Orpheus: Possessive Passion

The tale of Orpheus has many variants but the all tend to have several factors in common,

with the strongest being an emphasis on the fleeting nature of happiness. The distinction between

happiness and love is also a key component of the tale, showing that love is not always a source

of happiness and can be destructive. This is highlighted by the continued presence of Orpheus’

love through both joyful and morose parts of the story as well as the profound sadness that love

causes him. It also expresses the idea that just because we want something bad enough, and both

the thing we want and we the seeker and good or righteous or justified, does not mean that it will

be actualized.

In some versions of the story, Orpheus is depicted as being so in love and excited to

embrace Eurydice that he turns around prematurely causing her second loss, which cautions

against the reckless love which overpowers one’s logic. A more powerful and practical lesson,

however, comes from the versions in which Orpheus is depicted as not trusting that Eurydice is

following him, and overcome with paranoia turns to verify she is there. This teaches the reader

about the importance of trust within a relationship. Orpheus is so paranoid about losing Eurydice

again that he betrays the commandment of Hades this is also a betrayal of Eurydice and her

vanishing is symbolic of the destruction and dissolution of love in any relationship when the

fundamental trust is lost or broken.

The life and death of Orpheus after his journey to the underworld, are complex and full of

many potential meanings, such as the importance of Orpheus leaving the underworld alive which

could be seen as a cowardly unwillingness to die for Eurydice which leads to his profound

unhappiness for the remainder of his life. Some symbols, however, are fairly consistent

throughout. The continued singing of the sad song from the underworld shows how Orpheus
continued to grieve for the loss Eurydice for the entirety of his life, even as he faced his own

death. The destruction of his body by the Maenads who, in some depictions, do so because of

their jealous love, mirrors the idea of destructive nature of possessive passion rather than genuine

love.

If viewed as entirely symbolic in nature, the sad song sung by his head could be seen as a

deep ever-present depression and the female Maenads destroying his body could depict how the

loss of Eurydice led Orpheus to not take care of his body, harm or mutilate himself, and

ultimately cause his own death, either through suicide or self-neglect. The possibility of the

Maenads being metaphorical manifestations of how Orpheus’ death was caused by a woman

could be seen as an additional reinforcement of the idea that his reckless overly passionate

version of love is both dangerous and destructive.

The inclusion of Orpheus and Eurydice being depicted as happy and contented in the

underworld after his death would indicate that Orpheus has embraced the idea of love without

destructive passion, as being shades they are unable to actually touch or embrace or express

physical passion, yet they are shown to have rebuilt their relationship and finding happiness and

continued love through each other.

 The Aeneid: Early Fanfiction

Aeneas is portrayed as the undeniable übermensch amongst lesser heroes, more pious and

humbler than Achilles, yet his equal in battle, as passionate as Paris, with none of his cowardice,

and more selfless and successful than Odysseus when facing the trials of their respective and

entirely too similar odysseys. Aeneas is shown as quintessentially heroic from the onset, with

multiple references to his qualities of bravery, mercy, generosity, fidelity, piety, integrity, and his

reverence for familial honor, Aeneas is depicted as being beyond all other heroes of his age,

despite the stark lack of Greek documents supporting such claims, almost as if Virgil was paid

by someone with a vested interest in making Aeneas appear near infallible.

Aeneas is obviously meant to be a hero, but the lack of independence pulls that into

question. Aeneas never actually does anything on his own, every action from love to combat is

preordained and guided directly by the gods. This raises the philosophical question; can someone

accidently be heroic, or simply can someone accidently do good? Aeneas is simply a pawn

directed by countless proficiencies and divine edicts, he has no real autonomy and thus no real

motive much less a good or heroic motive, if one where to assign credit for the positive results of

Aeneas journey it would have to go to Venus and Jupiter.

Similarly, Aeneas never really has a resurrection. This may have been because of the

death of Virgil and the abrupt end of the story, but Aeneas overcomes his final obstacle easily

and never completes the resurrection stage of his hero’s journey. Prior to this confrontation

Aeneas is already shown as having fallen. By the latter part of the story, Aeneas has become a

spitting image of his foe, and destroyer of his home, Achilles, imitating his character arc and

reactions with blatant and unashamed plagiarism. Where the earlier chapters of the Aeneid had
Aeneas being depicted as a premium version of Odysseus, the inclusion of this Iliad arc has

Aeneas becoming a strange amalgam of both Achilles and Paris.

Aeneas stole the betrothed woman which started the war and also brought the heroic rage

to the enemy over the loss of Pallas, the Patroclus look-a-like of literature. Other key similarities

between the two are evident in the divinely crafted shield, the intervention of a goddess to have

the dual interrupted via throwing of a spear, and the burning of his enemy’s city just like the

Burning of Troy. The final and most damning of Aeneas’ actions are in his battle with Turnus.

Instead of being reborn or cleansed through his battle, Aeneas is fully corrupted. Just as Achilles

killed Hector, Aeneas allows rage and vengeance to overcome his vows of honor and mercy

when he kills his helpless enemy. In this action Aeneas has come full circle having gone from

hero to villain, becoming that which he once detested.

I find Dido to be similar to Medea in that she is a victim of supposedly heroic men, an

innocent casualty of what others claim to be duty or purpose. I also found myself getting

somewhat angered at Virgil’s representation of her in the story. Prior to the introduction of

Aeneas, she is a powerful, independent, and self-made woman, with her own successes and

strong convictions, but her importance is marginalized by her quick abandonment of those

convictions, because of the requirement that all notable heroes have irresistible sexual charms

which can break any woman’s resolve.

Including this Medea-like destructive obsession trivializes what would otherwise be a

powerful feminist icon for the time. Her suicide and curse are obvious rewrites of history by

Virgil to justify and shift blame for the Punic wars. In this way, Virgil creates fake news and

propaganda to help justify the brutal wars caused by Rome’s aggressive expansion into

Carthaginian lands, despite the history of Carthage’s help in the founding and growth of Rome.
 Throughout the Aeneid, nature is depicted more as a source of omen and prophecy rather

than an adversary or obstacle. The winds and waves are shown as depictions of the gods’ will

rather than a challenge for the heroes. Similarly, serpents, birds, and other animals are seen not

as natural things in the world but as godly messages to be deciphered. This shift from the divine

nature of nature to a means of heavenly communication corresponds to the increased

understanding of the natural world between the writing of the Iliad and Odyssey and the writing

of the Aeneid. Instead of nature being unfathomable or devoid of a purposeful meaning, it was

simply something to be solved with logic and reason.

The Aeneid by Virgil comes off as blatant plagiarism of well known and respected Greek

literature as well as a tool of propaganda by Virgil’s patron Augustus. This plagiarism and direct

tie-in to Homer’s works added a form of legitimacy to the work, making it appear more

trustworthy as a source of historical account. Great strides were taken to draw connections

between Aeneas and Augustus to help legitimize his rise to emperor as well as his reform of

Roman politics and morals. The Aeneid has many similarities to Pravda and Völkischer

Beobachter, both of which used propaganda to expand the cults of personality of a new leader

and justify any unpopular actions of said leader. It also shares the implied need or justification

for the emperor’s or dictator’s unbridled power, in the case of the Aeneid, it does so by

repeatedly saying that Augustus and his ancestors were chosen by the gods to found and lead

Rome, so any who oppose his rule directly oppose the will of the gods. A sentiment which would

be echoed by many world leaders to this day.