ORPHEUS. In the sixth century BCE, a religious movement that modern historians call Orphism appeared in Greece around the figure of Orpheus, the Thracian enchanter. The features of this movement, and even its existence, have been subjects of debate...

ancient Greek legendary hero endowed with superhuman musical skills. He became the patron of a religious movement based on sacred writings said to be his own. Traditionally, Orpheus was the son of a Muse (probably Calliope, the patron of epic poetry)...

one of the oldest, most illustrious, and for centuries most powerful of the Roman princely families. Their origins, when stripped of legend, can be traced back to a certain Ursus de Paro, recorded at Rome in 998. They first became important in the late...

Greek legendary hero who sang and played the lyre so beautifully that animals, trees, and rocks danced around him. When his wife, Eurydice, was killed by a snake, he went to the underworld in search of her, and his music and grief so moved Hades that...

Orpheus (Greek: ΟρφεÏς; pronounced in English as ['É"(ɹ).fi.És] (ohr'-fee-uhs) or ['É"(ɹ).fjuËs] (ohr'-fews)) is a figure from Greek mythology, king of the Thracian tribe Cicones, called by Pindar "the father of songs". His name does not occur...