(Mt. Olympus)

1. The Nightingales of Libethra (Mt. Olympus) English 1-Louise S. McGehee School 2004

2. Orpheus Greek flag • son of Calliope and either Apollo or Oeagrus (orpheus) • wife was Eurydice • Greatest musician and poet of Greek myth • His lyre’s music could charm living things as well as inanimate objects (Orpheus) • was an Argonaut; they were the heroes who sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece (Orpheus) • of Thracian descent (Orpheus)

3. The Myth • There is no exact truth as to how he died, but some say that Orpheus was torn to pieces by the Thracian women and that the God Dionysus had asked them to do it. • His body and lyre were thrown into the river Hebrus and floated down to Lesbos. The Muses collected his limbs and buried them at the foot of Mt. Olympus in Libethra. • It is said that the nightingales sing sweeter at the grave of Orpheus than in any other place in the world (Orpheus) (MythologyWeb). • The Nightingale’s origin is the Greek city of Libethra (Favorite)

4. Libethra's Connection with the Nightingales • Libethra had received an oracle mentioning the bones of Orpheus which said that when the sun should see his bones, the city would be destroyed by a boar. • one day by accident the urn containing Orpheus’ bones fell and broke, exposing the bones. • that same night came a heavy rain, and the river Sys (the boar), one of the torrents about Olympus, destroyed the walls of Libethra, drowning everything (Orpheus). (Bulfinch)

5. Links to Other Myths and Stories • Because his wife Eurydice was killed by a serpent, Orpheus went to the Underworld to ask Hades if he would allow her to return to the world of the living. Hades allowed it under one condition: that Orpheus not look back as he was bringing her to the surface. Unfortunately, before they reached the surface, he looked back (Orpheus). • Philomela was raped by Tereus, her brother-in-law. he also cut out her tongue. She told the story to her sister, Procne, by weaving it into a tapestry. Because procne killed the child she had had with Tereus, he tried to kill the two sisters. All three were changed into birds. Procne was changed into the first nightingale (Itys). Orpheus losing Eurydice (MythologyWeb)

6. Links to Other Myths and Stories Continued • Aedon and Polytechnos (a married couple) thought they were more in love than Zeus and Hera, which made the gods angry • Hera caused rivalry between them making them compete as to which of them would finish his work first and agreeing that the victor would be given a servant by the defeated. • Polytechnos lost and went to Pandaraeus, aedon’s father, to get Chelidon, Aedon’s sister, who was to be her servant, but Polytechnos raped her and shaved her head. • Chelidon became Aedon’s servant, but Aedon recognized who she was one day when she overheard Chelidon complaining . • They fled to Pandareus. Polytechnos chased after them, but was smeared with honey by Pandareus’ men so that the flies tormented him. Zeus turned them all into birds: according to some, Aedon and Chelidon were turned into nightingales (Dictionary). (Print)

7. Links with the Modern World • Sometimes the names “Procne” and “Philomela” are used in literature to refer to a nightingale, even though only the first is really correct (Itys). • The Valley of the Nightingale is a place for nature lovers. • “Poets, bards, singers, and their works are usually referred to as nightingales” (Nightingale). • There is a species of wren called Trogiodytes aedon, who was turned into a nightingale House Wren (Yankee)

8. How Nightingales were Regarded in their Culture • In some regions and areas the nightingales were considered to be good omens, but in others they were thought to announce deaths (nightingale). • The nightingale, who sang of love, was also a connection between love and death. • It was believed to never sleep and to sing all night long. • They were thought to be immortal and could never be saddened; its song never changed (Nightingale).

9. Works Cited Antique Maps and Prints. Jan. 13 2004. <http://www.oldprints.co.uk/prints/birds/images/87981.htm>. Brown, Phillip J. “Orpheus.” Belinus Press. 19 Feb. 2003. Phillip J. Brown. 13 Jan. 2004. <http://www.belinus.co.uk/mythology/Orpheus.htm>. Bulfinch, Thomas. “The Age of Fable.” Bulfinch’s Mythology. 2003. Bob Fisher. 13Jan. 2004. <http://www.bulfinch.org/fables/bull24.html>. Bulfinch, Thomas. “Orpheus and Eurydice.” Mythology Web. 9 Jan. 2004. <http://www.mythology.com/orpheuseurydice.html>. Bulfinch’s Mythology. 2003. Bob Fisher. 14 Jan. 2004. <http://www.bulfinch.org/fables/graphics/orpheus.gif>. “Favorite Birds of Saudi Arabia.” Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. 2001. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Washington University. 10 Jan. 2004. <http://biochem.wustl.edu/~herr/birds.html>. Hunter, James. “Orpheus.” Encyclopedia Mythica. 2003. M.F. Lindemans. 9 Jan. 2004. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/o/orpheus.html>. “Orpheus.” California State University Northridge. 3 Oct. 1996. J.P. Adams. 9 Jan. 2004. <http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/orpheus.html>. Parada, Carlos. “Orpheus.” Greek Mythology Link. 2003. Carlos Parada. 10 Jan. 2004. <http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Orpheus.htm>. Parada, Carlos. “Dictionary.” Greek Mythology Link. 2003. Carlos Parada. 11 Jan. 2004. <http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/001ShortEntries/SECerambus.html>.

10. Works Cited Continued Renaud, C. “Dion.” Carthage. Carthage College. 13 Jan. 2004. <http://www2.carthage.edu/outis/dion2.html>. ter Huume, Suzanne. “Nightingale.” The Animal Files. Suzanne ter Huume. 11 Jan. 2004. <http://www.dierinbeeld.nl/animal_files/birds/nightingale/index.html>. Tucker, Suzetta. “The Bestiary.” Christian Legends and Stories. 1998. Suzetta Tucker. <http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/legend01/nighting.htm>. Wikipedia. 9 Jan. 2004. <http://www.4reference.net/encyclopedias/wikipedia/Itys.html.>. Yankee Gardner. Yankee Harvest, LLC. 12 Jan. 2004. <http://www.yankeegardener.com/birds/house1.htm>.