TITLE: Orpheus Confronts Hades

NAME: Carsen
COUNTRY: USA

EMAIL: webmaster@carsenyoung.tk
WEBPAGE: www.carsenyoung.tk

TOPIC: Mythology
COPYRIGHT: I SUBMIT TO THE STANDARD RAYTRACING COMPETITION COPYRIGHT.
JPGFILE: hadescy.jpg
RENDERER USED: 
    Cinema 4D


TOOLS USED: 
    Cinema 4D, Poser 4, Photoshop 7 and Paint (for textures)


RENDER TIME: 
    28 Sec


IMAGE DESCRIPTION: 
    One of my favorite stories in greek mythology is that of
Orpheus ad Eurydice. Here I have chosen to show Orpheus's confrontation with
Hades.  For those unfamiliar with the story (and who would like to read it)
I've copied a decent telling of it below (credit:
http://www.bulfinch.org/fables/bull24.html).

ORPHEUS was the son of Apollo and the Muse Calliope. He was presented by his
father with a lyre and taught to play upon it, which he did to such perfection
that nothing could withstand the charm of his music. Not only his
fellow-mortals, but wild beasts were softened by his strains, and gathering
round him laid by their fierceness, and stood entranced with his lay. Nay, the
very trees and rocks were sensible to the charm. The former crowded round him
and the latter relaxed somewhat of their hardness, softened by his notes.

Hymen had been called to bless with his presence the nuptials of Orpheus with
Eurydice; but though he attended, he brought no happy omens with him. His very
torch smoked and brought tears into their eyes. In coincidence with such
prognostics, Eurydice, shortly after her marriage, while wandering with the
nymphs, her companions, was seen by the shepherd Aristaeus, who was struck by
her beauty and made advances to her. She fled, and in flying trod upon a snake
in the grass, was bitten in the foot, and died. Orpheus sang his grief to all
who breathed the upper air, both gods and men, and finding it all unavailing
resolved to seek his wife in the regions of the dead (Hades). He descended by a
cave situated on the side of the promontory of Taenarus and arrived at the
Stygian realm. He passed through crowds of ghosts and presented himself before
the throne of Pluto (Hades) and Proserpine (Persephone). Accompanying the words
with the lyre, he sung: 

"O deities of the under-world, to whom all we who live must come, hear my words,
for they are true. I come not to spy out the secrets of Tartarus, nor to try my
strength against the three-headed dog with snaky hair who guards the entrance.
I come to seek my wife, whose opening years the poisonous viper's fang has
brought to an untimely end. Love has led me here, Love, a god all powerful with
us who dwell on the earth, and, if old traditions say true, not less so here. I
implore you by these abodes full of terror, these realms of silence and
uncreated things, unite again the thread of Eurydice's life. We all are
destined to you, and sooner or later must pass to your domain. She too, when
she shall have filled her term of life, will rightly be yours. But till then
grant her to me, I beseech you. If you deny me, I cannot return alone; you
shall triumph in the death of us both." 

 As he sang these tender strains, the very ghosts shed tears. Tantalus, in spite
of his thirst, stopped for a moment his efforts for water, Ixion's wheel stood
still, the vulture ceased to tear the giant's liver, the daughters of Danaus
rested from their task of drawing water in a sieve, and Sisyphus sat on his
rock to listen. Then for the first time, it is said, the cheeks of the Furies
were wet with tears. Proserpine could not resist, and Pluto himself gave way.
Eurydice was called. She came from among the new-arrived ghosts, limping with
her wounded foot. Orpheus was permitted to take her away with him on one
condition, that he should not turn around to look at her till they should have
reached the upper air. Under this condition they proceeded on their way, he
leading, she following, through passages dark and steep, in total silence, till
they had nearly reached the outlet into the cheerful upper world, when Orpheus,
in a moment of forgetfulness, to assure himself that she was still following,
cast a glance behind him, when instantly she was borne away. Stretching out
their arms to embrace each other, they grasped only the air! Dying now a second
time, she yet cannot reproach her husband, for how can she blame his impatience
to behold her? "Farewell," she said, "a last farewell,"- and was hurried away,
so fast that the sound hardly reached his ears.




DESCRIPTION OF HOW THIS IMAGE WAS CREATED: 
    Characters are the basic P4 poser
models.  Hades has demon morphs applied to his face (morphs obtained at
morphworld30.com).
The rock formations are fractal landscaes and I used a multitextured glowing
plane for lava.  Hades and Orpheus's clothing are modified cylinders.

