To Hell and Back: Conclusions

There are many things that we can learn from the tales of “Orpheus and Eurydice” and “Savitri and Satyavan”, things about ourselves, about our culture, ancient culture, death, and the role of women in society. In my last entry I asked readers to think about why it is that Orpheus fails where Savitri succeeds and what this has to say about a variety of issues, most of which were just mentioned in the previous sentence. This is a question that I have dwelled on for quite some time now. I find both of these myths utterly fascinating, especially because they are both so similar and yet so different. So in conclusion, here’s what I think…

In both “Orpheus and Eurydice” and “Savitri and Satyavan”, a spouse must descend into the underworld to retrieve the soul of their departed lover. Both make a deal with the god of the underworld. One fails, one succeeds. Why?

First off, both of these stories tell us a lot about the cultures that composed them. “Orpheus and Eurydice” tells us that the Greco-Roman point of view on death was very final. Once you died you were resigned to the underworld where you were expected to stay. In the land of the dead, the living were not welcomed, just as the dead were surely not welcomed in the land of the living. “Savitri and Satyavan” paints a similar picture for us except for the fact that we see that death is not always permanent; Savitri does manage to win back her husband’s soul and return him to life. This undoubtedly reflects the Hindu world of view in which the predominate form of afterlife belief is that of ‘reincarnation’ which hold that after death many of us will go on to living new lives, being reborn again and again.

Secondly, the deals which both Orpheus and Eurydice strike with their respective underworld gods are also interesting, especially because they serve as a prototype for later Christian legends concerning Faustian deals with the devil. In the myth of “Orpheus and Eurydice”, however, it is Hades who apparently wins the beat, as Orpheus fails to keep his eyes off of Eurydice until after the two have left the underworld. There are those who feel that Hades’ tricked Orpheus, however, I disagree, believing instead that Hades, if anything, was simply banking on the fact that Orpheus’ inherent human weakness would get the better of him. As for Savitri’s deal with Yama, I think it’s pretty clear that in this case Savitri did trick Yama into giving her Satyavan’s soul. The type of ‘loop-hole logic’ which Savitri employs here is also fairly common in both myths and fairy-tales, especially in Arabian mythology were it is often employed by djinn’s who want to get the better of their masters. Ultimately, what the story of “Savitri and Satyavan” is trying to tell us here, I believe, is that being quick witted is a virtue; for one who is fast on their feet may even be able to outwit the gods.

Lastly, I feel that without a doubt the most loaded issue of any to be found here in both of these tales is that of the role of the women in them. I believe that this facet of these stories is of great importance not only because of what it has to say about women is both the ancient and modern world but because it can also provide one with the answer as to why Orpheus fails in his mission while Savitri succeeds in her’s.

The key difference between Orpheus and Savitri, I feel, is ultimately motivation. Orpheus wants Eurydice while Savitri needs Satyavan, and this all has to do with how women were viewed in ancient Greco-Rome and India. Ancient Greece and Rome as well as India were patriarchal societies; men ran almost everything. This is still true today in modern India as in modern western society which has been largely modeled off the Greco-Roman prototype. However, there is one crucial difference. In Greco-Roman patriarchal society women were viewed as objects, literally second class citizens who could be owned by their husbands. This was in contrast to eastern patriarchy where women were still not as socially powerful as men but nevertheless still had many of the same freedoms and rights that men enjoyed, a fact which is still true today.

Now, while one who is sufficiently familiar with the tale of “Orpheus and Eurydice” would never question whether or not Orpheus truly loves Eurydice – he does – one does need to take note of the fact that Orpheus’ love for her is framed within a Hellenistic context, meaning that to him Eurydice is a ‘possession.’ And this is exactly the tone that one picks up on when re-reading the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. Following Eurydice’s death Orpheus acts like he has just had something stolen from him, like a prized trophy or a new car. He then descends into the underworld to essentially demand the return of his property from Hades, albeit in song. The problem with all this is that the cold truth of the matter is that, from a social standpoint, Orpheus doesn’t need Eurydice, he simply wants her. Had this story been reversed with Eurydice having lost Orpheus and then failing to win back his soul, she would not have then been able to continue on with life by herself in perpetual morning – the way Orpheus does. She would have been expected to marry someone else; in fact, she probably would have been married off to someone else by her father in the weeks following Orpheus death, because that is what happened to women in ancient Greece and Rome.

This is, of course, in sharp contrast to “Savitri and Satyavan”, where Savitri doesn’t merely want the return of her husband’s soul but needs it. As Savitri notes in both my retelling of the story and the original version, that in Indian society it was a wife’s dharma – sacred duty – to care for her husband and bear his children. Without a husband Savitri would not have been able to fulfill her dharma and as a result would not have been able to join her husband in heaven as she would have to be reincarnated in an attempt to fulfill her duty as a woman and a wife in a another life. For some women readers this may not seem much better a situation than that Eurydice, however, I would ask those readers to keep in mind that Savitri is essentially just trying to be faithful to her vows as a wife, the same type of vows that western women make on their wedding day. Also, take stock in that fact that not only is Savitri the protagonist and hero of her story but also a shinning example of a smart, strong and determined woman who was not about to let her husband second guess her womanly intuition or let a male death god tell her what she could and could not do, all of which is far superior to poor little Eurydice who doesn’t have but a single line of dialogue in her entire tale.

With that in mind, I would also like to point out what these two myths can teach us today. Both myths teach us about the power of love, which is one of the greatest powers in the world, however, they also teach us what can happen when love is misguided. I personally think that in modern western society today there are a lot of Orpheuses out there. Talented young men who are desperately and recklessly pursuing women who they do not need but merely want, because to them women are nothing more than possessions to be had. Likewise there are a lot of young women out there who have let themselves become helpless little Eurydices, following there own Orpheuses all the way to the top only to have them foolishly cast them away with a backwards glance. While “Orpheus and Eurydice” is without a doubt one of my favorite myths from all of Greco-Roman mythology I do believe that from a social standpoint it is not one that needs to be imitated but rather learned from, a cautionary fable. Rather what we in the west need are more women like Savitri and more men like Satyavan who, in spite of their own piggishness, can learn to respect and trust their wives, girlfriends or lovers.

At Top: The title sheet for classical composer Monteverdi's 1607 opera The Legend of Orpheus. The myth of "Orpheus and Eurydice" has had a strong impact on western culture, having been adapted into poems, songs, novels, plays, operas, movies, comics and more. Visit Wikipedia's page on Orpheus for a very comprehensive list.

To Hell and Back: Analysis and Questions

Analysis

Now that we have looked at two very similar, yet very different tales concerning the religious and mythological theme of decent into the underworld it is now time to make an evaluation of the two narratives and draw a conclusion in regard to what they have to say about humankind.

Compare and Contrast: “Orpheus and Eurydice” with “Savitri and Satyavan”

The myths of “Orpheus and Eurydice” and “Savitri and Satyavan” both share a great deal in common. Not only do both deal with the motif of decent into the underworld but both also feature a protagonist who descends into the netherworld to rescue a spouse who was killed by a snake. In both tales, the protagonist must cross a river that separates the land of the living from that of the dead. Both tales find our protagonist’s presence in the underworld to be a source of potential cosmological chaos, and both protagonists must, in the end, make a deal with the Lord of the Dead.

However, while the similarities between these two tales may be striking the differences they share are equally profound. To start with, the tale of “Orpheus and Eurydice” is from ancient Greco-Rome while the tale of “Savitri and Satyavan” is from India. In “Orpheus and Eurydice”, it is the husband who is the protagonist and must rescues his wife, while in “Savitri and Satyavan” the scenario is reversed and it is the wife who must save the husband. The other major difference between Orpheus’ and Savitri’s tale is, of course, that Savitri is successful in her quest to retrieve her husband’s soul while Orpheus is not.

The Questions

It is this last observation that leads to the most obvious, though not necessarily the most important, question one can ask about these two myths: Why dose Savitri succeed where Orpheus fails? Another way of looking at this question is to also ask: Why did Orpheus fail? Was it his own weakness or did Hades indeed trick him? Was the deal Orpheus struck with Hades fair? And then for the more culturally centered reader: What dose this story tell you about the beliefs of the ancient Greeks and Romans? What dose it say about the relationship between a husband and a wife? What can we learn from it?

Then coming at this line of questioning from the Indian point of view: Why dose Savitri succeed? Was the deal Savitri struck with Yama fair? Did Savitri trick Yama? If so was this right or wrong of her? And what dose this tale tell us about the Hindu worldview and the role of men and women in it?

I will post my thoughts on these matters in the next few days.

To Hell and Back: Orpheus and Eurydice

The first of our two myths concerning a decent into the underworld is that of “Orpheus and Eurydice.” Hailing from Greco-Rome the myth of “Orpheus and Eurydice” can be found in the tenth book of Ovid’s Metamorphous (c. 1st-Century C.E.). The entire poem is a mere 122 lines long, but it tells one of the most powerful and poignant tales in all of world mythology.

Orpheus and Eurydice as retold by Justin M.

Orpheus was born in the kingdom of Thrace, the son of a mortal king and Calliope; the muse of epic poetry. Yet despite his regal parentage Orpheus was not proud. He chose to live a simple life amongst nature and its beauty where he could enjoy his two greatest loves. One of these two great loves was music. Orpheus loved to play the lyre, and when he did it is said that birds and beasts of the forest grew still, trees swayed in his direction, rocks danced and rivers changed their course so as to run towards him. But even Orpheus’ love of music could not compare to that of his other great love, his greatest love, his bride Eurydice.

Orpheus and Eurydice loved one another as few people in the history of the world have ever loved one another. Theirs’ was a pure love; untainted by lies, selfishness or insecurity. It was a love that should have lasted for all of eternity. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. It was not long after Orpheus and Eurydice’s marriage that disaster struck. Eurydice was out in the meadow picking flowers to weave into her hair when she ran across the satyr Aristaeus who attempted to rape her. While fleeing from the satyr Eurydice accidentally stepped on a snake which bit her. The snake’s venom rushed into Eurydice’s veins and killed her.

Orpheus was devastated.

Try as he might, Orpheus could not bring himself to let Eurydice’s spirit go. He lamented both her fate and his and cursed the gods for being so cruel as to take her away from him. It was then that Orpheus decided that the only course of action he could take was to confront the deities of the dead themselves; Hades and his queen Persephone.

Armed with his lyre Orpheus traveled to the Gates of Sparta were he could gain entry into the land of the dead. When Orpheus arrived at the rive Styx, which separates the realm of the living from that of the dead, he was stopped by the ferryman Charon who refused to allow Orpheus to cross over, as he was not dead. Orpheus, however, simply struck a few cords on his lyre making a sound so sweet that Charon was compelled to let him pass simply so that he could hear more of the beautiful music on the ride over.

Finally, Orpheus arrived in the underworld. Surrounded by the shades of the dead and the tortured souls of sinners, Orpheus made his way to the thrones of Hades and Persephone where he pleaded his case before them in song. He sang of love and loss, of gods and men, of his fair Eurydice and his quest to retrieve her soul, and finally of how in times past even the Lord of the Dead has been swayed by the power of love.

So powerful were the words of Orpheus’ song that the very underworld itself came to a grinding halt. For the first time in the history of Hades the dead wept, Tantalus felt full, Ixion’s wheel ceased to spin, the vultures no longer gnawed at Prometheus’ liver, Sisyphus sat upon his stone, and the vengeful Furies – the most merciless of spirits – cried.

Terrified at the anarchy being unleashed upon his realm Hades conceded to Orpheus’ request and decreed that Eurydice could return to the land of the living…on one condition; Orpheus could not look upon the face of Eurydice until both of them were fully out of the netherworld. Orpheus quickly consented to Hades’ terms, for what did it matter; there would be no light to see Eurydice’s face with until after the two had reached the surface.

So with Eurydice behind him, Orpheus began his accent to the land of the living. As he walked he plucked the strings of his lyre so that Eurydice could follow the sound. However, as Orpheus continued walking and playing he suddenly found himself seized by doubt. He began to wonder why Eurydice had not spoken to him on their way up – Hades had not forbidden conversation. Orpheus also began to wonder why he could not hear Eurydice’s footsteps behind him – was it because she was still a ghost or because she was not there at all.

As Orpheus neared the surface he felt his heart begin to race with anticipation, he could see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel now. Soon Eurydice would be back in his arms. Closer and closer he drew to the exit, light shown down upon his face and he realized that if Eurydice was truly there – if Hades had not played him for a fool – that he could see her now, even if they were not fully out of the realm of the dead. So he glanced, just once, over his shoulder, just long enough to see his greatest love, his beautiful, beloved Eurydice, pulled back down into the depth of hell.

Realizing what he had done, Orpheus collapsed unto the floor and wept bitterly, cursed the gods and himself, and then went off to spend the rest of his days in sad exile awaiting the day he to would die and finally be with Eurydice again.

At Top: Stone relief of Orpheus and Eurydice as they ascend from Hades.

Center: Orpheus pleads his case to Hades and Persephone in another stone relief.

Sources: Titans and Olympians: Greek & Roman Myth (1997) by Tony Allan and Sara Maitland, Metamorphoses by Ovid, translated by Charles Martin (2004), and The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology (2007) by Arthur Cotterell and Rachel Storm