Orpheus, possibly the founder of a religious movement, Orphism, originating in the archaic Greece. In classical times he came to be known as a singer. The reason for this appears to be that Orphic doctrines were originally set down in poems, intended to be sung to an audience.
The classical writers Aeschylus and Euripides both say that his singing charmed trees, wild beasts and even trees. At this stage in Greek writing he is also associated with the God Apollo, and even said to be his son.
The earliest representations, on vases and wall paintings, show him singing, often to his own accompaniment on the lyre.
The best-known myth associated with Orpheus is the story of his descent into the Underworld, in search of Eurydice, his wife. Another tells that when he was killed and dismembered his severed head floated singing to the island of Lesbos.
The story of Orpheus and Eurydice, with its theme of the singer imposing order on the natural world by his art, has inspired many operas. The earliest was Peri's Euridice (1600), in which the composer sang the part of Orpheus at the first performance.
