28 August 2009 | The lyre of Orpheus, the string instrument which the Thracian and ancient Greek mythological musician played with mastery, was recreated and will be displayed in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv as part of a project of the Municipal Institute Ancient Plovdiv, its representatives recently announced.
The instrument, which is 40 centimetres long, was made from cycamore tree and a turtle’s hollow. According to national media, although the original idea was to make the instrument from materials that were as close as possible to the authentic ones, it turned out that no animal species existed from which to get 45-centimetre-long horns.

The lyre was recreated as part of a 150,000-euro project between Bulgaria, Spain and Italy.

The model of the instrument will be officially presented on September 12 in Plovdiv’s Ancient Theatre. According to national media, a film which tells the story of the ancient lyre’s recreation is also in the works.

The legendary figure of Orpheus was venerated by the Thracians and ancient Greeks as the most gifted poet and musician and the perfector of the lyre invented by Hermes. According to legend, with his music and singing, Orpheus could charm birds, fish and wild beasts, coax the trees and rocks into dance, and even divert the course of rivers.

Perhaps the best-known myth about Orpheus is his descent into the Underworld and with his music softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone, who agreed to allow his dead wife Eurydice to return with him to earth on one condition: he should walk in front of her and not look back until they both had reached the upper world. But his anxiety made him look back as soon as he reached the upper world and she vanished forever. Orpheus nevertheless remains one of the handful of Greek heroes to visit the Underworld and return.

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