Eurydice

In Greek mythology, there were several characters named Eurydice (Eurydíkê, Ευρυδικη).

Wife of Orpheus

The most famous was a woman—or a nymph—who was the wife of Orpheus. While fleeing from Aristaeus, she was bitten by a serpent and died. Distraught, Orpheus played such sad songs and sang so mournfully that all the nymphs and gods wept and gave him advice. Orpheus accomplished something no other person ever has: he traveled to the underworld and by his music softened the heart of Hades and Persephone and was -in fact- so sweet that it made the Furies weep, it was then granted that Eurydice be allowed to return with him to the world of the living. But the condition was attached that he should walk in front of her and not look back until he had reached the upper world. In his anxiety, he broke his promise, and Eurydice vanished again from his sight. The story in this form belongs to the time of Virgil, who first introduces the name of Aristaeus. Other ancient writers, however, speak of Orpheus' visit to the underworld; according to Plato, the infernal gods only "presented an apparition" of Eurydice to him.

Connections with other mythologies

The story of Eurydice and Orpheus has strong similarities with the Japanese myth of Izanami and Izanagi and the Mayan myth of Ix Chel and Itzamna. There may be connections going back to Paleolithic times. The other myths seem to be more violent and horrifying than the Greek version. This may be due at least in part to Virgil, Plato, and the other classical writers softening down the story, which in its older versions (now lost) may have also been very violent.

Drama

Eurydice (also Erudice or Euridice) is an opera written in Florence by Jacopo Peri and Ottavio Rinuccini in 1600. It was created for the marriage of Henry IV and Maria de Medici. This is considered by some to be the second work of modern opera, and the first such musical drama to survive to the present day. (The first, Dafne, was written by the same authors in 1597.)

For many of the other stage and screen reinterpretations of the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, see the article on Orpheus. Eurydice is also a play which retells the myth of Orpheus from Eurydice's point of view.

Wife of Creon

Another woman in Greek mythology named Eurydice was the wife of Creon, who killed herself after learning that her son Haemon and his betrothed, Antigone, had both committed suicide.

Wife of Acrisius

One Eurydice was wife to Acrisius, king of Argos, mother of Danae and therefore grandmother to Perseus. She was said to have been a daughter to Lacedaemon and Sparta, the legendary founders of Sparta. Generally, she is confused with Orpheus's Eurydice.

Wife of Nestor

The wife of Nestor was also named Eurydice.

External links

Synopsis of the opera Eurydice

Greek mythological people

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