BOOK is never without liis harp. It is with this that he charms all things conscious or unconscious. With this he gathers together the bright herds of Helios and all the beasts of the field. As he draws forth its sweet sounds, the trees, the rocks, the streams, all hasten to hear him, or to follow him as he moves onwards on his journey. Only when Eurydike is dead, are its delicious sounds silenced ; but when at the gates of the palace of Hades the three-headed hound Kerberos growls savagely at him, its soft tones charm away his fury, and the same spell subdues the heart of the rugged king himself It is thus only that he wins the desire of his heart; and when Eurydike is torn from him the second time, the heavenly music is heard again no more. It is impossible to regard this part of the story as a solar myth, except on the supposition that Orpheus is but another form of Phoibos after he has become possessed of the lyre of Hermes. But the truth is that the myth of the Hellenic Hermes is not more essentially connected with the idea of sound than is that of Orpheus together with the long series of myths based on the same notion which are found scattered over almost all the world. In the opinion of Professor Max Müller " Orpheus is the same word as the Sanskrit Ribhu or Arbhu, which though it is best known as the name of the three Ribhus, was used in the Veda as an epithet of Indra, and a name for the Sun."[1] Mr. Kelly, following Dr. Kuhn, sees in the Ribhus the storm-winds which sweep trees and rocks in wild dance before them by the force of their magic song.[2] But even if the Sanskrit name can be applied only to the sun, this would only show that the name of Orpheus underwent in its journey to the west a modification similar to that of the name Hermes. It must, however, be noted that Orpheus acts only by means of his harp, which always rouses to motion. The action of Hermes is twofold, and when he is going forth on his plundering expedition he lays aside his lyre, which he resumes only when he comes back to lie down like a child in his cradle. Hence the lyre of Hermes only charms and soothes. Its sweet tones conquer the angry sun-god, and lull to sleep the all-seeing Argos of the hundred eyes, when Hermes seeks to deliver Iô from his ceaseless scrutiny. But among the Greek poets the idea which would connect Orpheus with the sun was wholly lost. In Pindar he is sent indeed by Apollon to the gathering of the Argonauts, but this would
- ↑ Chips, &c., ii. 127. The converse of the story of Orpheus is found in the legend of Savitri as recounted in the Mahabharata. Here Savitri marries Satyavan, knowing that he must die within the year. When Yama comes for Satyavan, she insists on following him, and at last succeeds in winning back the life of her husband, with whom she reaches her home at the break of day.
- ↑ Curiosities of Indo-European Folklore, 17.
