Orpheus, the great theologer,philosopher,musicean

Life of mythic Orpheus
"Mythology is history of before today's genesis of Hellenes." ARISTOTELES
by thiseus@mail.otenet.gr Update: 18/8/99,Release 1.0A

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Orpheus give pleasure by his melodies to Thracean soldiers. Vessel of 5th century BC

Orpheus the mythologic hero of Thraki.
Decoding Eurydike's myth.
Before we start and say about what is really beleave the ancient Hellenes, their religion, we will say about his life and (myth) travel of Orpheus in Adis.
Orpheus was existed person and was the first philosopher - theologer, the greatest poet and Musician who ever lived. He was historish person according 30 ancients writers. He was borned in Pi'blan or Livithrion around area Elikona in Pie'ria (fragmenta 46), north-east from mountain Olympus (Stravon VIII 330 and X 47) and called Thrax because all the area from Makedonia until Hellisponton and all Europe called Thaki. The local name of the area was Leivi'thrion. Diodoros (11,64) has been written Orpheus was son of thracin king Oeagrus, and also in Argonautic of Apollodoros has been written:

"Opheus, Kalliopis te kai Oeagru file koure" (77)

and in Orphic fragmenta inedita 32:

"Orpheus o pais Oeagru"

and finally in the last line of Argonautic 1384:

"antron d' eiseperisa perikluton, entha me mitir geinat'eni lektrois megalitoros Oeagrou."
and came in the famous cave, where she was borned me on the bed of magnanimous Oeagrus.

GENEALOGIC TREE OF ORPHEUS

He traveled to Egypt and to Libya where he teached:

"id' oson Aigypto ieron logon exelocheusa, Memphi es igathein pelasas, ieras te polias Apidos". Orphic Argonautic(44)

Also and every holy words i said in Egypt, when i went to holy Memphis and holy city of Apidos.

"idi gar moi alis kamaton, alis epleto mochthon, on ikomin epi gaian apeiriton ide polias Aigypto, Libyi te brotois ana thesphata fainon". Orphic Argonautic(104)

Because they are so many pain and problems for me i passed when i went to boundless earth and cities, revealed into people the oracles in Egypt and in Libya.

He went also, to Kreta and spoke with Ideous Daktilous and initiated to Ideon Andron.

Orpheus had been travelling with Mineans and Iason (Jason) in Argonautic Expedition. Probably at the last Argonautic expedition. Because Mineans made a lot of Argonautic expeditions. The 1st was through Axinos Pontos ("Black Sea") and the rest to North Europe and America.
The known "Argonautic" of Apollonios Rodios was a merging of all Argonautic expeditions together.

His musical instrument was the lyre given to him by Apollo, the Muses teaching him to play the instrument. Such was the quality of his music that wild beasts became calm when they heard it, while trees and even rocks danced and followed him. Thats why he went with Jason to the first Argonautic expedion (because they became more than one expeditions) which used experimentally for the first time the ship type of Argo. We will say for the Argonautic expedition in next versions of web-pages.

After loss of Eurydike, he never again sought the love of a woman.
However, on his return to Thrace. Orpheus became a priest of god of Dionysus- Apollo- Helios(Sun) and learning the philosophy from travel to Hades. His views and beliefs ( ORPHISM-ORPHISMOS) were completely the same with Dionysian Mysteries (We will search it of next versions of web-pages).

Orpheus died the same exactly as god Dionysus. So according to mythology Thrassas (women from Thraki) killed him. The reason of murder we don't know. Others said that Maenades of Dionysus killed him because he jealoused the love of people to Orpheus.

His grave was in Livithra (today's Leptokaria next to Olympos) where he has left. The grave was remained in there until Alexandros The Great. It had "xoanon" (statue), a cypress tree.
As Pausanias (x 7) has written his bones has been moved to DION of Pieria, river Sis (today's Zilianas) has been flooded and sinked Livithra and destroied the grave of Orpheus.
Following his untimely and grotesque demise however, legend has it that ZEUS placed the lyre of Orpheus up in the sky as a constellation among the stars.
Finally there must be three different Orpheus. The first was the musicean-philosopher-theologer, another one who has continue

Mythos Orpheu's plunged deep down into Hades. He was the greatest musician and poet we ever had in the world. Mythology says that Orpheus married the Naiad nymph, Eurydike, who met a tragic death the first day of their marriage when a shepherd named Aristaeus, a lustful young man who tended the flocks of the Muses, chased her. Poor Eurydike, in her haste to get away, trod on a snake and died of the poisonous bite.
Orpheus was grief stricken and determined to get her back. He descended into the underworld where he successfully negotiated the ferryman Charon, the guardian dog Kerberos with the three heads and even the three ruling judges, Minos, Rhadamanthys and Aeakus. They were all charmed, almost hypnotised by his music and Hades himself was so overcome by his playing that he gave Orpheus permission to take Eurydike back with him to the upper world. The only condition he imposed was that on the return journey, he was not to look back, under any circumstances, until they reached the light of day.
Comforted by the playing of his lyre, Eurydike followed Orpheus through the long, dark passage. When they had almost reached the exit, Orpheus, in his excitement, turned to make sure that his wife was following him. In a moment of forgetfulness, he had ignored the condition set by Hades and poor Eurydike faded back into the underworld for ever.

Philosophic decoding of myth. His singing and lyre-playing, rivet any form of wildness, even the forces of the Netherworld. Eurydice symbolizes the hero's soul and is a part of his completed existence. The passion and the hero's absolute attachment to her, keep her prisoner in the levels of desire without an escape at upper levels where she belongs. Finally through the snake bite in the leg, (leg = hero's weakness) she manages to escape from earth (leg = nearer to the ground), and walks across to the Netherworld at Zeus's demand (Orpheus's heavenly rival, like Theseus- Ariadne- Dionysus). Orpheus, descends to Hades, inconsolable, in order to search for the part of his self that he considers to be essential for his integration inside his incarnate nature. He carries the lyre (his art), that is, the Apollonian light of the soul in the darkness of his personal unconscious (enchanting even Proserpina, giver of life and death). Nevertheless, his conscious is pointed upwards, to the world where he belongs. And although Proserpina has forbidden it, Orpheus breaks his promise and because of his adulterated desire, looks at Eurydice and points his conscious to the Kingdoms of the unconscious. His first try was a failure. The Gates are closed now. The chance comes only once. If you don't take advantage of it, it disappears (and most likely, it will not reappear inside the circle of an incarnation). Orpheus retires in a cave (7 months) and tries to reorientate his self in connection to the values of life. His passion to Eurydice will be replaced by his passion to work. He establishes the Orphical Sacraments and teaches people about the cause of the things (the cause of the arose existence lies in the sound). He goes up to the high mountain of initiation (Paggeo) in order to praise Apollo. But by turning his consciousness exclusively towards Eurydice, he ignores the expelled tensions (which he should have brought in balance inside him), tensions that tear him totally apart by identifying him with Zagreas. This supreme sacrifice gives him immortality since the hero who takes the responsibility of serving the world, ought to shatter his consciousness and to recompose it into a new universal realization of the man's world. Orpheas symbolizes the supreme balance of the soul between its Apollonian and Dionysian sight. He is a spiritual hero. He is the hard journey of the spirit and its descend into material. His mistakes though, are balanced by his sacrifice and contribution. An spiritual shine outlives in the Orphical Sacraments, in the magic of sound, in the man's need to sing and praise the divine existence within his self.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
¹ "THE ORPHICS" I.Passa.

Meandros

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