Greek underworld Erinyes, and the name is sometimes thought to be an epithet of Hecate. The terms in which Melinoë is described are typical of moon goddesses in Greek poetry. Nyx is the goddess of the Night. A deep abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans, Tartarus was also considered to be a primordial deity. Achlys is the personification of misery and sadness, sometimes represented as a daughter of Nyx, sometimes as an ancient being even older than Chaos himself. Styx is the goddess of the river with the same
Orpheus in the Underworld earlier pieces. This also marked the first time that Offenbach used Greek mythology as a background for one of his pieces. The operetta is an irreverent parody and scathing satire on Gluck and his "Orfeo ed Euridice" and culminates in the risqué "Galop infernal" ("Infernal Galop") that shocked some in the audience at the premiere. Other targets of satire, as would become typical in Offenbach's burlesques, are the stilted performances of classical drama at the Comédie-Française and the scandals in society and politics of the Second French Empire. The "Infernal Galop" from Act 2, Scene 2, is famous outside classical