Page:Lovers Legends - The Gay Greek Myths.pdf/80

 and his satyrs in sacred drunken dances which no man may witness. But the women of Thrace were wounded to the quick for being booted from the temple. They plotted cruel vengeance against the prophet, and only fear of their husbands stayed their hands. Orpheus, however, paid them no mind. He went on singing the gods' stories to his people, edging them away from their rough ways.

Orpheus yearned to spread his teachings to the ends of the world, so when heralds dropped by looking for volunteers to bring back the Golden Fleece from the far reaches of the sea, he seized the chance. In his youth, his parents had never pressed him to join his mates in war games, but his lack of skill with weapons did not stop him. He shouldered his lyre and struck out for the seashore, 66