The next tale introduces Orpheus, the son of one of the
Muses and the greatest mortal musician. Orpheus’s music moves any
human, god, animal, or object that hears it. His wife Eurydice is
killed by a snake, and his music enables him to safely make the
perilous journey to the underworld and convince Pluto (Hades) to
let Eurydice return to the world of the living. The one catch to
Eurydice’s return is that she must walk behind Orpheus on the way
back to earth; if he turns to look at her, she must return to Hades
forever. Overcome with desire and doubt, Orpheus turns around too
soon. Having lost Eurydice, he wanders aimlessly and gets ripped
to shreds by Maenads.
Ceyx is a king of Thessaly, and Alcyone is his loving
wife. He sets out on a long journey, and his wife prays to the gods,
particularly Juno, to protect him. Ceyx’s ship unfortunately has
already been wrecked in a storm, but Juno, pitying Alcyone, sends
her a dream in which Ceyx tells what befell him. Alcyone wakes and
rushes to the seashore, finding his body borne in on the tide. The
gods transform her into a bird and also resurrect Ceyx as a bird,
out of respect for their love. These two fly together eternally,
and the phrase “halcyon days” comes from Alcyone, referring to the
seven days a year when she calms the seas in order to lay her eggs
on its smooth surface.
Pygmalion, a sculptor, hates women and finds comfort only
in his art. One day he makes a statue of a woman so beautiful that
he falls in love with it. Intrigued by this new kind of love, Venus
rewards him by bringing the statue to life. Pygmalion names her
Galatea. Their son, Paphos, lends his name to Venus’s favorite city.
