In Greek mythology, Orpheus was the musician who descended into the Underworld for Eurydice. His music was said to possess extraordinary power over humans, animals, trees, stones, and even the rulers of the dead.
Orpheus was traditionally the son of the Muse Calliope and either the Thracian king Oeagrus or the god Apollo, depending on the source. He was associated with the lyre and with Thrace, a region north of mainland Greece in the ancient Greek world.
After Eurydice died, Orpheus played music before Hades and Persephone. They allowed him to lead her back on the condition that he not look behind him before reaching the upper world. He failed at the final moment, and Eurydice disappeared again.
Orpheus is also connected with Orphic religious traditions, which emphasized purification, the soul, and the afterlife. The myth has inspired opera, poetry, painting, and film. Orpheus should not be confused with Amphion, another mythic musician famous for moving stones with his music.