The Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice: Human Will to Have Control

This classical myth tells the tragic love story of Orpheus and Eurydice who were separated from each other on their wedding day, the very day they were supposed to be together for the rest of their lives.

Orpheus was the happy groom who also was the greatest of all poets and musicians. Eurydice was the bride who was an elegant wood nymph. Their love was told in such a way that one could say it was a rare love to be found in such a mythical world. The tragic incident that separated the bridal couple varies from one telling to another. In the best-known story, Eurydice dies as she stumbles and falls to the ground since she was bitten by a snake. Upon Eurydice's funeral, Orpheus is drowned by the grief of losing his loved one. This suffocating grief of Orpheus leads him to make such a journey that no human being has ever come back from, the journey to the underworld. At the gates of the underworld as Orpheus began to play his lyre, the three-headed dog Cerberus fell into sleep, giving Orpheus a chance to enter the underworld. His music was so enchanting that Charon, the ferry captain of the River Styx brought Orpheus across the river without any charge. Given his alluring musical abilities, Orpheus sang a song about his undying love for Eurydice and the very limited time they had on earth to Persephone and Hades, the rulers of the underworld. When he finished his exquisite and tragic song all hell stood still and Orpheus asked Hades to grant Eurydice her life on earth back. Hades, moved by this angelic song, granted Orpheus' wish with one condition, he can't look back to Eurydice following him as they leave the underworld. As they were climbing back to the earth, Orpheus didn't hear any footsteps coming from Eurydice. He was maintaining his composure and wasn't looking back to see if Eurydice was following him until the very last step. When he looked back at the last step, Eurydice fell back to the depths of the underworld and Orpheus lost her to the underworld again. 

Several readings strip down this particular myth due to the goal of giving a ''moral lesson'' by saying that being patient and keeping your faith is of primary importance yet it can be read in such a way as well; human's desire to be in control. Orpheus was deprived of his beloved Eurydice on the day they were supposed to celebrate the rest of their lives due to a bite of a mere snake. His bold action of going on the journey to the underworld also speaks for itself that human beings will go to such extents to have control over their lives. Orpheus' act of looking back at Eurydice whether she is following or not can also be considered as a way to take control since Hades put such a peculiar condition and expected full obedience to it.