Last week we were able to see the meteor shower known as the Barren.
Although this shower of stars comes from Thatcher’s kite, traditionally it has been considered that they fall from the Lira constellation, from which they have taken their names. But what do we know about this constellation?
As you know, the lyre is an instrument that caused the devotion of many musicians in the ancient Greece and, therefore, starred in many legends, such as the young Orpheus, who lost his beloved because of the distrust.
The Legend of the Lira Constellation
As I was saying, the legend of this constellation comes from the history of Orpheus, a young man known for being so good playing the lyre that everyone came to listen to the music he played, because it was said that he made souls rest.
And if today it is the rock stars who are the most linked, in ancient Greece the lyre players, since one of those days when he was playing, he caused the admiration of the young Eurdice, who fell hopelessly in love with him.
They soon began a relationship that ended in a happy marriage until one day he bit a snake at the girl, died immediately because of the poison.
Broken by impotence, Orpheus began to play on his lyre songs so sad who aroused the compassion of nymphs and gods, who encouraged him to speak to Hades and Persphone, the gods of the underworld, to ask them to return it. In the same way that he had done before, he also managed to soften their hearts, who promised to return it with one condition: Orpheus must walk before Eurydice and don’t look back until they had both reached the world of the living.
The young man kept his promise almost to the end; but, at the last moment, when he was already treading the world of the living but she had not finished doing it yet, turned his head to see if she was all right and watched as she vanished without him doing anything to hold her back.
How did the Lyre get to heaven?
Decomposed by pain, Orpheus tried to return to the underworld, but this time he was denied entry, so he spent the rest of his life in the bush, where he had to reject several nymphs who proposed a love relationship to him. He also rejected the maenads, a group of Greek women worshipers of the god Bacchus;who, angered by the contempt, killed and tore him apart, throwing his head and his lyre into the river.
However, his lyre had been the creator of great feats and did not deserve to be forgotten, so Zeus decided to send it to the firmament, where each year unloads thousands of stars on our heads.
This is the end of a story that not only explains the origin of a precious constellation according to mythology, but also explains how terrible it can be to miss our word. And, of course, there are no good stories without moral.
