Metamorphoses · Chapter
Death of Orpheus explained
The Thracian women, enraged by Orpheus's coldness, tear him to pieces and throw his head into the Hebrus River.
What happens
The Thracian women, enraged by Orpheus's coldness, tear him to pieces and throw his head into the Hebrus River. The head and lyre float to Lesbos, where a serpent attempts to drink the blood but is turned to stone by Apollo. Orpheus's ghost descends to the Underworld, reuniting with Eurydice.
Themes in this chapter
Violence and Revenge
The Thracian women's frenzied attack on Orpheus, tearing him limb from limb, exemplifies brutal violence driven by offended pride.
Art and Creativity
Orpheus's music holds power over nature and beasts, yet ultimately fails to save him from human rage; his lyre continues to sound mournfully even after his death.
Mortality and Immortality
Orpheus's mortal body is destroyed, but his spirit descends to the Underworld where he is reunited with Eurydice, suggesting a form of eternal love beyond death.
Characters to notice
- Orpheus
The Thracian bard whose enchanting music soothed beasts and woods; he is torn apart by the female Bacchanals and his head and lyre float to Lesbos.
- Apollo
Phoebus protects Orpheus's head from a serpent, turning the snake to stone.
- Eurydice
Orpheus's beloved, whom he finds again among the shadows of the pious train in the Underworld.
Key passages
“The female Bacchanals, devoutly mad, In shaggy skins, like savage creatures, clad, Warbling in air, perceived his lovely lay, And from a rising ground beheld him play;”
The frenzied Bacchic women, dressed in animal skins and singing wildly, heard Orpheus's beautiful music from a hilltop.
Describes the Bacchanals' first sighting of Orpheus as they are drawn by his song.
“His mangled limbs lay scatter'd all around; His head and harp a better fortune found— In Hebrus' streams they gently roll'd along, And soothed the waters with a mournful song:”
Orpheus's body was torn apart, but his head and lyre floated down the Hebrus River, still producing a sad melody.
Highlights the contrast between the violent dismemberment and the serene journey of the head and lyre.
“His ghost flies downward to the Stygian shore, And knows the places it had seen before: Among the shadows of the pious train He finds Eurydice, and loves again;”
Orpheus's spirit descends to the Underworld, recognizes the familiar landscape, and reunites with Eurydice among the blessed dead.
Describes Orpheus's final reunion with Eurydice in the afterlife.