound with vine leaves and ivy, called the thyrsus, crying, “Evoe, Evoe, Bacchus.”
These Mænades who found Orpheus lamenting for Eurydice, snatched his lute away and ordered him to entertain them. With horror he turned from them and rejected their importunities. That was too much for a horde of mad women. They stoned him, tore him to pieces, and threw his bleeding limbs into the forest.
Chapter VI
Atalanta
Schœneus married in Arcadia and entreated the gods to send him a son. When his spouse bore him a daughter, he became so enraged that he took the child from her mother, carried her into the wilderness, and left her there. The child was nourished by a bear until she was found by some hunters, who took her away, brought her up, and named her Atalanta.
Atalanta grew in beauty and strength and became a vigorous huntress, surpassing all men and youths in daring, swiftness, and skill. Like Artemis, she chose to live unmarried and paid no attention to the youths who solicited her hand. When hard pressed she at last made this condition. He only should have her as wife who surpassed her in running; but those who were defeated should die.
Hard as the condition was, the beauty of the maiden attracted a crowd of suitors. Among them was Hippomenes, who came not to take part in the race, but to deride the youths who would risk their lives by such folly. But when the race began and he saw the beautiful huntress, he himself was smitten with love and hoped that none of the youths would win the prize, so that he might take Atalanta home as his wife. The race was finished. The maiden returned with the wreath of victory on her head, but the youths were taken away to suffer death.