Note 51 — Chapter VII

These last six words are lacking in M. This refers to the well-known myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. By Auresteo, San Agustin means Aristæus, probably an early Greek poet, but deified as a beneficent god and worshiped in various parts of Greece and other places. He was said to be the son of Apollo and the Thessalian nymph Cyrene, and was reared by Hermes, who made him immortal; although he is also sometimes called the son of Urana and Gæa. His connection with the Orpheus myth was probably an innovation of Virgil (Georgics, iv, ll. 315–558) who tells how he caused the death of Eurydice, who was killed by a serpent while fleeing from his persecutions. See Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, and Seyffert’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (London, 1891).

“It is still the custom in many of the churches for the men to take their positions in the center toward the upper part, and the women in the lower half.” (Mas, p. 68.)