The Hero's Journey Essay

The Hero Orpheus and His Journey

Since the beginning of the Common Era, the story of Orpheus and his love Eurydice continues to echo the importance and power of love and death. The Roman poet Ovid writes of Orpheus and Eurydice in Metamorphoses, one of the earliest examples of the tale in literature. In the last century, however, Thomas Bullfinch recounts the tale in a far more accessible way. In Bullfinch's version, the son of a Muse, Orpheus, travels to the underworld to get his wife, who dies, back. Throughout his travels to the underworld, Orpheus experiences what Joseph Campbell calls "The Hero's Journey." In Campbell's book The Man With a Thousand Faces, he proposes a theory of the hero archetype and various steps this hero must go through

before his journey ends. Looking at the tale of Orpheus' tale through the lens of Campbell's theory creates an interesting connection between ancient and modern storytelling.
The Hero's Journey usually follows twelves steps before it is completed: hero in ordinary world; call to adventure; refusal; meeting the mentor; crossing the threshold; trials; approaching the innermost cave; the abyss; the reward; the road back; the resurrection; and reaching the status quo with his newfound treasure.

Orpheus' completion of most steps immortalizes him in Greek mythology. To begin, Orpheus lives his normal life with his love Eurydice, but on their wedding day she is bitten by a snake and dies. Orpheus, distraught by losing his only love, hears his metaphorical call to adventure, but he lacks hesitation to embark on such a dangerous venture. Orpheus' grief begets his journey to the underworld. Though Bullfinch's retelling does not mention Orpheus' meeting with his father Apollo, some retellings of the story have Orpheus meet him, and by this action, he meets his mentor. During his meeting with Apollo, he encourages Orpheus to make his expedition. In Bullfinch's version, Orpheus sneaks into the underworld, crossing the threshold, and makes his way to Hades and his wife Persephone, continuing to the both metaphorical and literal innermost cave. At the throne of Hades and Persephone, Orpheus plays his Lyre in his abyss, and the music captivates Hades to the point where he allows Orpheus to leave with his wife Eurydice but only if on his way back to the living world he never looks back at her. On Orpheus' road back, his own curiosity and worry overcome him, and

he looks back at Eurydice before they both exit the underworld, losing her forever. Orpheus, still distraught over losing Eurydice, attempts to reenter the underworld to be with her, but to no avail. Orpheus spends seven days lurking about the entrance to the underworld, hoping for some way to get his love Eurydice back, and finally, he begins to leave. As Orpheus leaves the underworld behind, he crosses paths with the god Baccus' mad followers, the Maenad, and they tear him limb from limb. The Muses, upset with one of their own dying, buried him at Libethra, where a nightingale sings over his grave. Orpheus' soul returns to the underworld, resembling a resurrection of sorts, and attempts to find Eurydice. The two metaphorically return to their normalcy and spend their eternity together, completing Orpheus' journey.
Analyzing the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice under the lens of the hero's journey allows one to make connections throughout history, and even various forms of media one could currently be consuming. Orpheus and his journey to the underworld cover only a minute part of all myths that follows Campbell's journey, but his idea of a monomyth remains paramount through not just myths, but through television, movies, books, even some religious figures can be analogized to follow some parts of his proposed journey.