A long time ago when the Gods still roamed the Earth disguised as Men, Apollo, the God of Music, left his home on Mount Olympus to find something that would make his heart sing. He dressed so that nobody would know he was a God because he didn’t want people to find out who he was and try to impress him unnaturally. He wanted to find a true musician who played out of a love for music, not just because there was a God before them.
Apollo travelled far and wide and encountered many a player, most were enjoyable, they were pleasant but nothing more, he despaired because nothing made his heart sing. Until one day, as he walked through a forest, it seemed that all the birds were singing together, just one song.
He turned to a bird and asked it, ‘Dear bird, this song that you sing, that you all sing, prey tell me what it is and the reason for it. It’s beautiful.’
The bird spoke and said, ’ We are lucky because Lason the Lyre maker and player lives just the other side of this forest, when he plays we sing with him. His music is very beautiful and enchants all around him.’
Apollo was very pleased to hear this, and by following his ears he found Lason. Lason at first did not even notice Apollo and continued to play, lost in his music. Apollo knew that he had found the most beautiful musician and his heart sang. As a reward he gave Lason a huge castle overlooking the sea and all the food and wine he would ever need.
Lason was very happy and sat all day every day playing his Lyre and looking out to sea. But there was a problem, his beautiful music travelled far across the Sea and deep down below to the ears of Persephone, wife of Pluto, King of the Underworld. She had never heard such beautiful music and started to cry, unhappy that no such musician would ever play for them like that under the sea.
Pluto loved his wife very much and couldn’t bear to see her sad, so he hatched a plan and stole Lason to keep him below the sea for all eternity playing his music and making Persephone happy.
Lason was very much shocked and scared by what had happened and found life under the sea very different to what he was used to. There was no sunlight and the creatures were strange, there were no birds to sing him good morning, or bees to make him honey. He became very sad and every time he tried to play his Lyre he started to cry and couldn’t remember any of his notes. He wanted to play for Persephone, for he could see she needed music in her life, but couldn’t bring himself to play any of his tunes.
Persephone was kind and patient but Pluto was not, he took Lason’s sadness as an insult and became angry and shouted, ‘What is the point of Lason being here if won’t play us any music?! Does he not have everything he need?!!’
But it was no use, Pluto’s anger just made Lason more scared and unable to play his music.
Eventually Pluto had enough and when Persephone was asleep he threw Lason into a pit for his serpent pet Lernean Hydra to play with and destroy. Lernean Hydra was the most vicious and scary of all creatures beneath the sea. It had 9 serpent heads each with the jaws of a shark on a body of a giant electric eel. Lernean Hydra liked to gradually kill it’s victims before sucking out their insides and leaving their empty bodies as shells on the bottom of the ocean.
Lason was very scared but luckily he had his Lyre! He didn’t know what to do, but he knew he didn’t want to die. So he decided to play his Lyre in the hope of distracting Lernean Hydra and then making an escape. But his plan went better than he could ever have hoped. All the nervous energy he had went in to his playing, and suddenly he remembered all his sadness at being stolen in the first place and the notes poured from his heart and out of the Lyre. It was unlike any music he had ever played before. Underwater it sounded different.
Lernean Hydra very quickly because hypnotized by Lason’s music and all the serpent heads swayed in rhythm with the music. Lason knew that as long as he played his Lyre he would be fine, but he was scared that when he stopped the beast would kill him.
Luckily for Lason, Persephone was awoken by the beautiful, strange, sad music and went to see where it was coming from. She saw Lason and instantly helped him to escape by distracting Lernean Hydra long enough for Lason to get out of the pit.
Persephone was very kind and told Lason that she would help him get back up to the land, where he belonged, but that she was very sad she would never hear his beautiful music beneath the sea again.
Lason wanted to thank Persephone for her help and understanding and had a very good idea. Before he left he decided to make Persephone her own Lyre and to teach her to play, so anytime she wanted to hear beautiful music she would only need to play for her self.
Lason was a skilled instrument maker and teacher, and Persephone was an excellent student. It did not take Persephone long to learn what she needed to do.
Good to her word she helped Lason back up to land and he returned to his castle where he sat every day playing his music and being happy.
Persephone too loved to play her Lyre and made the water sing and dance with her beautiful music, like it never had before, the water would raise up and crash down in elation at her tunes.
Lason would look out to the dancing sea in in joy because he knew it was Persephone’s music that created the movement and energy we now call waves.
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