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The Contest: Write a story of 5,000 words or less about the myth below.

Deadline: June 30 2019 by midnight

Entry fee: $17.95 (via PayPal only)

Prize: Starting at $300

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The Myth

Orpheus was the son of the King of Thrace and Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry.

When Orpheus was an adolescent, Apollo took an interest in him. The god personally taught Orpheus the art of music—specifically the lyre.

(Side note: Apollo may have had an interest in the boy because he also had an interest in the boy’s mother. It’s said that Calliope was one of Apollo’s lovers.)

Orpheus took to being a musician like a fish takes to water. He was seriously good at it. It was said that his music could calm wild beasts, and charm forest critters better than any Disney princess on her most princessiest day. Even the trees and rocks would dance to Orpheus’s music.

Orpheus fell in love with Eurydice, an oak nymph and the daughter of Apollo.

(Side note again: Anybody else noticing that Apollo has a lot of ties to this guy’s family?)

Orpheus and Eurydice wed and were very happy.

Until the minor god/male nymph Aristaeus—who may have been her half brother, since Apollo is credited as his father—tried to rape her.

Eurydice fled. But in her haste she stepped on a serpent, which bit her ankle and killed her.

Sadness ensued.

Orpheus found her body and sang and wept so sadly that all of the forest critters and trees were like, “Dude . . . you are making us all depressed. How about you just go to the Underworld and get Eurydice back?”

Orpheus was like, “Is that possible?”

All of nature was like, “This is mythology. People are always making ventures to the Underworld to bring someone back. Why not you?”

So Orpheus figured he was cool enough to be taught the lyre by Apollo. Maybe he’d be cool enough to get into the Underworld, too. He decided to do it.

He played his music the whole way. It charmed Cerberus, calmed the Erinyes, enchanted Persephone, and even softened the supposedly hard heart of Hades himself. Hades agreed to let Eurydice come back to the land of living with her husband.

But Hades had a condition, because of course he did. Eurydice could follow Orpheus out of the Underworld . . . as long as Orpheus did not turn around to look at her. He had to have faith that she was following him. If he turned around to look, she would be swept back into the Underworld.

He was doing good at first. Flush with his own probably unexpected success, and being reunited with his love. He led her out of the Underworld step by step.

But she was pretty quiet back there. She wasn’t holding up her end of the conversation and her footsteps weren’t rustling in the grass. Orpheus began to wonder . . . had Hades tricked him?

Was he an idiot?

He tried not to look, he really did. But he just had to reassure himself . . . and he looked over his shoulder.

Eurydice was indeed there. Whew, what a relief!

Until Hades’s condition took effect, and Eurydice was pulled back into the Underworld—this time for good.

Orpheus lost her twice.

Now his music was doubly depressing.

🙁

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As with most myths, there are a lot of different versions of the Orpheus and Eurydice tragedy.

Most agree that Orpheus went to the Underworld to get Eurydice back, and that she followed him—but he lost her again when he looked over his shoulder.

But some stories say that he only had to reach the gates of the Underworld, while others say he had to get all the way to his own house. Some say that he accidentally looked over his shoulder at her, while others say he became full of doubt and had to reassure himself she was there.

Most people see Orpheus’s actions as those of a lover, and admire him for it.

But even back in ancient Greece, there were haters. “Why didn’t he just kill himself to join his wife in the Underworld? Then he wouldn’t have lost her twice. After all, that’s what Alcestis did for her man, and she was allowed to return to the living. Orpheus is a dumbass.”

So. There’s that interpretation if you want to go for it.

As for Orpheus himself, he is a major character in a lot of different mythic traditions, some of which contradict each other (Maicar has a lot of them):

— He joined Jason and the Argonauts, and it was only thanks to his music that the boys didn’t succumb to the Sirens

— He traveled to Egypt, where he became a celebrity because those mystical-knowledge-loving freaks were completely obsessed with journeys to the Underworld

— He killed himself the second time he lost Eurydice, and was finally reunited with her in death

— He was killed by Thracian women, because he’d persuaded their husbands to follow him around like some kind of Pied Piper. So the women got together, got drunk, and decided to kill him. (Note the role of wine, women, and drunkenness in his death, there are a lot of connections with Dionysus in Orpheus’s story.)

— He was torn apart by Maenads because:

a) He was a devotee of Dionysus and that’s what Maenads did to their men

b) He was a devotee of Apollo who had rejected Dionysus, and had to be punished for it

— After the Maenads ripped him apart, they flung his body into the sea

— Orpheus was killed because he was gay before he loved Eurydice (he was “a lover of youths”), and this was an insult to women—who killed him (again, women play a role in his murder)

— Orpheus was killed by a thunderbolt from Zeus, because he had learned secret mysteries and now he was revealing them to mankind

— These mysteries includes cures to diseases, purification from sin, and “a means of averting divine wrath.” (Maicar)

— Orpheus started a mystery cult known as Orphism. The beliefs of the cult are recorded in the Orphic Hymns.

— His head landed on Lesbos, where the citizens buried it in the sand. And that’s why Lesbians are such great musicians. (I always wondered about that…)

— He wasn’t dead but had a shrine on Lesbos where he dispensed prophecies, and this eventually pissed off Apollo who was like, “Cease to meddle in my affairs, for I have already put up with your divinations for long enough.” (Ha, Apollo sounds so annoyed here!)

Wow, this guy had more conspiracy theories floating around about him than Elvis.

As I’ve mentioned, there are lot of ties to both Apollo and Dionysus in Orpheus’s myth. I may have to dig a little deeper into that, it sounds fascinating.

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I’ll judge entries based on…

— Word count. Please stick to 5,000 words or less. It can be much less, if you want.

— Writing prowess. You don’t have to rival Orpheus for artistic skill, but do give it your best shot. An understanding of how to structure a story, how to use dialogue, character arcs, spelling, and grammar all work in your favor.

— An understanding of the myth itself.

— Please write your entry in English and in prose.

— The deadline is June 30 3019 by midnight.

— The entry fee is $17.95

— The prize starts at $300, and will increase a certain amount for every entry that comes in.

How to submit: Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the Upload Your Story button.

 

Questions about contests that charge entry fees? Check BookBaby and Victoria Strauss.

Other questions? See if your answers are in the Writer’s FAQ.

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Your story can be about any aspect of the myth.

You can focus on Orpheus or Eurydice or another figure, as long as the two lovers feature in some way.

Your story can be set in Ancient Greece, a modern office building, or on a spaceship. You can make it a Western or a steampunk or do the Jane Austen version. Get creative!

Good luck Beasties!

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