Orpheus was the best musician ever, hands down. (It was even said that his music could work magic!) When he played, rocks wept, and grasses danced. He eventually fell in love with the beautiful Eurydice. Unfortunately, on the day of their wedding, Eurydice was bitten by a snake and died. Orpheus was grief stricken, and decided to bring her back.
He descended into the underworld, playing so beautifully that Charon gave him passage, and Cerebrus let him pass. He finally made it to the thrones of Hades and Persephone, and began to play. (in some stories, the song is of Persephone’s abduction) He played so beautifully that tears rolled down the cheeks of Hades, and Persephone audibly sobbed. Persephone persuaded Hades to let Eurydice return to the world, on one condition--that Orpheus not look back at her until they were out of the underworld.
As Orpheus walked the long path back, doubts grew in his mind. Perhaps Hades had just tricked him. Finally he could stand it no more and glanced back to see Euridice be taken back to the underworld by Hermes. No longer able to stand life, Orpheus drowned himself. His lyre still shines in the stars. (In other stories Orpheus is torn to shreds by maenads (bacchantes) for either interfearing with their rites, holding Apollo above Zeus, or some other trivial thing. Between the death of Eurydice and his own death he also founded a religion, Orphism, which held Dionysus as the supreme God.)