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Orpheus and Euridice
Euridice had died, bitten by a poisonous snake, on her wedding day. And Orpheus set out to bring her back from the underworld; a feat that few mortals ever achieved.
Orpheus' music was so divine that the whole of the Underworld stoped and listened to him sing. His words were enough to melt the heart of the icy queen of the Underworld: Persephone. She pleaded with her husband Hades to let Orpheus bring Euridice back to the land of the living.
Hades could not deny his queen her request, and agreed to let Orpheus bring Euridice back on one condition: that Orpheus should not look upon her until they were both back in the land of the living.
Doubt crept into his mind as he made his ascent. Plauged by thoughts that Hades had decieved him, Orpheus turned back to see Euridice behind him. But without delay, the swift Hermes was there to lead her back to the underworld. His heart broken, Orpheus lived in the forest for a while making the wildlife cry with his sad music.
One day a band of wild maenads, the followers of Dionysis (the God of wine), came upon Orpheus. When he would not sing joyous songs for them, they went into a frensy that was characteristic of maenads, and tore Orpheus to pieces. They threw his body into a river and it carried him out to sea and to the island of Lesbos. His mother Calliope, and the rest of the nine muses all morned for him and gave him a proper burial. And at last he and Euridice were together again.
Orpheus was an atypical hero in greek mythology. Heracles, the classic hero, was clever at times, but often relied on brute strength alone. But Orpheus' deeds were less physical in nature. He was a passenger onboard the Argo, which sailed to claim the golden fleece. While onboard, Orpheus' music inspired the crew. And by singing loudly enough to drown out the song of the Sirens, he saved them from certain death.
In the end, Orpheus could not get the better of the clever god Hades and he had to join Euridice in the underworld. But there was one mortal who was clever enough to defy Hades for quite some time: Sysyphus.
