Following my blog, you will have understood by now how Galleria Borghese in Rome is a building full of exceptional works of art that often originate from episodes of Greek-Roman mythology. I can mention the wonderful Apollo and Daphne by Bernini, or even some frescoes on the walls of the seventeenth-century villa (as in this case), which bear indelible traces of how art drew from the traditions of the past. But there are not only sculptures or paintings, because in a small room of Galleria Borghese, it is easy to be incredibly surprised by the mastery of artists, including Marcello Provenzale, capable of creating incredible mosaics! What you see in the photo is, in all respects, a harmonious set of small polychrome tiles that, skillfully inserted, manage to create incredible figures and backgrounds. In this image, you see one of the mosaics of the museum, achieved by Provenzale in 1618, in which we see the famous Orpheus playing his lyre. Let's find out more about this mythological character. 

With his singing and his instrument, according to different versions of the myth, Orpheus was able to tame wild beasts, control natural elements, and even bring peace to the Underworld. His love for Eurydice, the unfortunate young woman who died from a snake bite, is famous. Orpheus was devastated by grief but did not give up and, perhaps driven by his divine nature (he would be the son of Calliope, Muse of Song, or even of Apollo himself, according to other sources), decided to descend into the Underworld to ask for the return of his poor and beloved bride. In the end, moved by his music and singing, Persephone herself, Queen of the Underworld, agreed to Orpheus's request, on one condition: the young man, upon leaving the Underworld, should never, under any circumstances, look back. Otherwise, Eurydice's soul would be lost forever in the shadows of the Underworld. Orpheus, however, worried and madly in love, when he already saw the light of the Sun, a few steps from the exit, turned around. And, as Ovid tells us in his Metamorphoses "fearing [Orpheus] that she might escape him and eager to see her, the loving husband turned his eyes back and immediately she [Eurydice] fell back down: stretching out her arms and trying to be taken and grasped, the unfortunate one grasped nothing but the impalpable air [...] she addressed him the final farewell that he could barely catch with his ears and fell again in the same place". Orpheus, as you can imagine, was destroyed by grief because, for the second time and this time directly due to his own fault, he lost his beloved bride Eurydice. But it doesn't end here because the myth of Orpheus, unfortunately, also ends badly. Orpheus was in Thrace and began to reject all his admirers, beautiful women who wanted the young man at all costs, handsome as the Sun! Orpheus, however, faithful to his marriage promise and to Eurydice herself, although dead, rejected all his suitors. Furthermore, he began to teach the Thracians the virtues of homosexual love, free from any other romantic commitment and, from his point of view, from a great pain like the one he had experienced. For these reasons, he made formidable enemies: the Bacchantes, the followers of the God Dionysus. These, upon hearing his sweet voice, knowing of his rejection of heterosexual love and any kind of relationship with other women, attacked him with violence. Around Orpheus, who played his lyre sadly, animals of all kinds gathered, captivated by his singing. Then, however, the incident occurred. Indeed, Ovid tells us:"All weapons could be blunted by the song, but an immense clamor and the Berecynthian flute from the curved cane and the drums and the clapping of hands covered the sound of the lyre. Just then the rocks reddened with the blood of the bard (Orpheus) who was no longer heard. At first, the Maenads (bacchantes) tore apart the countless birds still captivated by the bard (...) and as dogs do that bite the deer destined to die, in the morning, in the area of an amphitheater, so they attack the poet (...) and it happened that not far from there the oxen were plowing the earth pulling the plow sunk into it and muscular farmers were hoeing the hard ground (...) who fled abandoning the tools of their work, so that in the deserted fields hoes, heavy rakes, and long hoes remained scattered. And, after they, possessed, seized those tools and tore apart the oxen with threatening horns, they returned to attack the bard who stretched out his hands and for the first time then uttered words without effect and without being able to move anything". 

Surely the tragic end that befell Orpheus is not something we wish upon anyone, so let's limit ourselves to admiring this fine work of art, displayed in a small room where, among other things, there is also a mosaic depicting Paul V, the Borghese pope who brought fortune to his family. Furthermore, by looking closely at the mosaic related to Orpheus and its tiny tiles, we notice how the character is surrounded by various animals, with a flaming volcano in the background reminding us of his descent into the Underworld. On the left of the mosaic, however, we have two very interesting animals: a dragon and an eagle. Why are they curious? Because they are nothing but the heraldic elements of the Borghese family. In one way or another, they found a way to show off. After all, the entire art gallery here in Rome is a hymn to the wealth of the Borghese, isn't it?