Spoilers of course.

One thing I never understood was why Orpheus was mortal in the first place. In the Sandman, he's the son of two immortals, Dream and the muse Calliope. So why is Orpheus mortal, besides the fact that he was also mortal in the Greek myth (despite being the son of Calliope and Apollo), and there would be no story if he weren't?

Also, why didn't Death offer to end his life, the way she did with Hob at the end of the Wake? She agreed not to take him, too; the only difference was that Hob was ignorant of the deal. Could that be the reason why she could come for Hob and not Orpheus?

Perhaps something to do with choice.

My theory is that it's something to do with the fact that Orpheus actually went to the afterlife, and then returned, and there's rules that govern such situations - like never being able to go there again.

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Originally posted by the surly mermaid:
Spoilers of course.

One thing I never understood was why Orpheus was mortal in the first place. In the Sandman, he's the son of two immortals, Dream and the muse Calliope. So why is Orpheus mortal, besides the fact that he was also mortal in the Greek myth (despite being the son of Calliope and Apollo), and there would be no story if he weren't?

Also, why didn't Death offer to end his life, the way she did with Hob at the end of the Wake? She agreed not to take him, too; the only difference was that Hob was ignorant of the deal. Could that be the reason why she could come for Hob and not Orpheus?

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Maybe its genetics? It's a long shot but couldn't it be possible for Orpheus to end up mortal?

As to the situation of Death offering to end his life, it has been stated in several stories that the Endless can interrupt each other's functions. Morpheus actually seems to be the highest offender of interrupting Death's role. He has taken Cain, Abel, Matthew, and some of the other ravens.

In the case of Orpheus circumstances are slightly different. There are several implications that Orpheus made a deal with Death to not die so he could go to the Underworld.

The first instance of this is when Death says, "You could go to the Underworld. You could even come back. All that has to happen is that I agree never to take you. But there's a catch. Rules." Now this could have a double meaning in that she can't physically go with him to the Underworld and/or she can't take him when he dies. The catch is never explained by Death but could be implied that if he goes to the Underworld that she won't come herself and take him.

MORPHEUS: "You were unwise to seek favors of Death. But you have made your own errors. It was your own life."

ORPHEUS: "Please. Father. Help me. Help me to die."
MORPHEUS: "Your life is your own, Orpheus. Your death, likewise. Always, and forever, your own. Fare well."

These lines suggest the fact that Orpheus made a certain deal with Death that allowed her not to take him in order for him to go to the Underworld. Morpheus could have also made his own deal with Death so that he could handle/punish Orpheus.

This seems to imply that the functions of the Endless may bend or flex when it affects or benefits a member of the Endless.

I don't think that there are any hard rules in mythology...think of all the half-immortals who still die very young (I would think they would withstand injury better than a mere mortal).

And yes, in the case of Orpheus in Sandman, he did make a deal with Death--remember, everyone tried to caution him about hasty decisions?

Just came up with a theory on why Orpheus was mortal:

Dream chose him to be mortal. I think genetics is a bit of a long shot Basically because it's too hard to conceive of Dream as a being with set genetics. It's more likely that his body follows his commands, and when Orpheus was conceived, it's not outside the realm of possibility that Dream decided his child would be mortal. Perhaps in a vague/unconscious attempt to give him the chance to experience mortality, finality, etc, by proxy? Would fit into the grander scheme of Gaiman's work quite nicely.

Or alternatively, and this is a bit tricky, maybe it's not possible to conceive an immortal (ignoring the chicken/egg problems this raises)? If it were the planet would fill up pretty quickly...

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Originally posted by looceefir:
Just came up with a theory on why Orpheus was mortal:

Dream chose him to be mortal. I think genetics is a bit of a long shot Basically because it's too hard to conceive of Dream as a being with set genetics. It's more likely that his body follows his commands, and when Orpheus was conceived, it's not outside the realm of possibility that Dream decided his child would be mortal. Perhaps in a vague/unconscious attempt to give him the chance to experience mortality, finality, etc, by proxy? Would fit into the grander scheme of Gaiman's work quite nicely.

Or alternatively, and this is a bit tricky, maybe it's not possible to conceive an immortal (ignoring the chicken/egg problems this raises)? If it were the planet would fill up pretty quickly...

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I think you hit it with your theory. It is stated/implied that Morpheus has a curiosity about humanity (i.e. intrigued by Death becoming mortal) and that he uses humans quite frequently as tools (or at least he did in the early years).