Hyginus Astronomus Poet. Astron. 2.7.1 LYRA
The Lyre was placed among the constellations, according to Eratosthenes, for the following reason: When Mercury first made it from a tortise, he then gave it to Orpheus. The son of Calliope and Oeagrus, Orpheus was especially accomplished upon it. Therefore they say that even wild beasts gathered round him to listen, because of his skill. When he was lamenting the death of his wife Eurydice, he is said to have descended to the dead and there to have praised the offspring of the gods with his song, especially Father Liber (Bacchus). Out of forgetfulness, he forgot to honor Liber, as Oeneus neglected Diana in his sacrifce. Thus, many sources tell that when Orpheus had returned to Mount Olympus, which divides Macedonia from Thrace — however, Eratosthenes says that he was seated upon Pangaeus, when he delighted his audience with his singing — Liber is said to have set the Bacchae upon him to kill him and dismember him. Others, though, say that it was because he had viewed the rites of Liber that this happened to him. The Muses then demanded that his bodyparts be gathered and also his lyre. For this task they acquired tremendous gratitude; so, they importuned Apollo and Jupiter to design the Lyre among the stars as a reminder of Orpheus' particular praise for Apollo. Jupiter awarded that honor, though, to his daughter.

Still others say that Mercury first invented the lyre on Mt Cyllene in Arcadia, he designated seven strings from the number of Atlas' daughters. This was because Maia, Mercury's mother, was one of them. Later, when Mercury had abducted the cattle of Apollo, he was caught. He confessed to lighten his sentence when Apollo asked him to allow him to say that he had invented the lyre; and from Apollo, Mercury received that famous wand as a gift. Taking this wand in his hand, Mercury was about to leave for Arcadia when he saw two serpents grappling with one another, bodies locked together. Mercury held his wand over each of these; thus they separated. Afterwards he declared that the wand had been created for the sake of peace. Many also say, when they make heralds' staffs (i.e. caducei), they put two serpents intertwined on it, because Mercury had taken the first gesture of peace. In athletic and similar contests they use the rod, following Mercury's example.

But, to return to our topic, Apollo is said to have received the lyre and then taught Orpheus to play it. Then, after he himself invented the cithara, he gave the lyre to him. Many even say that Venus came with Proserpina to Jupiter when he was deciding whether to give Adonis to one or the other goddess. Calliope, the muse who was Orpheus' mother, was named by Jupiter to adjudicate this matter. She determined that each of them should keep the child for half the year. But Venus was wroth, because the judgement had not gone solely to her, and she took umbrage upon all women who were in Thrace, since they were so motivated by their love for Orpheus to the point that they sought to dismember him. His head was carried from the mountain to the sea and then cast up by the waves onto the island of Lesbos. The head was taken up by them and designated for burial. In exchange for their kindness, the people of Lesbos are regarded as highly skilled musicians. The Lyre, however, as we said earlier, was inserted among the constellations by the Muses. Many say that because Orpheus first invented pederasty, he seemed to be casting aspersions upon the women and it was for this reason that he was murdered by them.
— trans by RTM
Lyra inter sidera constituta est hac, ut Eratosthenes ait, de causa, quod initio a Mercurio facta de testudine, Orpheo est tradita, qui, Calliopes et Oeagri filius, eius rei maxime studiosus fuit. Itaque existimatur suo artificio feras etiam ad se audiendum adlicuisse. Qui querens uxoris Eurydices mortem, ad inferos descendisse existimatur, et ibi deorum progeniem suo carmine laudasse, praeter Liberum patrem; hunc enim obliuione ductus praetermisit, ut Oeneus in sacrificio Dianam. Postea igitur Orpheus, ut complures dixerunt, in Olympo monte, qui Macedoniam diuidit a Thracia, sed ut Eratosthenes ait, in Pangaeo sedens, cum cantu delectaretur, dicitur ei Liber obiecisse Bacchas, quae corpus eius discerperent interfecti. Sed alii dicunt, quod initia Liberi sit speculatus, id ei accidisse. Musas autem collecta membra sepulturae mandasse, et lyram, quo maxime potuerant beneficio, illius memoriae causa figuratam stellis inter sidera constituisse Apollinis et Iouis uoluntate, quod Orpheus Apollinem maxime laudaret; Iuppiter autem filiae beneficium concessit. (2) Alii autem dicunt Mercurium, cum primum lyram fecisset in Cyllene monte Arcadiae, septem hordas instituisse ex Atlantidum numero, quod Maia una ex illarum numero esset, quae Mercurii est mater. Deinde postea cum Apollinis boues abegisset, deprehensus ab eo, quo sibi facilius ignosceret, petenti Apollini ut liceret se dicere inuenisse lyram, concessit, et ab eo uirgulam quandam muneri accepit. Quam manu tenens Mercurius, cum proficisceretur in Arcadiam et uidisset duos dracones inter se coniuncto corpore alium alium adpetere, ut qui dimicare inter se uiderentur, uirgulam in utrumque subiecit; itaque discesserunt. Quo facto, eam uirgulam pacis causa dixit esse constitutam. Nonnulli etiam, cum faciunt caduceos, duos dracones inplicatos uirgula faciunt, quod initium Mercurio fuerat pacis. Eius exemplo et athleticis et in reliquis eiusmodi certationibus uirgula utuntur. (3) Sed ut ad propositum reuertamur, Apollo lyra accepta dicitur Orphea docuisse, et postquam ipse citharam inuenerit, illi lyram concessisse. Nonnulli etiam dixerunt Venerem cum Proserpina ad iudicium Iouis uenisse, cui earum Adonin concederet. Quibus Calliopen ab Ioue datam iudicem, quae Musa Orphei est mater; itaque iudicasse uti dimidiam partem anni earum unaquaeque possideret. Venerem autem indignatam, quod non sibi proprium concessisset, obiecisse omnibus quae in Thracia essent mulieribus, t Orphea amore inductae ita sibi quaeque adpete rent ut membra eius discerperent. Cuius caput, in mare de monte perlatum, fluctibus in insulam Lesbum est reiectum; quod ab his sublatum et sepultuae est mandatum. Pro quo beneficio ad musicam artem ingeniosissimi existimantur esse. Lyra autem a Musis, ut ante diximus, inter astra constituta est. Nonnulli aiunt, quod Orpheus primus puerilem amorem induxerit, mulieribus uisum contumeliam fecisse; hac re ab his interfectum.