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Greek and Roman Mythology
One of the first and greatest mortal musician was
Orpheus, the son of a
Muse and the Prince of Thracia. His music could only be matched by that of the gods.
Well one day Orpheus married Eurydice. This marrage would be short-lived. While Eurydice was out in the fields with her maidens, she was bitten by a viper and died. Orpheus wa overwhelmed with grief, but managed to pull himself back together. He had a plan. He would travel into the Underworld and charm Pluto and Proserpina to let him haev his wife back. So off he set. He decended into the Realm of the Dead, playing his lyre as he went. All the dead stopped and listened. The monster Cerberus relaxed his guard over the gates to Hades, Tantalus forgot his thrist, and even the Furies cried tears of blood. He played his lyre before Pluto and Proserpina and they too cried and eventually gave into to Orpheus's plea. He could have his precious Eurydice back, on one condition: he could not look at her until they were back in the mortal realm. Easy enough, but Orpheus still manages to botch things up. As the couple were walking up the steps leading out of the Underworld, Orpheus got the feeling Pluto had cheated him. He turned to see if his bride was there, and sure enough she was, but alas, she had not yet exited Hades. Eurydice whispered "Goodbye." and was gone forever. Orpheus ran back to get her but the gates of the Underworld had slammed shut. He wandered the Earth miserable until he was brutally murdered by a band of Maenads. His head was thrown clear to the isle of the Muses, who found the head and buried it. His limbs were buried at the foot of Mount Olympus, where the nightingales are said to sing quite beautifully.