The Sandman Omnibus Vol. 1

Orpheus uses his music to open a door to his father’s realm. He asks Dream to petition Hades to return Eurydice, but Dream encourages him to live his own life. Orpheus is angry and tells Dream he is no longer his son and ignores Dream’s commands to return to him. Instead, Orpheus goes to a high cliff planning on suicide so he may join Eurydice, but he’s stopped by Dream’s brother Destruction. Destruction advises Orpheus to go to Death instead. Orpheus arrives at Death’s home—which is very modern and strange to Orpheus’s ancient Greek eyes—and asks Death to return Eurydice. Death resists the idea and tells him the only way for him to go to the underworld and back again without being dead is if she promises never to take him there. She looks in his eyes and sees his resolve and agrees to never come for him, then she tells him where the gates to Hades are and sends him home.

Orpheus makes his way to Hades. He rides with the ferryman to the underworld and plays his lyre so beautifully that the ferryman cries. When he arrives, he plays a song for Hades and Persephone, which enthralls every being in the underworld. He even makes the Furies cry, for which Persephone tells him they will never forgive him. They tell him that he can take Eurydice home as long as he doesn’t look back until he reaches the surface. As he walks, however, Orpheus hears nothing and becomes convinced he was tricked. He looks over his shoulder and watches Eurydice disappear.

As an old man, Orpheus plays his lyre to the woods. Calliope comes to see him and tells him she has left Dream. She explains that they fought after Dream told her about the fight he and Orpheus had because she feels that Dream should have discussed the situation with gods of the underworld to get them to return Eurydice. She walked out and now refuses to see him, so now they are both not speaking to Dream. Calliope then warns him that the bacchanate are coming, but he says he does not care. After she leaves, the bacchanate arrive and attack Orpheus, killing him. They behead him and throw his head into the river; Orpheus, however, still lives and shouts out Eurydice’s name as his head floats down the river—just as his dream foretold the night before his wedding.

Dream finds him and tells him he has come to say goodbye. When Orpheus calls him father, Dream reminds him that Orpheus disowned him some time ago. Dream tells him that he has sent priests to care for Orpheus, but they will never see each other again.