\cf4 \ATXht11509 Orpheus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 was one of the few mortals to descend alive into the
kingdom of the dead and to obtain permission to return to the light of the sun. He was the greatest of bards, musician and poet \i par excellence\i0 . At the sound of his lyre, given to him by\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht9 Apollo\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , wild beasts we
re tamed and trees and rocks swayed in time to the rhythm. On his return from the expedition of the\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht101 Argonauts\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 he settled in Thrace and married the nymph\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht10518 Eurydice\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who died
shortly afterward from the bite of a serpent. In despair, Orpheus descended into the\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht12101 Underworld\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 to seek his wife and, with the plaintive notes of his lyre, stopped the wheel of\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht1026 Ixion\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , assuaged the hunger of \b \cf4 \ATXht12002 Tantalus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , and balanced the boulder of \b \cf4 \ATXht11911 Sisyphus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . Even the cruel\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht1 Hades\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and solemn\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht11617 Persephone\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 were enchanted by his song and agreed to let him take Eurydice back to the world of the living, on condition that he did not look back to see his wife. Orpheus accepted this and began to climb back toward the light, keeping hi
s gaze fixed firmly in front of him, but at the very moment of crossing the threshold, doubt and the impatience of his love induced him to look back just in time to see Eurydice being drawn back into the depths of the Underworld.
