Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Orpheus an Eurydice myth

Orpheus and Eurydice
Imagine the most perfect melody you have ever heard. Now, take that melody and make it one hundred times better. What you have is the music of Orpheus, whose music was so great it was only surpassed by the gods. In each essay there are three levels of interpretation of the story of this great musician and his wife. Those three levels are the natural, social, and psychological points of the myth. We explain each myth with those levels because it helps us understand what those myths are for.
The natural level of this story is the easiest to understand. Orpheus is born and turns out to be a great musician who travels the world playing his lyre and changing the world. It is said that living and nonliving things followed him and that he moved rivers with the magic of his music. After a while Orpheus found the woman of his dreams, Eurydice, who fell in love with his music. Then one day, while she was walking through the woods with her bridesmaids, a snake bit her in the leg and she died. Orpheus, loyal man that he was, was so struck with grief that he dared the path to Hades. When Orpheus got there, he pleaded with Hades to release his wife. Hades agreed under one term, and that was Orpheus had to walk out of Hades with his wife following him without looking back. Orpheus agreed and left the Underworld. But he looked back at the end because he was so excited to see her and could not wait, so he lost Eurydice forever.
On the social level, things get more complicated. It shows how a man’s love and devotion could let him do anything. It also tells us how the Greeks thought that women needed to be rescued by men and must also be led or they will be lost forever. Another point that this myth shows us on the social level is that men are expected to go after their women and protect and save them.
The psychological level myths get really complicated, because the psychological nature of a single man or woman is explained. It shows yet again the loyalty and passion for women that allows men to do anything that love brings us. But the death and loss of Eurydice shows the longing and desire that men have for their women, and will encourage them to do anything for the one that they love, or really want.
So in conclusion, Orpheus rocks at the lyre, but not at following directions. The three levels of interpretations are the natural, social, and psychological, and bring a sense of understanding to the myths being explained. I feel that this myth is not that important because it does not make many valid points and is pretty boring.

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