The Singing Head of Orpheus
Greek myth says the head of the singer Orpheus floated across the sea still singing, and gave prophecies from a cave on Lesbos.
What was reported
Orpheus was the greatest musician of Greek myth, whose songs could charm animals and trees. After his death, the stories say, his head and his lyre were thrown into the river Hebrus, and floated out to sea, still singing, until they washed up on the island of Lesbos.
There the head was placed in a cave, where it went on singing and gave oracles, so popular that people stopped visiting Apollo's oracles, until Apollo himself told it to be silent.
Explanations offered
It's a myth, told by ancient writers in several versions. Lesbos was famous for its poets and musicians, including Sappho, and the legend was a way of explaining why the island was the home of song.
- When
- Greek myth
- Where
- Antissa, Lesbos, Greece
- Witnesses
- Greek tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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