Orpheus
legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth
Orpheus (Greek: Ὀρφεύς) was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth.
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Quotes about Orpheus
edit- Hard rocks he soften'd with persuasive song,
And sooth'd the rivers as they roll'd along.
Yon beeches tall, that bloom near Zona, still
Remain memorials of his vocal skill:
His lays Pieria's listening trees admire,
And move in measures to his melting lyre.- Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica, translation by Francis Fawkes
- Here the sweet bard his tuneful lyre unstrung,
And ceas'd the heavenly music of his tongue;
But, with the sound entranc'd, the listening ear
Still thought him singing, and still seem'd to hear.- Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica, translation by Francis Fawkes. Compare: "The angel ended, and in Adam's ear/ So charming left his voice, that he awhile/ Thought him still speaking, still stood fix'd to hear." John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667), VIII. 1–3.
- I have soared aloft with poetry and with high thought, and though I have laid my hand to many a reflection, I have found nothing stronger than Necessity, nor is there any cure for it in the Thracian tablets set down by the voice of Orpheus nor in all the simples which Phoebus harvested in aid of trouble-ridden mortals and gave to the sons of Asclepius.
- Euripides, Alcestis, translation by David Kovacs
- In Greece the name rbhu appears as Orpheus, the famous poet and musician from Thrace who gave rise to the Orphic cult and mysteries. The later story about his descent into Hades to recover Eurydice may well be an echo of a rejuvenation attempt, while the shamanist aspect of the myth is maintained. Orpheus’s poetry and music links well with the rbhus’ poetic power in [the Rigveda]. It is therefore very curious that many philologists refuse to see this connection... There is no substantial reason, philological or semantic, why Greek Orpheus and Germanic elf should not be related to Sanskrit rbhu.
- Kazanas, N. D. (2001). Indo-European deities and the Rgveda. JOURNAL OF INDOEUROPEAN STUDIES, 29(3/4), 257-294.
- [Orpheus] had abstained from the love of women, either because things ended badly for him, or because he had sworn to do so. Yet, many felt a desire to be joined with the poet, and many grieved at rejection. Indeed, he was the first of the Thracian people to transfer his affection to young boys and enjoy their brief springtime, and early flowering this side of manhood.
- Ovid, Metamorphoses (ca. 8 AD) as quoted by A. S. Kline, Ovid: The Metamorphoses (2000)
- The Orphics were an ascetic sect; wine, to them, was only a symbol, as, later, in the Christian sacrament. The intoxication that they sought was that of "enthusiasm," of union with the god. They believed themselves, in this way, to acquire mystic knowledge not obtainable by ordinary means. This mystical element entered into Greek philosophy with Pythagoras, who was a reformer of Orphism as Orpheus was a reformer of the religion of Dionysus. From Pythagoras Orphic elements entered into the philosophy of Plato, and from Plato into most later philosophy that was in any degree religious.
