The real tragedy of Orpheus

 

The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice tells the tragic love story of Orpheus, a gifted musician whose melodies could charm all living things—and even the stones. When his beloved wife Eurydice dies from a snakebite, Orpheus journeys to the Underworld and, through the power of his music, persuades Hades and Persephone to let her return with him to the world of the living. However, the gods impose one condition: he must not look back at her until they have both completely left the Underworld. Overcome by doubt just before they reach the surface, Orpheus glances back—and Eurydice vanishes forever.

--My good friend ChatGPT 

My daughter just finished a production of "Hadestown" in which she played Fate #3. If you are living under a rock and aren't aware of "Hadestown," it is a modern musical based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.  It is an amazing show with amazing music. But what irritates me the most about the story is that Orpheus just can't just man up (or muse up) and keep walking out of the underworld. He is just about to exit the Underworld and he turns around. Eurydice immediately goes back to hell and Orpheus starts playing gigs at local casinos and drinking too much.

Okay I embellished the story, but I mean, how hard is it to keep walking a few more feet and waiting until he is out of the Underworld to turn around. Worst case, Hades fooled him and Eurydice wouldn't be there. So he had nothing to lose by keep on walking out of Hell. Went he was consumed with doubt and decided to look back, there was no winning. At least by keeping on walking, he had at least a 50 percent chance of rescuing his wife. 

I realize that Greek myth is an allegory and a major comment on human frailty. The Greeks loved that shit. And they don't seem to accept a great deal of responsibility for their actions. They conveniently blamed everything on the Gods assisted by the Fates. Orpheus had a few moments to demonstrate the power of love and free will and he squanders it with a glance back.

In "Hadestown" they speak of the myth as an old song that we play again and again. And I suppose the message is that if we repeat it enough times we'll get it right.

Or we will just keep beating our head against a rock.