Milena VRBANOVA
Orpheus is a peculiar name that has always challenged historians and linguists of all ages to try to explain its meaning. Nowadays, among researchers of Thracian antiquity, there is a fierce competition in this regard.
Since Orpheus is one of mankind's greatest cultural heroes, although not deified like Dionysus and Horus, modern interpretations of the origin of his name wander in the high poetic realms - "divine light", "divine knowledge", "birth" etcetera. The Latin word orbis is often taken as a starting point, which allows for a limitless flight of fancy - circle, disc, zodiac, world, universe, globe, earth, country, kingdom, human race, etc. Any of these concepts could be a worthy name for the famous Thracian singer and philosopher. No one thinks that the most ancient names and nicknames originate from simple Bitean words.
For years I have been impressed by the closeness of the name Orpheus with the Italian word orphano - orphan, orphelin in French. In Latin, the word meaning "orphan" is the same - orphanus, but it originates from another, more general concept - orbus, orba (same m. and g. r.), which, in addition to the meaning "orphan, orphan" ;, will also say "deprived, huh". Orbus - "deprived, having no", refers to persons bereft of parents, spouses or offspring - the orphans, widowers and the childless.
One of the most striking moments in the legend of Orpheus is his widowhood and efforts to bring his wife Eurydice out of the realm of the dead. So the name Orpheus, which sounds like a wonderful musical phrase in our mythologized minds, is actually a trivial nickname and means THE WIDOWOR.
No matter how disappointing this discovery is, it should not take anything away from the beauty of the love between Orpheus and Eurydice, nor from the greatness of the cultural assets donated by the legendary musician to the Thracian peoples - and through them to the entire human race .