the Devil’s Throat
The Greek poet Sappho of Lesbos
wrote a poem referring to a woman
who died without having access to
the Orphic mysteries: “After you
die, you will lie without anyone
remembering or missing you with
sorrow, because you did not enjoy
the roses of Pieria. You will be
ignored, as well, in the house of
Hades, floating wandering among
the dark deceased”. Was Sappho
a follower of the Orphic mysteries?
Possibly yes.
Candidates had to be accepted
into the Orphic mysteries, which
were esoteric and only disclosed to
those who managed to be initiated. The initiates were required to
then save and protect the knowledge they were taught. Sappho’s
poems speak of reverence to the
Orphic religion on more than one
occasion, for instance, in one she
speaks of rising over the affliction of death, considering it a sin
to lament at the Muses’ Home,
because as she said: “I’d rather
die listening to this song (Orpheus
with his lyre)…”.
23
The Head of Orpheus