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Narrator: He floats alone upon the wine-dark sea. He looks around for his love, but she is not there. He calls her name, "Eurydice, Eurydice." There is no reply. For reasons he does not understand, this distresses him mightily. He begins to cry; salt tears run down his face, mingling with the salt of the waves. It comes to him then that he must be dreaming, and he smiles.
Orpheus: Father?
Dream: Orpheus. You should wake soon. It is, after all, your wedding day.
Orpheus: I have had a strange dream, Father. I was floating on the sea, calling my wife's name. What does it mean?
Dream: Am I a hedge wizard, that I should interpret your dreams for you? Dreams are composed of many things, my son. Of images and hopes, of fears and memories. Memories of the past, and memories of the future...
Orpheus: You're saying I was dreaming of the future? Something that has not yet happened?
Dream: Perhaps.
Orpheus: I'm your son. Why won't you tell me what you know?
Dream: Because you are my son. Now wake, boy. I will see you at your wedding.
Orpheus: But Father...
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Chapter One
Aristaeus: Orpheus? You were crying out in your sleep. Orpheus?
Orpheus: I am sorry, Aristaeus.
Aristaeus: Not to worry, lad. Reminds me of my wedding day. I was terrified. Her name was Autonoe. She was lovely.
Orpheus: You were married? I didn't know. What happened to her?
Aristaeus: She died. Many years ago.
Orpheus: Oh. I'm sorry.
Aristaeus: It was a long time ago. People die. You get over it. It's part of life.
Orpheus: Yes, I suppose it is.
Aristaeus: Get dressed. You're getting married. It's been ages since I went to a wedding. Roast ox, eh?
Orpheus: No. No living thing is to die at my wedding, Aristaeus. I do not hold with sacrifice.
Aristaeus: It is good to sacrifice before you wed. But you will have wine?
Orpheus: Of course, my friend, and dancing.
Aristaeus: That's good. It wouldn't be a proper wedding, without wine and dancing. But there ought to be a sacrifice...
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Aristaeus: She's a very beautiful woman.
Orpheus: Yes.
Aristaeus: You're very lucky.
Orpheus: I know.
Calliope: Orpheus. My son. I am so... proud of you. This is a wonderful day. I'm so pleased.
Orpheus: Mother. Thank you. I'm so happy. This is my new friend, Aristaeus. He's a farmer. Aristaeus, this is my mother, Calliope.
Aristaeus: You're his mother? You don't look--
Calliope: Old enough? How sweet of you.
Orpheus: Mother? Will Father be here?
Oneiros: I would not miss my son's wedding, Orpheus.
Orpheus: Hello, Father.
Oneiros: And the girl? Your wife-to-be? Where is she?
Eurydice: I am here, Oneiros. I would not be late on this day. I am pleased to see you. And you too, my darling.
Orpheus: Eurydice. My Eurydice. Oh, my love.
Calliope: They're such a sweet couple. Isn't she gorgeous?
Aristaeus: Aye, she is. She reminds me of my wife, on our wedding day.
Teleute: Well, here we all are. Isn't this nice? I like weddings. Especially family weddings, that makes it sort of special somehow, doesn't it, brother?
Oneiros: I was not certain you would come, my sister.
Teleute: Oh, it's not just me... It's all of us.
Orpheus: Darling-- Let me introduce you to my uncles and aunts. My aunt Teleute.
Teleute: I wish you both well.
Orpheus: My aunt Aponoia.
Aponoia: I, too, wish you both well.
Orpheus: My aunt Mania.
Mania: Yeah. Uhh. Well... You know... I nearly got married, but that was a long time ago. It never happened. Maybe that was my fault I don't know. Shit happens. You're both okay. Good luck.
Orpheus: My uncle-aunt Epithumia.
Epithumia: Love. Isn't it wonderful? I wish you well.
Orpheus: My uncle Olethros.
Olethros: So you're marrying my favourite nephew, eh, lassie? Go you both well, children.
Orpheus: And last, my uncle Potmos.
Potmos: I greet you, Eurydice, on the day of your wedding.
Orpheus: Uncle? Won't you wish us well?
Potmos: I am Destiny. I am Potmos. I do not wish; I know. What must happen will happen. That is the way of it. But the priest awaits you, children. Your wedding begins.
The Priest: We call upon Hymenaeus, lord of marriage, to watch over these two people in their lives, which will henceforth be lived as one... Heart to heart and body to body, until the sundering of death. You may embrace her, Orpheus.
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Aristaeus: Hey! More wine... Where's another skin of wine?
Orpheus: Over here, Aristaeus! Well? Are you enjoying the wedding, my friend?
Aristaeus: Assuredly. It's wonderful. You aren't dancing?
Orpheus: I am content to make music, Aristaeus. But you dance. Enjoy yourself. I will see nothing but happy faces on my wedding day. ... My other uncles and aunts, Teleute, I wish they could also have stayed for the party.
Teleute: They had things to do, Orpheus.
Orpheus: But you stayed.
Teleute: I also have things to do, my nephew.
Orpheus: My wife. My love. My wife. Is she not wonderful? Look at her dancing. She's so alive.
Teleute: Yes, she is.
Eurydice: Doesn't he play the lyre well, Aristaeus? My husband is so clever. Later, he will sing to us. Have you ever heard him sing?
Aristaeus: My Lady Eurydice... There's something I got to tell you. Something very private. I got a problem. Can we go somewhere and talk? Won't take long. Honest.
Eurydice: Of course, we can talk, Aristaeus. I hate to think of anyone being troubled on my wedding day. I will do what I can to help. But we cannot be long.
Aristaeus: A few moments, and no more, lady. I'll meet you in the grove, around the back. An' thank you. Thank you.
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Calliope: Oh, come on, Oneiros. Just this once. Dance with me.
Oneiros: I do not dance. Not even with you, my wife.
Calliope: Not even on your son's wedding day?
Oneiros: As I said: I do not dance.
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Eurydice: I'm sorry if I kept you waiting, Aristaeus. Now, tell me, what's your problem? How can I help you?
Aristaeus: There's something I want, and I can't have it, and I'm going to take it anyway. That's my problem.
Eurydice: I think you've drunk a little more than is good for you, Aristaeus. What do you need from me?
Aristaeus: You. I want you.
Eurydice: You're joking, right? You're drunk. Please--- let go of my arm. Aristaeus --- You're hurting me. Please!
Aristaeus: I want you. It's been so long since I had a woman. I want you... Please come back! I'm drunk. I didn't... I didn't mean it. Please... I wasn't going to hurt you! Truly! You won't tell anyone... will you?
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Orpheus: ... And we're the same age. To the day. Isn't that a wonderful coincidence? It shows that we were meant for each other, two hearts beating as one...
Teleute: Orpheus?
Orpheus: Yes, Aunt Teleute?
Teleute: Nothing.
Aristaeus: ORPHEUS!!!
Orpheus: There's something wrong. Eurydice?
Aristaeus: I am sorry, my friend. I meant nothing by it. I meant no harm.
Orpheus: Has something happened, Aristaeus? Has something happened to Eurydice?
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Chapter Two
Narration: The smoke from her pyre drifts skyward in the windless summer air. He finds it easy to ignore. Some things are too big to be seen; some emotions too huge to be felt. He concentrates instead on the correct fingering of the song of the gate, on playing each note exactly, finely. The tune weaves itself around him, intricate and strange, like a song from a dream. It occurs to him that he has never played it so well; and he takes a distant pride in this. And when he is ready, when the music is a part of him, he begins to sing, constructing the gate with his voice and the notes of his lyre.
The Griffin: Who is it?
The Wyvern: It's the boy-child.
The Griffin: Ask him what he wants.
The Wyvern: You ask him what he wants.
Orpheus: I have come to see my father.
The Griffin: Enter, then, boy. Your father is here.
The Hippogriff: Orpheus. We have heard of your loss; you have our sympathies also.
Orpheus: I do not need your pity, Hippogriff.
The Hippogriff: It was freely given, boy. You should not scorn it.
Orpheus: Don't pity me.
Oneiros: You should have gone to her funeral.
Orpheus: Why?
Oneiros: To say goodbye.
Orpheus: I have not yet said goodbye to Eurydice.
Oneiros: You should. You are mortal: it is the mortal way. You attend the funeral, and you bid the dead farewell. You grieve. Then you continue with your life. And at times the fact of her absence will hit you like a blow to the chest, and you will weep. But this will happen less and less as time goes on. She is dead. You are alive. So live.
Orpheus: She is alive in the Underworld.
Oneiros: So?
Orpheus: So, will you help me to gain her back from the Underworld, father? Will you go to Hades and Kore, and plead my case?
Oneiros: You are talking foolishness, my son. I will hear no more of it.
Orpheus: But father--
Oneiros: No more.
Orpheus: Very well, then. No more. I am no longer your son.
Oneiros: Orpheus! Come back here. Now.
Orpheus: No.
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Olethros: Suicide, eh, laddie? Do you really think that's your wisest course?
Orpheus: Yes. I do. We cannot be together alive. We can be together in the underworld. Cold and pale and immobile, but together. Together we will whisper in the shallow voices of the dead; together we will wait in the darkness. And, in the end--but together, we will drink the waters of Lethe, that bring forgetfulness.
Olethros: That's the stupidest thing I've heard in centuries. Haa naa haa haa! Ohh, Orpheus, you're a strange child. I think you are more in love with the idea of your dead love than you ever were with the girl herself...
Orpheus: Take that back. You will take that back, or I'll...
Olethros: Calm down. Or I'll throw you up in the air and catch you, as I did when you were a mite smaller...
Orpheus: Olethros! You wouldn't dare...
Olethros: Haa haa haa! Try me, lad. Just try me. Now-- you've spoken to your father, I take it.
Orpheus: Yes. He was no help.
Olethros: He's a dark one your father. He does care for you, though...
Orpheus: He has a strange way of showing it.
Olethros: Aye. But that's his way. He's set in his ways.
Orpheus: Olethros---what can I do? She's gone. She's dead. I do not want to live without her.
Olethros: Hmm. Well, you're a romantic fool, but that's no surprise: you get that from your father. Death is hardly my province. Have you talked to your aunt about this?
Orpheus: Teleute?
Olethros: Aye.
Orpheus: What can she do for me?
Olethros: She can do whatever she wants to, boy. There will be conditions, but then, there always are.
Orpheus: I... don't know how to see her. I mean, she just turns up when she wants to. Where do I find her? What do I do?
Olethros: Hmm. Well, you have a few alternatives. For example: you could die. You'd see her then. Of course, you won't get much chance to talk, but you'll see her. You could be born... but you people never remember that particular conversation with her. I don't know why not. You just don't. Or you could go to her house.
Orpheus: She has a house?
Olethros: She has lots of things, although she seldom has much use for them. You should see her floppy hat collection. But yes... she has a house.
Orpheus: Will she be there?
Olethros: She is everywhere. She will be there.
Orpheus: How do I get to her?
Olethros: You ask your uncle Olethros to send you there. And you ask me very nicely. Haha! Haa!
Orpheus: Will you? Please?
Olethros: Aye. Through there.
Orpheus: Will she see me?
Olethros: Oh, aye. She'll see you. Sooner or later, she sees everyone.
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Teleute: Hmmmph. If I'd known I was going to have company, I would've tidied the place up. Hi, Orpheus. Looking for something?
Orpheus: Yes. You. I think.
Teleute: Well, like I said, the place isn't really in any state for visitors. But you're here now. Make yourself comfortable. Um. Are you okay?
Orpheus: I do not know. I do not think so. This place is so strange to my eyes.
Teleute: Yeah? Well, this is how I like it. But if it makes things easier I can glitz it all up a bit. Get it closer to the kind of thing you'd expect to see. Hold on a sec... There. Is that any better?
Orpheus: Perhaps... I do not know...
Teleute: So you made it here. I'm impressed. What do you want?
Orpheus: A wedding gift. To replace the one you took from me.
Teleute: It was her time to go, Orpheus. People die. It's okay. It happens. Go on with your own life. You have many things to do: many songs to play and to sing.
Orpheus: Not without her. Give her back to me, Teleute.
Teleute: I wish I could, Orpheus. She's not mine anymore. She's in the Underworld. That's where you people go. She's in Hades' realm.
Orpheus: Then I will go there, and I will bring her back.
Teleute: That isn't going to happen. You don't go to the Underworld without dying first.
Orpheus: But heroes and gods visit the Underworld. Herakles chained Cerberus...
Teleute: Listen, idiot. You can't go to the Underworld and come back alive. Not if you're mortal. And Herakles was full of it. He just got dead drunk for a couple of weeks in Phrygia and told everyone he'd been to the land of the dead.
Orpheus: Uncle Olethros said you could do it. He said you could do anything. He said there were rules, but that you could do it.
Teleute: Your uncle Olethros has a big mouth. You know that?
Orpheus: You can do it, then?
Teleute: Hm. Did anyone ever tell you you're a lot like your father in some ways? Yeah. Yeah, you could go to the Underworld. You could even come back. All that has to happen is that I agree never to take you. But there's a catch. Rules.
Orpheus: I don't care about the rules. There are always rules, all I care about is Eurydice.
Teleute: Look me in the eyes, Orpheus... Okay. If that's what you want. You got it.
Orpheus: I...I thank you, Teleute.
Teleute: Yeah. I hope it works out for you.
Orpheus: But don't you know? I thought you could foretell the future...?
Teleute: I don't need to know the future. When the future's over, then it's me... Okay. Show's over. Get out of here. Go home.
Orpheus: But...
Teleute: Go to Taenarum, in the south of Hellas. There is a gate there that will take you to the Underworld.
Orpheus: But...
Teleute: Go home, Orpheus. Go home.
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Chapter Three
Narration: There were no songs sung nor tales told of Orpheus's journey to Taenarum, or if there were they are lost to us today. A hard time he had of it. He travelled, on foot, by land through the wild country and the few sparse towns of the older days. From Thrace to Macedonia, to Thessaly (where the witches gnaw the flesh from men's faces for their spells, and pull down the moon for their own purposes); from there to Delphi (where he spoke to the Pythia, although the oracle she gave him is no longer recorded; and he received a gift). He passed through Thebes, and through Corinth. He escaped the darkness that waited for him in the heart of Corinth, fleeing through Arcadia. Always he walked south, with his lyre in his hand, depending on the charity and friendship of his fellows; and he was unusual in this: that he would not raise his fist to his fellows, and he carried no weapons. This in a time when all men were warriors. It was cold winter when Orpheus came to Taenarum, the southernmost village in Europe. One league south of the village was a promontory. On this promontory was a deep cavern, from which foul and noisome vapours rose, and it was this cavern that was popularly supposed to be the gateway to the Underworld.
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Charon: You are not dead.
Orpheus: I have come to speak to your Lord and Lady. Will you take me to them?
Charon: Oh so? What have you brought for me?
Orpheus: A sprig of mistletoe; a gift from the Oracle at Delphi.
Charon: The bough of gold. Aye, that is the payment for the living, though it's rarely I've seen it. From the dead I would take a penny, to ferry them across the Styx. Very well. Enter.
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Charon: Is that yours?
Orpheus: Yes.
Charon: Will you play it for me? It has been long since I heard music...
Orpheus: As you will... Ferryman? Is something wrong? Have I offended you?
Charon: Don't stop.
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Orpheus: How will I cross the river when I return?
Charon: If you return, then you will leave by another path. Mortal man?
Orpheus: Yes?
Charon: Beware of the dog.
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Orpheus: King Hades, Queen Persephone. I greet you.
Hades: Well, well, well. Orpheus. The balladeer. Have you a song for us, then, little mortal man?
Orpheus: Yes. Yes, I do.
I sing of only two things: love and time.
I journeyed to this world below, to which all born as mortals must descend in time.
I came to plead with you, great King, great Queen.
I sing an honest song, and I will tell the truth, unvarnished, and in my own way.
I came because my wife was killed before her days in lands above were due to end.
Eurydice disturbed a serpent and it poured its poison deep into her precious veins.
I was not strong enough to bear my grief.
Love was too strong for me, and dragged me down.
The power of love is strong in lands above.
And love is known here too, if all the tales
of passion, aye, and rape so long ago
have any truth or honesty to them.
They say you two were bound as one by love.
I beg you, by these silent realms, to weave again the destiny, of one who died too soon.
For we the living will be yours one day
And all we hope and feel and touch and dream,
all we hold dear, will wither and be gone.
For at the end, with pennies on our eyes, we die, and rot.
And then, as hollow ghosts we'll dwell below: our last, our final home.
Oh King, oh Queen. My wife, like all the rest,
will soon be yours. I ask you for a gift,
a tiny boon. I ask you for her life,
and only for a short span on this earth.
But if you cannot grant that, then I wish
not to return to lands that see the sun.
And you may have my
life as well as hers
Narration: Ixion's Wheel stands still with wonder. The vultures cease to gnaw Tityus's liver. Tantalus makes no effort to satisfy his hunger or thirst.
Hades: A nice offer, but pointless. Thou dost not belong here, mortal.
Persephone: Thou hast made the Furies weep, Orpheus. This is unheard of. Thou hast made the Furies cry, Orpheus. They will never forgive you for that.
Orpheus: Give me my bride and I will leave this place.
Persephone: Thou hast made the Furies cry, Orpheus. They will never forgive you for that.
Hades: Thou art disrupting my perfectly ordered world, Orpheus. So be it. But there are conditions. There are rules. There are always rules. None leave the Underworld by the way they came to it. There is a path that leads upwards. Follow that path and do not deviate from it. Now leave. Go thou back to the world above, and Eurydice shall follow thee as thy shadow. But halt not, speak not, turn not to look behind thee, till ye both have left our kingdom and gained the upper air of your native Thrace. And then, and only then, shall she be thine. Do not look back.
Orpheus: But Thrace is many hundreds of leagues away...
Persephone: No. All lands lie above the Underworld. Now, go, little man.
Orpheus: I thank you, Lord Hades, Lady Persephone.
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Narration: He left that place. And the dark laughter of Hades followed him for many leagues. After some hours, the last echoes of the laughter died away, and Orpheus walked in silence. He could hear his heart beating. He could hear his sandaled feet padding on the cold stone. He heard the blood in his ears, rushing like a dark torrent. He heard nothing. In obedience to Hades' command, he kept his eyes fixed on the gloom ahead of him. As the hours passed, the conviction grew that he was alone. That there was no one behind him. He remembered Hades' laugh as he walked, in the silence. And in the end, daylight—cold, distant daylight ahead of him. Alone. He knew he was alone. He was the butt of Hades' joke. And he-- And he... He looked back.
Eurydice: Orpheus? My love?
Orpheus: Eurydice? No. No!
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Chapter 4
Calliope: Orpheus?
Orpheus: You scared them. You scared my friends.
Calliope: Orpheus? It's me.
Orpheus: I know it's you, Mother. You scared my friends.
Calliope: I--I'm sorry. How are you?
Orpheus: Fine. And you?
Calliope: Fine. Well, no. No, I'm not fine. Your father and I... Have you seen him, recently?
Orpheus: I have not seen him.
Calliope: Oh. He and I... Well... It's been difficult. We had an argument. After you... After you went to the Underworld. He told me of the talk that you two had before you left. He should have talked to the gods of the Underworld for you. They respect him. They... Sometimes I think they even fear him. But no. I walked out on him. I have told him I will see him no longer. I...think I have hurt his pride.
Orpheus: So neither of us is speaking to him. He is not one to forget a slight. Nor to forgive. Do you still love him?
Calliope: I do not know. I do not think so.
Orpheus: Is that my fault?
Calliope: It's been coming for a long time. He cannot share anything; any part of himself. I thought I could change him. But he does not change. He will not. Perhaps he cannot.
Orpheus: I do not wish to talk of him. Or to talk to you, my mother.
Calliope: You should leave the wilderness, Orpheus. It would do you good to be among people.
Orpheus: People hurt you. People leave. I stay here. Mother? When I returned from the other place, do you know what I did?
Calliope: No.
Orpheus: I tried to kill myself. I should have listened to Teleute. She told me. Only two kinds of people go to hell. Those who are dead already... And those like me.
Calliope: Orpheus--I came for a reason.
Orpheus: So?
Calliope: I came to warn you: the Bacchae are coming. You must leave this place. Go somewhere else.
Orpheus: I do not care about the Bacchae.
Calliope: They are dangerous, my son. The Sisters of the Frenzy. And they are coming here.
Orpheus: I do not care about the Bacchae.
Calliope: Goodbye, Orpheus.
Orpheus: Goodbye, Mother.
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Bacchae: Euan! Euan! Eu-oi-oi-o! Euan! Euan! Eu-oi-oi-o! Euan! Euan! Eu-oi-oi-o! Euan! Euan! Eu-oi-oi-o! Euan! Euan! Eu-oi-oi-o! Euan! Euan! Eu-oi-oi-o! Euan! Euan! Eu-oi-oi-o! Euan! Euan! Eu-o-oi-oi!
The Bacchante: We are the Bacchae, join us in our worship. Drink wine with us. Make love with us. Eat raw flesh with us. Rejoice with us.
Orpheus: I...women...ladies...I am sorry. I will not--cannot--take part in your rituals. I will not make love with you. There is only one woman I have loved. To whom I could have given my love, and she is gone. Leave in peace. Please.
The Bacchante: We are the beloved of Dionysus, man. You do not give. We take.
Orpheus: No... No!
The Bacchante: Euan! Euan! Eu-oi-oi-o!
Orpheus: Eurydice! Eurydice...
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Epilogue
Orpheus: Father?
Dream: Hello, Orpheus. You were unwise to seek favours of Death. But you have made your own errors. It was your own life. I have come to say goodbye. It seemed the proper thing to do. I have visited certain priests on this island, in their dreams. They will find you, soon, and care for you. I will not see you again.
Orpheus: But father...
Dream: "Father" Did you not say you were no longer my son?
Orpheus: Please. Father. Help me. Help me to die.
Dream: Your life is your own, Orpheus. Your death, likewise always, and forever your own. Farewell. We shall not meet again.
Orpheus: Father! Come back! Please... Father...
Narration: Orpheus watched as his father walked away; unable to turn his head, even had he wanted to. His father walked away slowly, pace by pace, through the sand and foam. Orpheus watched through tear-stung eyes until he was out of sight. His father never even tried to look back.
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