Page:Lovers Legends - The Gay Greek Myths.pdf/86

LOVERS’ LEGENDS Spring came round, and with it, the feast of Dionysus. Orpheus and the men shuttered themselves inside the temple, while the women trampled through the forests of the night, disheveled, drunk. In their frenzy they stumbled upon the temple gates. There was Orpheus inside with their men, gathered around the altar. The women's hate burst its banks and the fumes of the wine made them forget all fear. They took up weapons from the pile by the door, barged into the temple, killed all who stood in their way, and tore Orpheus limb from limb. His remains they scattered all over the surrounding meadows, then they kneeled by the river bank to wash off the bloodstains. The stream, however, 72