For the past month, I’ve been a little bit too into Hadestown. I wrote not only a piece for a literary magazine, but also turned an essay for class into a comparative analysis just so I could continue riding the Hadestown train.
I’ve loved the musical since its premiere in 2018—and loved it more when I had the pleasure of seeing it on Broadway in 2022—but something about the fall air (and Jack Wolfe’s recent turn as Orpheus earlier this year) has really gotten me fixated.
The Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is, in simple explanation: Boy believes he can bring back spring through his song; Boy meets Girl who is constantly on the run from death; Boy and Girl get married; Girl dies and descends into the Underworld while Boy is fixated on his song; Boy is devastated and sings open a tunnel to the Underworld to bring her back; Boy finds Girl and asks Hades to let them leave. Hades then offers Boy an ultimatum: You can bring her home with you through your tunnel if you walk in a line, silent, and without turning back around to check if she’s still there.
Boy, inevitably, turns around. Girl is sent back to the Underworld—forever.
Because the musical has been on repeat on my Spotify, and because it was recently Dia de los Muertos (which is, of course, the most Orpheus and Eurydice of all the holidays), here are my favorite pieces of media that parallel the tale of Greek mythology’s best romantic tragedy. These will include examples of journeys to the underworld/spirit world, the trope of “Don’t look back,” the lengths a person goes for love, and the like.
i. book recs
As I dream of you
I had the pleasure of listening to Jennifer Lee, who also wrote Frozen(!), speak about this graphic novel at the Boston Book Fair. As I Dream of You follows Sam and Franny’s romance through both the real world and dream world.
They parallel Orpheus and Eurydice intentionally, but Lee places the couple in a mill town, where Eurydice’s death isn’t by snakebite but rather a car crash. I won’t say too much because you should read it, but the artwork (by LeUyen Pham) truly makes the quick read an immersive experience.
The Mortal Instruments: City of Heavenly Fire
In the final chapter of The Mortal Instruments series, Magnus (resident warlock) is trapped in Edom (a Hell-adjacent place). His boyfriend Alec, alongside other protagonists Clary, Jace, Izzy, and Simon, ventures into Edom to save him (and a few others, but primarily Magnus) and figure out how to stop the series’ antagonist.
It’s a wild journey, but the characters’ love for each other pushes them through. I highly, highly recommend this series if you’re nostalgic for the 2010s YA Tumblr era.
Heroes of Olympus: House of Hades
I can’t talk about Orpheus and Eurydice without talking about Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. They are the couple throughout the first Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and then, in a turn of events at the start of the sequel series Heroes of Olympus, it’s revealed that Percy is missing and has lost his memories.
Well, all of his memories besides the name Annabeth. He can’t remember what she looks like, but he holds onto that name because he knows it’s important until they inevitably meet again.
This is, of course, a parallel to Eurydice forgetting Orpheus’ name after she makes her descent into the Underworld. Unlike Percy, she remembers his face, not his name, and holds onto that fragmented memory of him to get her through Hades’ world (until he comes to save her).
In House of Hades, Annabeth is on the verge of falling into Tartarus (don’t ask), and tells Percy (who is the only thing keeping her from falling) to let go. Percy refuses, and together they fall into the pits of Tartarus. There, they traverse the difficult terrain and face relentless monsters in the process of getting out. They, unlike Orpheus and Eurydice, both leave alive.
Because Percy Jackson is an amalgamation of many myths, the Orpheus/Eurydice parallels happen more than once. In The Sun and the Star, Nico, son of Hades, and his boyfriend, Will, son of Apollo, journey into the Underworld—and then into Tartarus, following Percy and Annabeth’s footsteps. To get into the Underworld in a way that avoids Hades finding out, they use the tunnel Orpheus created all those centuries ago (which is, now, of course, located in NYC’s Central Park). Will sings a tune to open the tunnel, and as they make their descent, the tunnel plays tricks on them the same way it had when Orpheus left the Underworld with Eurydice. However, unlike the doomed lovers, Will and Nico make it to their destination unscathed (physically, at least).
In Heroes of Olympus, Nico also brings his half-sister (both children of Hades) back to the land of the living. After a sh*tty deal was struck with the judges of the dead, Hazel wandered the fields of Asphodel for about 80 years. To complete a quest, Nico—and other demigods—needed her to come back. Hazel’s redemption subverts Eurydice’s misfortune.
This is my favorite series ever, so if you somehow haven’t read Percy Jackson yet, please pick it up right now!
The Dreamer Trilogy: Greywaren
Adam and Ronan parallel Greek tragedies many times throughout both The Raven Cycle series and its sequel series The Dreamer Trilogy. My favorite moment that is so, so, Orpheus and Eurydice coded happens in the third and final novel.
Without spoiling too much, The Dreamer Trilogy largely takes place in the dream world of Ronan’s—amongst other dreamers —head. Adam, as a magician (read: a diviner that can scry into this dream space), tries to help Ronan on his quest to stop the apocalypse through said ability to scry.
However, he gets lost in that dream world—which is more of a nightmarish hellscape than a dream—and Ronan has to find him. This journey, while the dream land is that of Ronan’s head, is not easy. Ronan has to battle his inner demons far and wide in order to not only find his missing boyfriend, but remind him why they love each other so damn much (because Adam, like Eurydice, forgets who he is and who he loves).
Adam and Ronan are literally the couple of all time, so the Raven Cycle and Dreamer Trilogy are mandatory reading if you know me.
ii. TV recs
Dead Boy Detectives
What a shame this masterpiece was cancelled (Netflix, when I catch you).
In the climax of the season, Edwin goes to hell and his best friend Charles must save him. Edwin was stuck in hell prior to being a ghost (which is the version of Edwin we follow primarily throughout the show), but he escaped—only to be put back. In the finale, Edwin nearly accepts his fate, losing himself in a Eurydice-like way, before Charles ignores Edwin’s plea to leave him be and comes to bring him home.
Together, they run through hallways (Hell is like the Backrooms in this universe, kind of), one behind the other, and up stairs in order to find the way out. As they’re about to break the surface, Edwin pauses and confessed that he loves Charles. As more than a friend.
Charles literally asks if “this is one of those Orpheus and Eurydice moments,” and Edwin says “I certainly hope not. That story ends tragically.” To which Charles replies that he never finished the story. Edwin affirms that he is serious, and Charles tells him nothing will change between them for this, and while he can’t say he’s in love with Edwin too, there’s no one else he’d go to Hell for.
He affirms they have “literally got forever to figure out what the rest [of their relationship] means.” And, with that, they make it out of Hell, subverting that tragic fate… for now.
If you’re not afraid of a cliffhanger ending and love Sherlock-esque mysteries, ghosts, and Edwardian London, you have to start binging.
Supernatural
I can’t pick a specific time an Opheus/Eurydice parallel occurs because it occurs multiple times. Supernatural leans into the idea of Hell (and also Purgatory) being tangible places characters go to. My favorite case of this, however, is at the end of season 3 and into season 4.
Dean sold his soul to save his brother Sam and ended up in Hell in the season 3 finale. In the first episode of season 4, he is revived by Castiel—who is, of course, an angel sent by God. While this isn’t the same as Orpheus descending into Hell to save the love of his life, the divine intervention of it all feels similar. Similar to Eurydice forgetting Orpheus’ name, the man who saves Dean is a mystery… and yet, there is an undeniable force tugging him towards him.
Throughout its 15 seasons, Supernatural has proven itself as a quintessential piece of online fandom and a place where myths from all regions are turned on their heads.
9-1-1
You might be wondering how an ongoing television drama about first responders fits into the category of Greek myth parallels, but I can assure you Buck and Eddie fit here.
At the end of season 4, while Buck and Eddie stand in the road post-emergency, a shot rings out from afar and we discover Eddie has been shot. Buck stares at him for a moment as the blood pools up, just before Eddie falls to the ground, but then before Buck can reach him, we hear the loading of the gun again, and a fellow responder pushes Buck to the ground.
Buck fights it, watching Eddie lie bleeding out on the ground a couple of feet away, but must stay hidden underneath a firetruck so as to not get shot as well.
A minute passes, then another, and before Buck even knows it’s safe, he’s crawling towards Eddie, reaching for his hand and tugging him underneath the truck as well, protecting him. If Buck hadn’t literally crawled to Eddie, he would have died. If he hadn’t risked his own safety for Eddie’s—a la turning around—his best friend wouldn’t have made it.
Eddie survives, unlike Eurydice, because Buck came back for him.
Please watch the show if you haven’t—I need a season 11 renewal.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
In the episode titled “Orpheus,” Angel loses his soul and enters into a drug-induced coma. In the coma, he relives memories from his quest for redemption and must relearn the good parts of himself in order to be saved.
“Orpheus” is technically the name of the drug, but the loss of memory and journey to get that memory back is reminiscent of Eurydice.
And, of course, Buffy is a classic. I can’t recommend it enough.
iii. Movie recs
Project Hail Mary
This movie flips the romantic idea of turning around into a platonic one. We follow Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) as he’s sent on a suicide mission to save Earth. Along the way to the one planet in the galaxy that isn’t suffering from sun-eating astrophage, Ryland meets Rocky, a rock alien from Erid.
They become fast friends and figure out a way to save both of their respective planets. And, because of Rocky’s extra fuel, Ryland will be able to return home (which was not in the plans of Earth when they sent him out).
With an upbeat goodbye, they part ways to save their planets.
However, halfway through the journey, Ryland realizes the cure they’d hatched is actually lethal to Rocky and his ship. He has to choose between letting Rocky die or going home, and, obviously, he chooses Rocky.
The beautiful climax of the film is Ryland turning around for Rocky—à la Orpheus for Eurydice—and finding a new home on Erid alongside him.
The hype around this movie is 100% warranted, so watch it (or rewatch it) on Amazon Prime if you haven’t.
Spirited Away
This beloved Ghibli film follows Chihiro as she navigates the spirit world to save her parents after they were turned into pigs. Chihiro loses her memory like Eurydice, and just as Eurydice strikes a deal with Hades to become a worker, Chihiro signs a contract with Yubaba to work at the bathhouse.
She proves her worth and eventually gets her memory back, but as she leaves the spirit world with her parents, Haku—a mentor-ish figure like Hermes—tells her not to look back. For Chihiro, the spirit world represents a childhood nostalgia that she must leave, accepting that it’s time to grow up. But that message of not letting doubt come in as you leave the spirit world stays pertinent even here.
It’s a timeless story for any audience regardless of age.
The Book of Life
This one is on-the-nose levels of intentional, but I’ simply have’m obligated to include it here. Book of Life incorporates the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice (i.e., going into the Underworld to save your lover) with Mexican and Mayan mythological figures.
It’s a love triangle here with Maria, Manolo, and Joaquin, but the wedding, death, and descent into the Underworld are all parallel to that of our tragic lovers.
If you’re itching for a colorful animated tale, Book of Life might need to be your next watch.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
I, unfortunately, haven’t seen this film yet, but it requires an honorable mention for its intentional paralleling of the famed Greek lovers. My friends also love this film, so I had to include it.
The film follows two women meeting on an island, falling in love in a space absent of patriarchal society. There is a devastating parallel to Orpheus turning back at the end of the film, but I won’t speak too much on that as I haven’t seen it myself (though I promise I am setting up a date for viewing immediately).
There are of course other examples that I either can’t remember presently or have not seen, but for now this compilation of my favorites will do. As they say in Hadestown, the tale of Oprheus and Eurydice, while an “old song,” is one we continue to sing again and again.
The myth’s bittersweet depiction of hope, loss, and the lengths we go for love has remained visceral for readers in the years from Homer to present day. That warning of “Don’t Look Back” and a journey into the spirit world have become popular motifs in contemporary media.