Essay Example on the Originality of the Classical Greek Myth

Myth is a traditional false narrative about the origin of people or phenomena. The classical Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl has been talked on by so many authors and the author claim that Orpheus fell in love with a beautiful woman called Eurydice. They married each other and lived together for long, then after sometimes Eurydice tried to escape a shepherd who was attracted by the beauty of a married Eurydice. She ran along the riverbank where she stepped on a snake and got bitten then died. After her death, Orpheus went underworld hoping he would come back with his wife alive and continue with life (Kummerling-Meibauer 291). The myth in the story is the belief that there is life after death and going to the underworld to retrieve life. This is an ancient belief that cannot be used in the contemporary world. The paper aims at explaining the originality of this myth and its relation to the modern days.

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Traditional belief about the existence of ghosts, monsters, the spirit of the soul and life after death in the underworld is a myth that has been looked at in a broader perspective in the contemporary world. Under religious practice, it is believed that after death people ascend to the father in heaven and live a wonderful life. The religious theory postulates that sinners would go to hell while the righteous would see the kingdom of God and live forever. It is worth noting that, the religion only believes life in heaven and it is the spirit of the soul that would ascend and not the ascending without death. In a contrary opinion, some cultural and traditional theories believe there is life after death in the underworld. This theory suggests that when people die there is another universe where life would continue. Different cultures believe in the existence of ghosts and monsters. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice show an ancient myth about the existence of life after death in the underworld (Kummerling-Meibauer 291). When Eurydice died and descended to the underworld where he lived with the ghosts and the monsters, Orpheus followed her to the Hades where he sang his lyre melodiously until he was allowed to meet his wife again.

In a contemporary world and a civilized society, people neither believe in the existence of the dead living in the underworld nor do people believe in the existence of the ghost and the monster. Speaking directly to the ghost is an ancient practice that nobody would believe today. The dead do not talk anymore because it is a non-living thing and the living cannot go underworld to bring back the dead to live again as portrayed in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. , and Virgil has used the story of Orpheus and Eurydice in his poem, while Ovid's Metamorphoses narrates about their life and death. It is important to note that, the myth in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice originates from ancient beliefs (Solodow 112). Again the myth has only been used by authors who focus on the tales in the olden days.

In conclusion, the story of Orpheus and Eurydice capture a myth about life in the underworld and how a living human can descend to the underworld to bring back the dead to life. The use of the story by authors in the old days is an indicator of the originality of the myth. The modern society would not believe in the fallacy of life in the underworld. These stories were only told in a long time ago and cannot be told in a more civilized society today because none would believe.

Works Cited

Kummerling-Meibauer, Bettina. "Orpheus and Eurydice: Reception of a Classical Myth in International Children's Literature." Our Mythical Childhood... The Classics and Literature for Children and Young Adults. BRILL, 2016, pp. 291-306.

Solodow, Joseph B. The world of Ovid's Metamorphoses. UNC Press Books, 2014. pp. 112-135.