There was once a man named Orpheus, who lived in the land of Thrace. It was said that his father was Apollo, and his mother the muse Calliope; so it is not strange that he was both poet and musician. So enchanting was the music of his lyre that wild animals came forth from their haunts to hear him. Even trees and rocks seemed to feel the magic influence of the strain.

He had a beautiful wife named Eurydice, whom he loved dearly, and they were happy together till a sad accident separated them. She was bitten one day by a poisonous serpent, and died from the effects of the wound. There was no more happiness on earth for Orpheus, and he determined to seek Eurydice in the underworld of the dead.

Now the gates of the lower regions were guarded by a three-headed dog named Cerberus, but even this fierce beast was subdued by the entrancing music of Orpheus, who

Pouring forth the mournful tale of his lost love, he appealed to the gods to give him back Eurydice. So eloquent was his plea that all who listened were "moved to weeping." Then for the first time the iron cheeks of the Furies were wet with tears, and

Eurydice was brought forth and restored to her husband, but a single condition was laid upon Orpheus in leading her out. Until they had regained the earth he was not to look backward, or the boon would be forfeited. The Latin poet Ovid tells how the two fared forth together from the underworld, and how Orpheus failed in the conditions of the agreement.

Our bas-relief represents a scene of parting between Orpheus and Eurydice, and we may take it, as we please, to refer to their first or to their last farewell. It seems, however, to apply more appropriately to the first departure of Eurydice to the unknown land. She lays her hand fondly upon her husband's shoulder, and he touches it gently as if to detain her.

The figure on the other side is the messenger god Hermes, whose mission is to conduct departing spirits to the other world. [33] He has come for Eurydice, and he takes her by the hand to draw her away. For a moment husband and wife gaze into each other's eyes with love and sorrow, while the messenger waits with exquisite courtesy.

Though the Greeks had many tales of sorrow in their poetry and mythology, they did not often illustrate them in their art. The subjects of their sculpture are nearly always happy ones. Even here, you see, grief is made so beautiful and dignified that we forget to feel sad about the parting. We think most of the love and devotion between Orpheus and Eurydice.

The simple story of the bas-relief touches us more readily perhaps than the grand statues of the gods. People like in art something which corresponds to the common human lives of all.

The garment worn by Eurydice seems quite like that of the goddess Demeter. The drapery is very full in front, falling in long straight folds. At the side it is scantier and shows the motion of the figure in walking. The short tunic worn by the other figures is a picturesque costume, and the mantle swinging over one shoulder is very graceful. When one contrasts with these classical draperies the stiff dress of modern times, one wonders that the sculptor of to-day does not throw down his chisel in despair.

The style of the draperies often enables a critic to decide in what period a work of art was produced. In the best art the folds are always simple: it is a sure sign of declining art when the folds are complicated and broken. Here we see the few simple, severe lines which mark the purest classical taste.