Orpheus Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ) is a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. Some ancient Greek sources note Orpheus' Thracian origins. According to Tzeztes, his home was the Odrysian city of Bisaltia. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music, his attempt to retrieve his wife, Eurydice, from the underworld, and his death at the hands of those who could not hear his divine music. As an archetype of the inspired singer, Orpheus is one of the most
Orpheus "to change allegiance, status, ownership". Cognates could include Greek ὄρφνη ("órphnē") "darkness", and surely Greek ὀρφανός ("orphanós") "fatherless, orphan", from which comes English "orphan" by way of Latin. Fulgentius, a mythographer of the late 5th to early 6th century AD, gave the unlikely etymology meaning "best voice," "Oraia-phonos". The earliest literary reference to Orpheus is a two-word fragment of the sixth-century BC lyric poet Ibycus: "onomaklyton Orphēn" ("Orpheus famous-of-name"). He is not mentioned in Homer or Hesiod. Most ancient sources accept his historical existence; Aristotle is an exception. Pindar calls Orpheus "the father of songs" and identifies him as a