The tale of Orpheus and Eurydice centres around the Underworld as the couple are split apart by death, following Orpheus’ attempt to reunite with Eurydice.
Orpheus was the son of Apollo and was gifted a lyre by his father. It was well known that many were moved by the beauty of his music: humans and animals alike. As he was playing the lyre beneath a tree, he looked up and saw a nymph, Eurydice, and they both quickly fell in love and were married. Soon after, Eurydice was fatally killed by a snakebite. Orpheus was destroyed by her death. When he played his lyre, his music, filled with grief and sadness, caused the gods to feel sympathy for him.
He decided to attempt to bring Eurydice back from the Underworld. Through the journey, Orpheus faced the initial challenge of entering the Underworld, as he had to cross the river Styx. It separated the human realm from the Underworld and only the ferryman, Charon, could transport the souls of the dead across. Charon was suspicious of Orpheus as he believed that he was not dead. Orpheus, with his musical talents, played his lyre, charming Charon into submission. After crossing the river, Orpheus was faced with Cerberus, the ferocious three-headed dog guarding the gate of the Underworld. The creature was similarly entranced with Orpheus’s musical talent and allowed him to pass through the gate of the Underworld. It was evident to Hades that Orpheus was truly enamoured with Eurydice as he journeyed to the Underworld to be with her. Therefore, he allowed them to be reunited. However, the only condition was that Orpheus could not look back at Eurydice until they had left the Underworld and entered into the light of the world. Overjoyed with this news, Orpheus and Eurydice began the journey back to the human realm.
However, as they continued, Orpheus grew worried as he could not hear her footsteps. Doubt set in that she had never been there. Just as they were about to exit, Orpheus turned around and lost Eurydice forever. In other versions of the story, Orpheus exits the Underworld, and, in his joy, he turns around only to see that Eurydice was still shrouded in the shadows a few steps behind. He was no longer able to return to the Underworld, as a living person could only enter once.
The story illustrates the Underworld as we watch Orpheus venture through it. The myth also depicts a sympathetic side to Hades, the God of the Underworld, as though he is often seen as cruel, he understood the pain of Orpheus and gives him a chance at reuniting with his wife. However, the tale also shows the finality of death and the unlikelihood of escaping death’s grasp. 
Mathura
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