Greek Legend. a poet and musician, a son of Calliope, who followed his dead wife, Eurydice, to the underworld. By charming Hades, he obtained permission to lead her away, provided he did not look back at her until they returned to earth. But at the last moment he looked, and she was lost to him forever.
(italics) a ballet (1947) with music by Stravinsky and choreography by Balanchine.
OTHER WORDS FROM Orpheus
Or·phe·an[awr-fee-uhn, awr-fee-uhn], /ɔrˈfi ən, ˈɔr fi ən/, adjective
In fact, he's even a kind of modern-day Orpheus, descending into the sewer to bet his life and find redemption.
New York’s Greatest Show Or How They Did Not Screw Up ‘Guys and Dolls’|Ross Wetzsteon|April 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Orpheus also contains within himself two sides of the poetic character.
Ann Wroe’s ‘Orpheus’: Why the Mythological Muse Haunts Us|Ann Wroe|May 31, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Traditionally, Orpheus was first a priest of Dionysus and then a priest of Apollo; he linked the cults within himself.
Ann Wroe’s ‘Orpheus’: Why the Mythological Muse Haunts Us|Ann Wroe|May 31, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But surely, you may say after all this, Orpheus is just a myth?
Ann Wroe’s ‘Orpheus’: Why the Mythological Muse Haunts Us|Ann Wroe|May 31, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The life of Orpheus that artists know and love seems to fall into three distinct parts.
Ann Wroe’s ‘Orpheus’: Why the Mythological Muse Haunts Us|Ann Wroe|May 31, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Greece, too, had her representatives, to remind the spectators that there had been an Orpheus.
A Love Story|A Bushman
Orpheus calls her the harbinger of Titan, for she is the personification of that light which precedes the appearance of the sun.
Roman Antiquities, and Ancient Mythology|Charles K. Dillaway
Orpheus was so wretched that he set forth to try to bring her back from Tartarus.
Aunt Charlotte's Stories of Greek History|Charlotte M. Yonge
The very rocks answered the voice of Orpheus, and everything was at peace.
Classic Myths|Mary Catherine Judd
I don't think the story of Orpheus charming the brutes was a fable; do you, sir?
What Will He Do With It, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
British Dictionary definitions for Orpheus
Orpheus
/ (ˈɔːfɪəs, -fjuːs) /
noun
Greek mytha poet and lyre-player credited with the authorship of the poems forming the basis of Orphism. He married Eurydice and sought her in Hades after her death. He failed to win her back and was killed by a band of bacchantes