Eurydice
Profile
Eurydice is one lucky lady—she's the wife of Orpheus, the first ever rock star. Tragically, though, the lovely nymph (dryad) died not long after the happy couple got hitched, when she was bit on the ankle by a snake. Orpheus totally freaked out when his wife died: he played music so sad and beautiful that the gods encouraged him to go to the Underworld and bring his wife back. And that he did—or tried, at least. He charmed Hades and Persephone with his music, and Hades agreed that the bard could take his wife back to the land of the living as long he walked out of the Underworld without looking back. The lovebirds almost made it out, but just as they were about to step into the sunlight, Orpheus looked back, and Eurydice vanished forever into the dark Underworld.
Basic Information
Name Eurydice
Nickname Agricope, Tree Hugger
Sex Female
Current city The Underworld
Work & Education
Occupation Tree nymph
General Duties: Caring for my birth tree (when I was alive at least)Education Artemis' School of Forestry
Beliefs
Political views Orpheus for King
Family & Friends (& Enemies)
Parents A tree (Really, I'm a dryad. We're born from the trees.)
Children None. That snake took me way too early.
Friends Orpheus (yes, he's my husband, but also my best friend)
Nymphs
The treesEnemies Snakes
Hades
Aristaeus
Lumberjacks
Again... snakesRelationships
Relationship status Married to Orpheus
Favorites
Quotations "[...] death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while."
– The Princess Bride
"The planting of trees is the least self centered of all that we can do. It is a purer act of faith than the procreation of children."
– Thornton Wilder
"I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints – I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! – and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death."
– Elizabeth Barrett Browning
"Love is a hidden fire, A pleasant sore, A delicious poison, A delectable pain, An agreeable torment, A sweet and throbbing wound, A gentle death."
– Fernando de Pujas
"I will always love you."
– Dolly PartonBooks "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. (Sonnet 43)" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams
The Life and Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
"I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –" by Emily Dickinson
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
"Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs: An Essential Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of the WorldMusic I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston
Don't Look Back by She and Him
Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine
Wedding Song by Anais Mitchell (from Hadestown)
Someone Like You by Adele
Romance by Wild Flag
Born to Die by Lana Del Rey
Our Hearts by Firehorse
Fish by Wye Oak
I Will Always Love You by Dolly PartonMovies The Princess Bride
Orpheus Descending
Amélie
Titanic
Almost Famous
Prelude to a Kiss
Romeo + Juliet
Black OrpheusActivities & Interests
Likes Arbor Day
Garden tours
Dance clubs
Mongooses (because they kill snakes)
Orpheus' musicInterests Horticulture
Forestry
Snake ExterminationGroups Beauty Queens
Flower Pickers
Tree Enthusiasts
Music Lovers
Orpheus Fan Club
Dead Before Our TimeSpotter's Guide
Eurydice does all her frolicking down in the Underworld these days. She used to be mega-depressed about that: see, her husband, Orpheus—the famous musician—went down there to rescue her, but he totally bungled it. But everything's cool now. Orpheus got ripped apart by some Maenads and sent to the Underworld himself, and ever since, Eurydice has been in a much better mood. The two lovebirds are together 24/7, so all you have to do is listen for the most beautiful music you've ever heard and follow the sound. Eurydice will be the pretty young tree nymph giving Orpheus major googly eyes as he sings and plays his lyre.
Sex: Female
Age: Forever young (that's the upside of the premature death)
Build: Petite
Complexion: Pale
Hair Color: Blonde
Facial Hair: None
Scars/marks/tattoos: It ain't pretty where that snake bit her
Jewelry and accessories: Flowers
Clothing: Pretty robes
Armor: None
Type of Weapon: Orpheus' musicTypical Companions:
Orpheus
Nymphs
The treesKnown Hangouts:
The Woods
Flowery Meadows
The Underworld
Orpheus' ConcertsSightings
Jan 1, 1970 - Dec 20, 2019
The Library by Apollodorus
One of the earliest accounts of the myth of "Orpheus and Eurydice" is just a click away. Thank you, Internet.
Dec 20, 2019
Georgics by Virgil
The big cheese of epic Roman poets has his own version of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. It's pretty…poetic.
Dec 20, 2019
The Metamorphoses by Ovid
And here's a version of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth by, you know, that other Roman poet.
Dec 20, 2019
L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi
In L'Orfeo, Eurydice is around for all your baroque opera needs.
Dec 20, 1762
Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald von Gluck
Have you ever wondered what the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice would be like if it were retold in the form of a German opera? Well, it's your lucky day.
Dec 20, 2019
Eurydice by Jean Anouilh
Everyone wants to get in on the action: in Eurydice, a famous French playwright tells his version of the myth of the lovely nymph and her husband.
Dec 20, 2019
Orphée
Writer/director Jean Cocteau artsy fartsies it up in this film version — Orpheus is both the title and the star.
Dec 20, 2019
Black Orpheus
Want to see the dark side of Orpheus? Well here's a steamy version of his story, set in South America.
Dec 20, 1982
The Storyteller: Greek Myths
Jim Henson, master of Muppets, puts his unique spin on Orpheus' myth. It's always better when Muppets are (kind of) involved.
Dec 20, 2019
Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
Eurydice is the namesake for this this beautiful and imaginative spin on the tale by hotshot playwright Sarah Ruhl.
Dec 20, 2019
Hadestown by Anais Mitchell
This concept album is a folk opera retelling of the story of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth... and it's awesome.
Dec 20, 2019
Orpheus and Eurydice: A Myth Underground by Mollie Davies, music by James Johnston and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
This dramatic reinterpretation of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth was created for the National Youth Theater of Britain. Fancy shmancy.