Orpheus's lyre - Music history and the myth

The popularity of the famed Orpheus legend in ancient Greece continued throughout the Middle Ages and has survived up to today. Yet the myth contains discrepancies that challenge some of the assumptions regarding his music, beginning with his relationship to the gods Dionysos and Apollo and his tragic death. Though not of Greek origin, Orpheus received his lyre from the Greek god Apollo. Finally, tales of the supernatural power of Orpheuss music intimate that he not only played in the Dorian mode but in a combination of Dorian and Phrygianthe so-called chromatic scale.