The power of myth"Why is Eurydice such a bitch?" was the comment I was asked during a class on the poem "Eurydice" by HD "Doesn't she realize that Orpheus loves her and is only trying to save her? Why is she so harsh on him?" It was during a unit on mythology that the students were reading HD's poems: we had recently completed the little blurb "Orpheus and Eurydice" in Edith Hamilton's Mythology when I came across HD's work and decided to introduce it to my students . We had previously explored the role of women in different contexts, historically and religiously. Now we have met the first speaking woman who activated Greek myth with her strong and powerful language. Initially, I wanted students to engage in a comparison between the female figures in Hamilton and HD. The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is one I have taught in the past and it is relatively short. Orpheus had the gift of music with which he enraptured his young wife Eurydice. On the day of their wedding, Eurydice suffered a fatal snake bite and subsequently died, thus leaving Orpheus in despair. He descended into the Underworld to "rescue" his wife and bring her back to the upper world. He seduced Hades (the god of the Underworld) and Hades' wife Persephone with music and was then allowed to bring Eurydice back from the dead, on one condition: that Orpheus never look back to see if she was following him. Orpheus, holding his wife's hand, challenges the hostile terrain of the Underworld to escape with Eurydice and at the entrance makes the mistake of turning back. The mythical character of Eurydice was given only one word ("Farewell") in Hamilton's text. On the contrary, the long work of the poet HD allowed Eurydice to express her frustration... in the center of the paper... narration of classical texts." Special issue: Feminist philosophy of religion. Hypatia. 9/22/94. Retrieved from Electronic Library, April 16, 2001. http://www.elibrary.com Additional Resources Bolen, Jean Shinoda Goddesses in Everywoman: A New Psychology of Women Designed by Gloria Steinem Collins Publishers, 1985. Estes, Clarissa Pinkola with wolves: myths and stories of the wild woman archetype New York: Ballantine Books, 1996.Knapp, Bettina Women in Myth New York: State University of New York Press, 1997.Larrington, Carolyne Ed a Mythology New York: Pandora/Harper Collins. Now reissued as The Woman's Companion to Mythology (1997, Jennifer Barker with Roger J. Woogler The Goddess Within: A Guide to the Eternal Myths That Shape Women Live)., 1989.