The Sirens were creatures that sang beautifully, luring those passing by to their deaths.
The Sirens stand out as one of the most captivating and mysterious creatures in legend. These half-bird, half-woman entities are renowned for their irresistibly sweet melodies, which lure unsuspecting sailors towards perilous fates. The Sirens’ appearance has been a subject of great artistic licence and interpretation throughout history.
Some artists drew Sirens that had bodies of birds with the heads of women, while others made them look like women with the legs of birds. Later portrayals made them look like seductive women and minimized their bird features.
Originally friends of Persephone, the Sirens’ fate took a dramatic turn following her abduction by Hades. Different myths offer varying accounts of their transformation – some say Demeter granted them wings to aid in the search for Persephone, while others suggest they were cursed for failing to prevent the abduction.
In Homer’s Odyssey
Perhaps the most famous story about the Sirens comes in Homer’s “The Odyssey,” as Odysseus and his men sailed by them. Circe had warned Odysseus prior to the encounter about the dangers of the Sirens. He prepared his men by having them put beeswax in their ears to block out the song.
They then tied Odysseus to the mast of the boat, as he wanted to hear what the Sirens sang about. The beautiful song caused Odysseus to order that his men untie him, but instead they tightened the ropes and waited until they were clear of the danger to release him.
While Homer’s tale has two Sirens, other myths have reported between two and five individuals. Their song is both sad and beautiful, and is said to call to Persephone, asking her to return. Those who hear the song can’t resist and are lured to the Sirens location, which ends in their death.
Why the sailors who succumb to this song end up dead is open to interpretation. Some believe that the Sirens are cannibals who consume the sailors that they lure over. Others believe that the Sirens are unable to provide food to their visitors, which eventually leads to starvation, as the visitors can’t leave because of the Sirens’ song. The Sirens survived because their divine nature means they don’t need to eat anything.
In Argonautica
Another appearance of the Sirens takes place in “Argonautica.” Jason passes by the Sirens on his journey, but like Odysseus, he too had been warned of their dangerous song, this time by Chiron. Jason brought Orpheus, a musician, poet and prophet, along with his crew. When Orpheus heard the Sirens singing, he played music even more beautiful than their song to drown them out. One crew member with excellent hearing, Butes, was still able to hear their tempting song and jumped overboard to swim to them. However, Aphrodite took him to safety.
In Later Myths
There have been several stories of these mythological beings after Homer. At least 17 different ancient Greek authors wrote about them. Across these different accounts 7 different lines of parentage are suggested, and at least 15 different names are mentioned for individual sirens. Some authors wrote that when a person heard their song and escaped, the Sirens were fated to die. These authors claim that after Odysseus was able to escape the Sirens despite hearing them, that they threw themselves into the sea and died.
Another story of their untimely end is that the queen of the gods, Hera, was able to get them to compete with the Muses in a singing competition. The Muses defeated the Sirens, and then plucked all their feathers to create crowns from them. The Sirens were so devastated by their defeat that they turned white and then fell into the water, each of them becoming a white island.
The Sirens are the origin of the term “siren song,” which refers to something that’s hard to resist, but which will end badly. One of the most unique aspects of these temptresses, particularly in Homer’s “The Odyssey,” is how it’s not their appearances that attracts sailors, but their voices. Their song is said to occur in the middle of the day, when it’s calm and quiet. The Sirens are said to know both the past and the future, but they make false promises to lure sailors to come to them.
Changing Image of The Sirens Over Time
The concept of sirens has evolved significantly from their origins in ancient Greek mythology to their depiction in medieval folklore and art.
During the medieval era, these mythological temptresses were often portrayed as mermaid-like figures, with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a fish. This image endured as the dominant representation in medieval and later Western art and literature.
In medieval times, sirens took on a more explicitly moralistic role. They were often used as symbols of the dangerous temptations of the flesh and the spiritual peril that women’s seductive nature could supposedly pose to men. This reflected the broader cultural and religious context of the Middle Ages, deeply influenced by the spread of Christian thought.
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