What Does Orpheus Do After Losing Eurydice Again?

That heartbreaking moment — and the immediate aftermath

Honestly, it’s one of the most gut-wrenching scenes in all of mythology. Orpheus, after making it all the way to the underworld and nearly pulling off the impossible, turns around just a second too soon. And boom — Eurydice is gone. Again. For good this time.

So what does he do next?

He breaks.

Not with drama or rage, but with quiet devastation. According to most versions of the myth (Ovid’s "Metamorphoses" being one of the most famous), Orpheus doesn’t try to go after her again. He doesn’t scream or plead this time. He just… walks out of the underworld in total silence.

He doesn’t look back again — but he doesn’t move forward either

A return without joy

When Orpheus comes back to the world of the living, it’s not a triumphant return. There’s no victory. Just loss. And what struck me — when I first read this back in university, in a mythology seminar with a brilliant (and slightly intimidating) professor named Dr. Klein — was how empty that moment feels.

Dr. Klein said, "Orpheus doesn’t speak a word on the way out. He has no music left." And I swear, that hit me harder than the myth itself.

He gives up music, love — everything, really

The lyre goes silent

Depending on the version you read, Orpheus completely withdraws from the world after losing Eurydice the second time. He stops playing music. That’s wild when you realize music was literally his whole identity. It’s what made Hades weep. It’s what got Eurydice a second chance in the first place.

But after that moment? Silence.

I remember thinking: music got him through the first grief. But the second one? It’s like he didn’t even want to feel anymore.

He rejects the world — and especially women

This is one of those parts of the myth that varies a bit depending on the source, but many versions say Orpheus vowed never to love another woman again. Some say he turned toward male companionship, others say he simply isolated himself. Either way, the message is clear: he was done with love.

That hit me differently after my own breakup a few years back — obviously not the same scale, but the emotional instinct to shut everything out? Yeah, that part felt real.

The tragic ending: death by Maenads

Orpheus’s end is as dramatic as his grief

Eventually, Orpheus is torn apart by Maenads — wild followers of Dionysus. Some say it’s because he rejected all women. Others claim it was because he stopped honoring the gods. Either way, his death is violent, messy, and kinda... poetic?

But here’s what got me: even as he died, his severed head kept singing. Floating down the river Hebrus, still calling Eurydice’s name.

I mean — damn.

That image stayed with me for days after I read it. It’s like his love became eternal through his art, even after he himself gave up.

So, what does Orpheus immediately do after losing her?

He doesn’t scream. He doesn’t beg. He walks away, silent and broken. He lets go of music. He isolates himself. He chooses grief over rage, sorrow over action.

It’s not heroic in the usual sense. But it’s deeply, painfully human.

And honestly? That’s what makes this myth unforgettable.

Final thoughts: a myth that still echoes

If you’re wondering what Orpheus does after losing Eurydice again, here’s the emotional truth: he gives up the fight — not out of weakness, but out of love too deep to repeat.

And maybe that’s the lesson buried in this ancient story: some losses aren’t meant to be fixed. Just felt.

And remembered.

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