The legend of the Orpheus flower - Rhodope silivryak
Silivryak is a mossy plant that grows on the vertical rocks in the Rhodope gorges. Its flowers range from pale pink to dark purple, arranged on a stem up to 15 cm tall.
Orpheus’s Flower is very sensitive to light and temperature changes. When in shade, its flowers close, and in sunlight they spread open again. This protected species grows mainly on rocky terrains, often in cracks of rock formations and on moist, mostly shady places.
Silivryak is rare and is found mainly in hard-to-reach places in the region of the Vacha and Arda rivers, as well as around the Yagodina Cave and Trigrad. It is a protected species and is included in the Red Book of Bulgaria.
Thanks to its ability to enter anabiosis, Orpheus’s Flower survived even through the Ice Age.
The Legend of Orpheus’s Flower
One legend tells of Orpheus, who failed to save his beloved Eurydice from the realm of the dead and sank into deep sorrow. His songs were filled with melancholy and sadness, and his tears turned into burning drops. According to the tale, it is from these tears that silivryak was born.
Another legend says that Orpheus stood on the edge of a cliff and played his melancholic but charming melodies. The Bacchae tried to lure him but failed. They became angry, attacked the singer, tore him apart, and threw his harp into the river. Surprisingly, after the harp fell into the water, it began to play by itself, as if mourning the death of its master. From the drops of blood that ran down the rocks, silivryak — the eternal Rhodope flower — was born.
Even the ancient Romans were drawn to the immortal Rhodope flower and depicted it on their coins, minted during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161 AD), showing Rhodope seated on a rock and holding the beautiful Orpheus’s Flower in her right hand.
