The Classics Never Die

It's been how many thousands of years, and Greek mythology still informs how much of Western culture? It doesn't matter; it's so interesting to see how these legends evolved!

Sir Orfeo is a retelling of the Orpheus legend, which is one of my favorite Greek myths of all time - emphasis on the retelling of the story, because it isn't the same as the original myth. To be fair, ancient Greek myths were so heavily regionalized and re-purposed (depending on who was in charge at the time) that it's hard to find just one to be considered canon, so maybe Sir Orfeo isn't as far off-base as I think it is. Honestly, who knows? 

The first thing that popped into my head about Sir Orfeo is that, aside from the Breton influence there, it almost seems to be a convergence of two myths rather than just Orpheus's tale. The abduction of Herodis into the "underworld" has much more in common with the legend of Persephone and Hades than it does in the so-called "standard" Orpheus myth, where [SPOILER]: Herodis (Eurydice) is killed by a snakebite, and Orfeo/Orpheus descends to rescue her. 

Thracian Girl Carrying the Head of Orpheus on His Lyre, Gustave Moreau, 1865

I thought it was interesting that the story's ending was changed into a happy one. I don't know why the ending was changed - my guess it was an attempt by the author to make the story more accessible to a newer, more modern audience? But several of the stories we've read were incredibly brutal and violent. What makes a husband losing his wife through his lack of willpower/emotional devastation and then being torn apart by drunk Dionysus groupies any different than a head getting chopped off or a poker up the ass? All of those things kind of exist in the same vein. There's no reason the author couldn't make it more like a traditional romance, unrealistic violence and all. 

This story was a change, because there wasn't really any violence or political intrigue. It wasn't quite... boring, but it also wasn't as bombastic as, say, the Knight of the Cart or the Knight's Tale. 

Not present in the story: rippling muscles.

Also not present: pretty much any action at all.

The one thing that irritated me about Sir Orfeo is that there isn't a reason given as to why Herodis is abducted. It just seems like the king of the underworld showed up in a dream and kind of told her he was gonna grab her for no good reason. Am I missing something? 

Overall, I really liked this story, if only because I enjoy the Orpheus legend and all its various forms, even Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending which follows the legend but... in a really abstract way? What even happened there? Anyway, Sir Orfeo is an interesting take on a very archetypal myth.