Artists in Hades

Having mentioned the judges of the afterlife, Socrates next turns to renowned artists.

The Thracian, Orpheus, lived in a region bordering on Olympus. He was famous for his poetry, music (according to one legend he invented the lyre), and singing. So delightful was his voice that it was said he could calm the wildest men and cause animals to follow him with his singing. One legend even says that with the music of his lyre he was able to charm the gods and monsters of the Underworld.

Musaeus was a contemporary of Orpheus who is variously reported as his son, student, or master. He has been viewed as the archetype of musicians. So great were his musical talents that he was said to have had the power to cure the sick through his music. A series of mystical poems also have been attributed to him.

Among ancient Greek poets, Hesiod is second only to Homer in influence and importance. Like the others mentioned here, he was one of the earliest "civilizers" of Greek culture. He is famous for his burning sense of justice and moral precepts. His writings include Works and Days and The Theogony. The latter is an attempt to make religious conceptions of the gods consistent with each other as well as with Hesiod's own philosophy.

Homer, author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, stands as the greatest and most influential of the Greek poets. His writings contain the heart of Greek mythic beliefs about the gods. In the Iliad Homer covers the Trojan War and in the Odyssey, which may have been a sequel, he focuses on peace.