The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is a love story that ends in tragedy. Orpheus, the immortal musician and son of the god Apollo and a nymph, fell in love with Eurydice, a beautiful mortal. He wooed her with his lyre as he was a charismatic and talented musician. They quickly fell in love and were married.
However, their happy marriage was short-lived. A jealous mortal, Aristaeus, chased the couple through the forest hoping to kill Orpheus and take Eurydice for himself. During the chase, Eurydice was bit by a venomous snake and dies. Aristaeus ran away after discovering her death and blamed Orpheus for the disaster. Orpheus was heart-broken with the loss of his love.
Soon enough, Orpheus became extremely depressed and couldn't bare being torn away from Eurydice. He went to the Underworld to try to convince his Uncle Hades, god of the Underworld, to let Eurydice go back to Earth and to live with Orpheus. Using his musical talent on the lyre, Orpheus was able to explain himself to his uncle and melt the heart of the King of the Underworld. Hades agreed to allow Eurydice to go back to Earth, but he had some conditions. He told Orpheus that Eurydice could only return if Orpheus could guide her all the way out of the Underworld without looking back at her in the Underworld. Orpheus was hesitant because he wanted to be able to protect her if something went wrong. He agreed to Hades's terms nonetheless.
While leading Eurydice out of the Underworld, Orpheus was nervous and concerned for her well-being. He was excited to bring her back to Earth, yet he needed self-control to get her out safely. As soon as Orpheus was back into the sunlight of the Earth, he turned around! Unfortunately, he turned too soon as Eurydice was still in the Underworld and had yet to reach her freedom. Realizing his mistake, Orpheus watched as his wife was once again, brought back into the darkness of the Underworld, never to return to him.