The World of the Play

Important Facts about Eurydice there and then and here and now.

Original Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice
• Orpheus's father could either be the Thracian King, Oeagrus, or the God Apollo. http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz1836211506d60.html
• Orpheus is the best musician that ever lived; he controlled the world around him with his beautiful melodies.
http://www.loggia.com/myth/orpheus.html
• On their wedding day, Eurydice met Aristaeus who tried to rape her, running away from him; Eurydice dies from accidentally stepping on a viper whose venom kills her instantly.
http://www.amrep.org/articles/4_4a/myth.html
• Eurydice does not have a father in Hades, she was simply sent to the underworld after her tragic death.
• The River Lethe made the shades of the underworld forget their former lives. http://www.theriverstyx.net/
• Orpheus charmed Cerberus - the three-headed monster dog of Hades who guarded the Underworld - into letting him pass.
http://www.paleothea.com/Myths/Orpheus.html
• The Muses found his torn body and buried it in the sanctuary of the island. His limbs they gathered and placed in a tomb at the foot of Mount Olympus, and there to this day the nightingales sing more sweetly than anywhere else. http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/eurydice/eurydicemyth.html
• Orpheus' key instrument was the Lyre. He used it to play enchanting music that put all things, even the wild beasts of the underworld into a calm trance.
http://www.amrep.org/articles/4_4a/myth.html

Sarah Ruhl's Retold Version of this Greek Myth
• Orpheus is classified as a young prince with no mentioning of his parents.
• He is the most talented musician in the world.
• On their wedding day, a Nasty/Interesting Man (also the ruler of the underworld) convinces Eurydice to join him to his apartment to retrieve a letter from her father. Eurydice dies from accidentally tripping down a flight of stairs of 600 steps running away from the man.
• The character ‘Father’ was added in to this retold version of the Greek myth.
• The River Lethe is referred to as The River of Forgetfulness.
• The three Stones represent the three headed dog Cerbrus who guarded the gates of the underworld.
• At the end of this retold tale, Orpheus goes straight back into the underworld, this time not as a hero but as a resident.
• The instrument Orpheus uses to plan his trip to the underworld is a guitar.