Katabasis in book 10 is the last major inclusion of the theme by Ovid in the "Metamorphoses". Orpheus is distraught by the death of his wife, Eurydice. He enters the underworld through the Spartan Gates and visits Dis and Proserpina to beg for the return of his bride. Overcome by the heartfelt song of Orpheus, Proserpina calls Eurydice to leave with her husband–on the condition that he does not look back until he reaches the exit. When he looks back, his wife disappears, and he is pained by grief for her death a second time. Mesopotamian mythology Ancient Egyptian mythology Greek
The Maiden with the Rose on her Forehead chest, sewing. Jealous, they burned her all over with a hot iron and told the prince that she was a mulatta they had bought to run errands. When the prince went to the fair, he asked her what she wanted; she asked for a talisman. When he brought it, he was curious and hid to learn what she would do; she poured out her story to the talisman, and the prince burned his wife and mother-in-law as they had burned his niece and turned them out of his home. The Maiden with the Rose on her Forehead The Maiden with