By: Tyler Armer
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Odysseus goes back to Circe’s island where
Circe reveals his course ahead. She gives him
advice on how to avoid danger: the Sirens, the
Wandering Rocks, Scylla, the whirlpool
Charybdis, and the cattle of the sun god.
Odysseus tells his men to tie him up to allow
him to hear the Siren’s song without jumping
off ship to his death. He also placed wax in
their ears for protection.
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“The Sirens were beautiful but dangerous
creatures that lured the sailors with their
beautiful voices to their doom, causing the
ships to crash on the reefs near their island.”
(“Sirens”).
“[A]nyone who heard their song became
absolutely mesmerized with them. So
mesmerized, in fact, that they became
obsessed with reaching the shore to get
closer to the sound. And then the Sirens
would eat them.” (“The Sirens Mythology”).
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“They were the daughters of the river god
Achelous, while their mother may have been
Terpsichore, Melpomene, Sterope or Chthon.”
(“Sirens”).
“The Seirenes(or Sirens) were three sea nymphs
who lured sailors to their death with a bewitching
song. They were formerly handmaidens of the
goddess Persephone. When the girl was secretly
abducted by Hades, Demeter gave them the bodies
of birds, and sent to assist in the search. They
eventually gave up and settled on the flowery
island of Anthemoessa.” (“Seirenes”).
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“Ovid (Metamorphoses, Book V) wrote that the
Sirens were human companions of Persephone.
After she was carried off by Hades, they sought
her everywhere and finally prayed for wings to fly
across the sea. The gods granted their prayer. In
some versions Demeter turned them into birds to
punish them for not guarding Persephone. In art
the Sirens appeared first as birds with the heads of
women and later as women, sometimes winged,
with bird legs.” (The Editors of Encyclopedia
Britannica “Siren/Greek Mythology”).
Some stories say that they had wings and feathers,
while other stories say that Hera plucked their
wings after they fought and they grew mermaid
tails.
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“Odysseus sailed by, bound tightly to the mast,
his men blocking their ears with wax. The
Seirenes [Sirens] were so distressed to see a
man hear their song and yet escape, that they
threw themselves into the sea and drowned.”
(“Seirenes”).
"The Sirens." The Sirens - Mythology's Original
Temptresses. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2015.
"Sirens." Sirens. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2015.
"SIRENS." SIRENS : Bird-Women Monsters/Greek
Mythology, Seirenes, W/ Pictures. N.p., n.d. Web. 08
Dec. 2015.
"Siren/Greek Mythology." Encyclopedia
Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.
Web. 08 Dec. 2015.