How a brief glance kept a couple apart

A story, quote and lesson about trusting your loved ones

Sep 06, 2024

What are you willing to do for love?

There have been many love stories told throughout the years. Some involve star-crossed lovers fighting against fate, while others may focus on grand gestures and sweeping passions. However, none are quite comparable to the ancient tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. Being one of the most frequently retold Greek myths, it has been adapted into numerous works of literature, musicals, and other forms of media.

The story follows Orpheus, the most talented music player of the ancient times, capable of enchanting the most fearsome beasts and even trees and rocks with his songs. Eurydice met Orpheus during one of his concerts and they became enthralled with each other. It was truly love at first sight.

Orpheus and Eurydice in *Hadestown*, a musical adaptation of the Greek myth. Credit: *Playbill* (Marc J. Franklin, 2019)

Soon enough, they decided to get married. On their wedding day, both Orpheus and Eurydice were ecstatic. They would get to spend the rest of their lives together. However, their plans were foiled abruptly. Eurydice had been bitten by a venomous snake and quickly passed away.

Orpheus, tragedy-stricken and hopeless, decided to venture into the Underworld to save his lover, a feat never before accomplished by a living being. His superhuman musical skills allowed him to charm the guardians of Hades’s domain: the ferryman Charon and the three-headed dog Cerberus. Soon after, he was finally in front of Hades.

His song and grief moved the king of the Underworld to allow Orpheus to bring Eurydice back to the land of the living, but under one condition: Orpheus was forbidden to look back to see if Eurydice was following him to the exit.

The couple began walking toward the light, but as they reached the final step, Orpheus was overcome with doubt. He could no longer hear Eurydice’s footsteps. In a moment of weakness, he turned back and saw her—ghostly pale, a fading semblance of the love of his life. Instantly, Eurydice was pulled back into the Underworld, a tragic consequence of Orpheus's hesitation.

“Eurydice, dying now a second time, uttered no complaint against her husband. What was there to complain of, but that she had been loved?”

- Ovid (Metamorphoses, 8 CE)

Orpheus and Eurydice teach us about the fragility of life and love. In a blink of an eye, everything can change, reminding us to cherish the moments we share with those who stand by us. This story is a poignant reminder of how easily we can lose that which we hold dear and the importance of appreciating and expressing gratitude to those who support us, even when we can’t always feel their presence.

The myth didn’t actually end with Eurydice’s death. It followed Orpheus until he himself was later killed by the women of Thrace. Building on my vision of the official myth, I like to imagine how Orpheus and Eurydice spend their time together in the Underworld. Most days, I picture them walking side by side, but sometimes I see Orpheus taking the lead, turning to look back at her as often as he likes.

So now I ask you: