The ancient Greek myth that took over 2019

No single story had a wider-ranging influence on culture in 2019 than the tragedy of Orpheus and his wife, Eurydice

Orpheus and Eurydice
(Image credit: Illustrated | Courtesy Hadestown on Broadway, ART Collection / Alamy Stock Photo, iStock/Elen11)

No one is certain where the character Orpheus comes from. He emerges out of the fog of time and memory in fragments; a piece of ancient Greek pottery here, a reference in a long-forgotten poem there. Some have chased his origins to the Middle East and India, tracing his archetype to "a fisher-god pulling up souls," and Earth deities that predated the birth of Christ by hundreds of years. Only one thing, really, can be certain: Wherever Orpheus came from, he is here to stay.

In particular, no single story had a wider-ranging influence on culture in 2019 than the tragedy of Orpheus and his wife, Eurydice. While the story has been reinterpreted by history's greatest artists for millennia, this year alone found the doomed lovers on Broadway and some of the world's most prestigious opera stages, as well as in a movie, a young adult novel, and songs by Hozier and Sara Bareilles. Sure, some stories are just so good that they have a way of getting recycled through the generations; still, one can't help but look at the reemergence of Orpheus and Eurydice this year and wonder, why all this, why now?

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.