**a Mythical Account Of Orpheus! Poem by RAJ NANDY

A MYTHICAL ACCOUNT OF
ORPHEUS!

Orpheus is said to come from Thrace,
From a village close to mount Olympus!
His father Apollo the patron God of Arts,
Gave him a golden lyre and taught him to
pluck its strings melodious!
His mother, the Muse Calliope, taught him
to make verses as he sang! #
As the music flowed and his golden voice, -
Tamed the wildest of beasts and the rivers
paused and changed its course!
Such was the power of his melodious song!

Orpheus fell in love and married the nymph
Eurydice,
Blissful were their days, until one day, she
was chased by Aristaeus, -
A minor deity and one of Apollo’s many sons!
And in her hurry to escape, she stepped on a
poisonous snake!
Orpheus followed her to the underworld Hades!
There with his music and song he persuaded
Hades, -
The King of the Dead, to give Eurydice back!
The King agreed but on one condition,
He made Orpheus swear never to look back, -
While Eurydice followed him, till they reached
the world of light!
But when they were almost there, not hearing
her footsteps following behind,
Orpheus looked back to see, - the screaming
Eurydice being pulled back, -
By Hades, - to his World of the Dead!
Shattered by grief, he wandered the forests of
Thrace, -
Singing his wife’s lament, till he finally met,
The Maenads, those ecstatic women and followers
of Dionysus;
Who tore Orpheus to pieces, - part by part!
And later one day, as the legend goes,
His singing head was washed ashore, on the island
of Lesbos!
And ever since that day as per Greek mythalogy,
Lesbos became the center of Poetry!
But Orpheus’ golden lyre can still be seen, when
you look up at the night sky,
Amidst the Constellation Lyre twinkling bright, –
up high!
-Raj Nandy
05 Sep 09
New Delhi

FOOT NOTES: -
# APOLLO was a gifted musician, who entertained the GODS with his Lyre, a small harp-like instrument.
.He loved ORPHEUS and taught him the Lyre! Orpheus accompanied
Jason in his Argonaut in search of the Golden Fleece, and saved them from the Siren’s spell -
by singing more beautifully than them! Greeks of the Classical Age, venerated ORPHEUS, as the chief amongst Poets &Musicians!
In 5th century BC at Delphi, ORPHEUS is depicted as a Greek God!
His mother Calliope is one of the Nine Muses and is the Muse of
Epic Poetry!
****ALL COPY RIGHTS RESERVED BY RAJ NANDY ****