1. The lover and musician Orpheus once boldly descended into Tartarus to retrieve his lost love, Eurydice. He used the passage which opens at Aornum in Thesprotis and on his arrival not only charmed the ferryman Charon, the dog Cerebus and the three judges of the dead with his plaintive music, but temporarily suspended the tortures of the damned. He so soothed the savage heart of Hades that he won leave to restore Eurydice to the upper world, On one single condition; That Orpheus might not look behind him until she was safely back under the light of the sun. Eurydice followed Orpheus up through the dark passage, guided by the sound of his lyre. It was only when he reached the sunlight again that he turned to look upon his love, but he looked too soon and so lost her for ever.
2. Orpheus made his way through Tartarus into the black castle itself, past all the guards and into the throne room of death. Where Hades sat on an ebony and ivory throne, and Queen Persephone sat next to him. Orpheus did not argue his case, he had made a ballad of it. He touched his lyre and sang of Eurydice’s youth, innocence, astounding beauty, her flight and inevitably her death. He also sang of himself, a young husband, deprived of her forever. When he ended his song Persephone was sobbing and Hades was scowling for he, who was an expert at remaining unmoved by piteous tales, knew that his wife would never forgive him if he refused Orpheus. Whereupon he pretended to relent and told Orpheus that he might lead his wife back to the land of the living but if during the journey, he looked back for any reason at all Eurydice would at once disappear back to the land of the dead, lost to him forever.
Hades gave them an uphill route leading through the caves of Averus. Orpheus was not worried because he could here her footfall. But Hades had craftily directed them through a forest of pine where the needles lay thick. Just as Orpheus was approaching the Avernian Portals to the upper world, he turned in wild fright, he saw Eurydice. Even as he looked upon her she grew misty and hissed away like a plume of steam, never to be seen again.
3. Death’s very home was shaken to hear that song. When Eurydice was lost, thrice did thunder peal over the pool of Avernus.
4. Oscar Kokoschka (1913) wrote Orpheus and Eurydice which attracted even more attention in 1961. Orpheus descends to Hades to retrieve Eurydice but upon reaching her, finds that she must inevitably return if she were to leave, for she expects Hades child, who will incarnate creative regeneration. This was written during WW II, though, so it is understandable if Mr. K may have been stricken senseless by a rather large shell.
5. The ruler of Hades drew near to listen with his queen. No one under the spell of his voice could refuse anything. He...
6. Eurydice was heard mumoring, ‘’farewell.’’