Orpheus

American  

[awr-fee-uhs, -fyoos] / ˈɔr fi əs, -fjus /

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.

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Orpheus British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• Orphean
  adjective

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Orpheus

Allen Moyer’s set used conveyer belts to slide furniture in from the wings; Greg Emetaz’s misty videos included projections of Orpheus and Eurydice, a subtext in the work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

There is a timelessness to Mitchell’s work, thanks in large part to the ancient source material, the myths of Orpheus, Eurydice, Hades and Persephone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

His farm in a meadow close by the village of Sofiytsi in southern Bulgaria backs onto the wooded slopes of the mountain range associated with the mythological musician Orpheus.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

Like Icarus soaring toward the heavens, like Orpheus sneaking a peek over his shoulder, so too did the Hawk Tuah Girl test the Gods of the Zynternet with her own hubris by launching a cryptocurrency.

From Slate ● Dec. 20, 2024

He fell for the shy singer with the soft laughter and huge sparkling eyes who was almost as tall as he, and Marian, as she later admitted, was attracted to Orpheus.

From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman