Orphic Mysteries: Ancient Greece’s Secrets of the Soul and Afterlife

Of all the mysteries of ancient Greece, the Orphic Mysteries based on the myth of Orpheus are the most intriguing, as they delve into the subject of the soul and its life after death.

The Orphic Mysteries derive from the mythical poet and musician Orpheus, a tragic hero and also the greatest musician and lyricist of Greek mythology. His music charmed wild beasts, trees, stones, and even gods.

The mysterious cult of Orphism was a secret sect that followed the practices and writings of Orpheus. Like all secret cults in ancient Greece, only those initiated into the cult learned the full truth of the group’s practices and beliefs. The cult’s followers believed in reincarnation and original sin.

Orphism was guarded by educated elites. Those who followed Orphism were called Orphics, and they held their yearly mystery festival on the Eleusinian plains west of Athens. They celebrated Demeter and Persephone, along with their mysterious consort, Dionysus, who played a key role in this religion.

According to legend, Orpheus was a disciple of Dionysus but argued against the god’s  practices of frolicking and drunken orgies in the name of Apollo, the god of reason. Ancient legend has it that this act of defiance resulted in his conviction and murder at the hands of the maenads, the female followers of Dionysus.

What did the Orphics believe in?

The Orphics’ religious beliefs and practices centered around the mythical figure of Orpheus and were rooted in ancient Greek mythology. However, their religious practices were different from those of most Greeks, and the Orphic mysteries offered unique insights into the nature of the soul, the afterlife, and the human connection to the divine.

Unlike the public rituals of Greek polytheism, the Orphic Mysteries were esoteric, meant for initiates who sought a deeper understanding of their own existence and the cosmos. Their beliefs influenced later philosophical thought on the soul and afterlife.

The cult of Orphism proclaimed asceticism was against sacrifice and taught the transmigration of souls and mankind’s capacity to experience the divine. However, man had to be initiated in the cult in order to learn to break free and rise in a state of “happy immortality.” Without being initiated, one could not experience happiness in the afterlife.

Orphism candidates had to be accepted into the Orphic Mysteries, which were esoteric and only disclosed to those who managed to be initiated. From then on, the initiates were required to save and protect the knowledge they were taught. The Orphic cult proclaimed asceticism, was against sacrifice, and taught the transmigration of souls and mankind’s capacity to experience the divine.

The Orphics believed in “adikia” (injustice) or the avoidance of harming or treating unjustly any living soul. They considered murder and any act of violence against another a great sin. This belief pertained to all creatures with a soul, and the Orphics were strict vegetarians so as to avoid further contamination of their souls. There are also accounts that they took vows of celibacy.

Orpheus, Eurydice, and rebirth

The greatest Orpheus myth is the foundation of the Orphic creed and its mysteries. The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is a romantic tale, but, more importantly, it is a story of death and rebirth, much like the yearly cycle of nature, an epic story of a mortal who descends into the Underworld to retrieve his loved one. This is reminiscent of the frozen Winter earth that comes to life and flourishes in the Spring.

Orpheus goes to the Underworld to reclaim the soul of his beloved wife Eurydice, who recently passed away. He faces a series of challenges and ultimately appears before the King and Queen of the Underworld, Hades and Persephone. With his music, he convinces them to allow Eurydice to return to the world of the living, but there is one condition. Orpheus must not look back until he has left the Underworld. Orpheus almost succeeds, but in the end, he looks back and loses her forever.

Orpheus did something no mortal had ever done before. He descended to the Underworld to bring Eurydice back. The mournful songs he played on his dark journey made the gods weep. Cerberus allowed him to pass the Underworld gates, and even Charon, the cold ferryman, gave Orpheus a ride free of charge, touched by his music.

When Orpheus reached the shadowy realm of Hades, he made a plea to the god of the dead. Namely, he allowed his lost wife to return to him for a few more years. Then Hades would have both of them. The dedication Orpheus displayed reminded the god of the Underworld of his own affection for his wife, Persephone. Hades conceded, but this was only under the condition that Orpheus would not look back until they were back in the world of the living. Otherwise, Eurydice would forever remain in the afterlife.

On their ascension to the world of the living, Eurydice was walking behind Orpheus who had missed her so much that he turned around to look at her. Eagerly, Orpheus looked behind him, however. It was the human thing to do. Eurydice was lost forever. The lovestruck man had not kept his word to the god Hades. He returned to the world of the living, but he would be killed by the Maenads for going against the practices of Dionysus.

Orphism and early Christianity

There is a Biblical element in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. While Orpheus knew that if he looked back at Hades he would lose his loved one forever, he eventually did. In Genesis 3, Eve eats the forbidden apple even though she knows that her act would mean the loss of paradise. It is, after all, human nature to fall into temptation.

While the Orphic Mysteries were based on ancient ideas, the Orphics systematized these in a practical way, creating an organized religion that was powerfully influential, especially to Christian Gnosticism with its emphasis on love.

Orphism’s insistence on freeing the soul from physical bondage was later adopted by Christianity. In Orphism, we can also find an origin of religious guilt and its resolution through purification rituals.

The Orphics were the first religious cult to concretize the concept of heaven and hell. In the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, heaven is earth and hell is the Underworld. The Orthodox Church follows doctrines explained by ancient creeds such as Orphism. Like Orpheus, Christ’s descent into Hades to defeat death and liberate the righteous is a foundational belief in Orthodox theology.

There are parallels in the accounts of both Orpheus and Jesus. They both had to descend to the depths of hell, to “die” and return to life transformed. Moreover, they both preached that humans have souls that would be judged at the moment of death and would pay for their actions.

Both also indulged in ceremonies that included rituals such as turning water into wine. Lastly, the brutal killing of Orpheus by the Maenads was considered a sacrifice to redeem mankind for its sins.