Orpheus

[ awr-fee-uhs, -fyoos ]

noun

1. Greek Legend. a poet and musician, a son of Calliope, who followed his dead wife, Eurydice, to the underworld. By charming Hades, he obtained permission to lead her away, provided he did not look back at her until they returned to earth. But at the last moment he looked, and she was lost to him forever.
2. (italics) a ballet (1947) with music by Stravinsky and choreography by Balanchine.

Orpheus

/ ˈɔːfɪəs; -fjuːs /

noun

1. Greek myth a poet and lyre-player credited with the authorship of the poems forming the basis of Orphism. He married Eurydice and sought her in Hades after her death. He failed to win her back and was killed by a band of bacchantes

Other Words From

• Or·phe·an [awr-, fee, -, uh, n, awr, -fee-, uh, n], adjective

Example Sentences

Orpheus is helped along the way by Dionysus, who likes humans and has decided that this is the project he needs to improve his own life.

From Los Angeles Times

Former Home and Away star Orpheus Pledger has been arrested after a three-day police manhunt in Australia.

From BBC

Australian police are searching for Home and Away star Orpheus Pledger, after a warrant was issued for his arrest on Wednesday.

From BBC

He composed and appeared in Orpheus, an acclaimed new version of Monteverdi's Orfeo combining Indian and Western classical music for Opera North, which was nominated for best large-scale composition.

From BBC

It’s the myth of Orpheus, told through the eyes of a Black teenager named Eunice Prideaux who becomes obsessed with the enigmatic blues singer Blacksnake Brown.

From New York Times