Eight Brief Tales of Lovers

1. Eight Brief Tales of Lovers Jessica Hair Bradley Gaines

2. Pyramus and Thisbe • Lovers from a very young age • Longed to marry, but were forbidden • Finally one day agreed to meet that night at the Tomb of Ninus, under a tall mulberry tree full of snow-white berries • While waiting for Pyramus, Thisbe spots a lioness and fled from the tree dropping her cloak in the process • Pyramus shows up and sees the bloodstained shreds of the cloak and the tracks of the lioness

3. Pyramus and Thisbe • Pyramus came to the conclusion that Thisbe was dead • Knowing he could not live without Thisbe, he plunged his sword into his side, his blood dying the berries red • Thisbe comes back to find Pyramus dying under the tree • She finds his sword fallen from his hand • Knowing he killed himself for her, Thisbe plunged the sword into her heart • The lovers blood staining the berries of the mulberry tree

4. Orpheus and Eurydice • Orpheus, a great mortal musician, savior of the heroes, and most importantly, a lover • Lived a simple, careless life, until he met Eurydice • She couldn’t resist the power of his song and they got married • Not long after the ceremony, Eurydice was stung by a viper and died, and Orpheus was overwhelmed with grief • He journeyed down to the underworld to save her • At the sound of his lyre all that vast multitude were charmed to stillness

5. Orpheus and Eurydice • No one under his spell could resist him anything • They gave Eurydice back to him on one condition: he couldn’t look at her until they reached the upper world • As they made it to the top, he turned too soon and in an instant she was gone • He tried to go back down and get her but was not allowed in the same way – the only way in was death • Maenads in a frenzy, ripped the singer to shreds and placed his limbs in a tomb at the foot of Mt. Olympus • To this day, the nightingales sing sweetly there

6. Ceyx and Alcyone • These two loved each other and were never apart • A time came when Ceyx had to make a long journey across the sea • Knowing all the dangers, she begged him not to go • The ship sank and he died • Alcyone knew something happed and she went to the shore where off in the water she sees his dead body • Instead of sinking into the waves she was flying over them, as she changed into a bird

7. Pygmalion and Galatea • Pygmalion was a woman hater, but the statue he made and devoted all his genius to was that of a woman • He fell deeply in love with this woman • At the feast day of Venus, he dared to ask the goddess only that he find a maiden like his statue • Venus turned the statue into a real human woman and even graced their marriage herself with her presence • All we know that happened after this is that he named her Galatea and their son Paphos

8. Baucis and Philemon • One day, Jupiter and Mercury descend to earth in disguise in order to test the hospitality of the people • No one is kind to them except an old couple, Baucis and Philemon, who are very poor • Revealing themselves, Jupiter and Mercury drown the rest of Phrygia’s inhabitants in a flood and offer Baucis and Philemon any wish they desire

9. Baucis and Philemon • Baucis and Philemon merely ask never to live apart from one another • The two live to a very old age, when the gods transform them into two trees –a linden and an oak-growing out of a single trunk

10. Endymion • Endymion is a handsome young shepherd loved by the moon, Selene • Selene casts a magic sleep over him so that she can visit him whenever she wants • Night after night she visits him and covers him with her kisses • Although her passion only brings her a burden of pain as he cannot return the love back

11. Daphne • Daphne is a beautiful nymph that Apollo loves • She runs away from him but he pursues her all the way to the waters of her father, the river god Peneus • Daphne finds her arms harden and twist as father turns her into a laurel tree • Apollo proclaims that the laurel will forever be his sacred tree and that they will be joined together wherever songs are sung and stories are told

12. Alpheus and Arethusa • Arethusa, a beautiful young Greek huntress and a follower of Artemis would have nothing to do with men • One day after an exhausting hunt, she came to a crystal clear stream and decided to take a swim • Frightened when she feels something in the water, runs into the forest where the voice of the unknown told her that he was Alpheus, the god of the river • Arethusa called out to Artemis, and the goddess answered by changing her into a spring