Siren

 

(sī'rən) , in Greek mythology, one of three sea nymphs, usually represented with the head of a woman and the body of a bird. Daughters of Phorcus or of Achelous, the Sirens inhabited an island surrounded by dangerous rocks. They sang so enchantingly that all who heard were drawn near and shipwrecked. Jason and the Argonauts were saved from them by the music of Orpheus, whose songs were lovelier. Odysseus escaped them by having himself tied securely to a mast and by stopping the ears of his men.

In Greek mythology the Sirens (Greek singular: Σειρήν Seirḗn; Greek plural: Σειρῆνες Seirênes) were sea deities who lived on an island called Sirenum scopuli. In some different traditions they are placed on Cape Pelorum, others in the island of Anthemusa, and still others in the Sirenusian islands near Paestum, or in Capreae (Strab. i. p. 22 ; Eustath. ad Horn. p. 1709 ; Serv. I.e.). All locations were described to be surrounded by cliffs and rocks. Seamen who sailed near were decoyed with the Sirens' enchanting music to shipwreck on the rocky coast.

The Sirens were considered the daughters of Achelous (by Terpsichore, Melpomene, Sterope, Chthon (in Euripides' Helen)) or Phorcys (Virgil. V. 846; Ovid XIV, 88). Homer says nothing of their number, but later writers mention both their names and number ; some state that they were two, Aglaopheme and Thelxiepeia (Eustath. ad Horn. p. 1709) ; and others, that there were three, Peisinoe, Aglaope, and Thelxiepeia (Tzetz. ad LycopL7l2) or Parthenope, Ligeia, and Leucosia (Eustath. /. c.; Strab. v. pp. 246, 252 ; Serv. ad Virg. Georg. iv. 562). Their number is variously reported as between two and five, and their individual names as Thelxiepeia/Thelxiope/Thelxinoe, Molpe, Aglaophonos/Aglaope, Pisinoe/Peisinoë, Parthenope, Ligeia, Leucosia, Raidne, and Teles. According to some versions, they were playmates of young Persephone and were given wings by Demeter to search for Persephone when she was abducted (Ovid V, 551). Their song is continually calling on Persephone. The term "siren song" refers to an appeal that is hard to resist but that, if heeded, will lead to a bad result. Later writers have stated that the Sirens were anthropophagous, but this is not supported by classical writings, nor is there any evidence that the Sirens drowned themselves failing to seduce one of the many heroes that passed their way, though that has also become a fixture in retellings of the story.

Appearance

In early Greek art Sirens were represented as birds with large heads, bird feathers and scaly feet and sometimes manes of lions. Later, they were represented as female figures with the legs of birds, with or without wings playing a variety of musical instruments, especially harps. The 10th century encyclopedia Suda [1] says that from their chests up Sirens had the form of sparrows, below they were women, or, alternatively, that they were little birds with women's faces. Birds were chosen because of their characteristic, beautiful voices. However, later in history Sirens were sometimes also depicted as beautiful women (whose bodies, not only their voices, are seductive), or even as mermaids (half woman, half fish). The fact that in some languages, such as Spanish, French, Italian, Polish or Portuguese, the word for mermaid are respectively Sirena, Sirène, Sirena, Syrena and Sereia adds to this confusion. In English however, "Siren" does not commonly denote "mermaid".

In his Notebooks Leonardo da Vinci wrote the following on the siren: The siren sings so sweetly that she lulls the mariners to sleep; then she climbs upon the ships and kills the sleeping mariners.

In 1917, Franz Kafka wrote in The Silence of the Sirens:

Now the Sirens have a still more fatal weapon than their song, namely their silence. And though admittedly such a thing never happened, it is still conceivable that someone might possibly have escaped from their singing; but from their silence certainly never.

Encounters with the Sirens

Jason had been warn by Chiron that Orpheus would be necessary in his journey. When Orpheus heard their voices, he drew his lyre and played his music more beautifully than they, drowning out their voices. One of the crew, however, the sharp-eared hero Butes, heard the song and leapt into the sea, but he was caught up and carried safely away by the goddess Aphrodite.

Odysseus was curious as to what the Sirens sounded like, so he had all his sailors plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast. He ordered his men to leave him tied to the mast, no matter how much he would beg. When he heard their beautiful song, he ordered the sailors to untie him but they stuck to their orders (or they couldn't hear him). When they had passed out of earshot, Odysseus demonstrated with his eyebrows to be released(Odyssey XII, 39).

It is said that, incensed at having been outplayed, the Sirens flung themselves down into the water and perished. Varying traditions associate this event with their encounters with Jason or Odysseus, though the incident appears in neither Homer's Odyssey nor Apollonius Rhodius's Argonautica, nor does this occur when Aeneas encounters them in Book V of the Aeneid. In all versions, they simply continue to sing. Many scholars, however, believe the above vase depicts a drowning attempt on the part of one of the Sirens.

It is also said that Hera, queen of the gods, persuaded the Sirens to enter a singing contest with the Muses. The Muses won the competition and then plucked out all of the Sirens' feathers and made crowns out of them.

According to one story, the Sirens were religious celibates, though Parthenope had a brief unconsummated romance with a man named Metiochus. Supposedly she met with an accident after deciding to end her relationship with him, cutting her hair and dedicating herself to worship of Dionysus, and the place where she fell is known as the Tomb of Parthenope, which was supposedly located in what is now Naples.

In popular culture

As with many mythological creatures, sirens are directly featured in many artistic works and mentioned in many more.

Selected examples

In modern literature, mythological sirens have influenced everything from plant names (for example, a carnivorous plant by the same name in Terry Brooks' Shannara series to comic book characters (Marvel Comics' superhero Siryn). In television, sirens have appeared in shows ranging from sci-fi (the BBC comedy Red Dwarf episode Psirens) and fantasy (an episode of Charmed titled "Siren Song") to action (the Batman TV series episode 97, featuring The Siren played by Joan Collins) genres. The popularity of siren characters extends to films as well with sirens being the main focus of John Duigan's Sirens (1994) and appearing in the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? (the latter drawing particularly on the myth of Odysseus and the sirens).

The idea of the lure of the siren also features in the lyrics and composition of many musical pieces such as Erasure's Siren Song, Savatage's song and album Sirens, and New Order's album Waiting for the Sirens Call. Due to the bewitching powers suggested by the traditional mythology, sirens also tend to be used as characters in computer and video games such as the Final Fantasy series, the video game series Star Control's species "Syreens" and many others.

See also

• Harpy
• Mermaid
• Cecaelia
• Melusine
• Pincoya
• Naiad
• Nix
• Nymph
• Lorelei, an area of the Rhine River where fishermen were drawn to their doom by enchanting songs and music.
• Water sprite
• Slavic fairies
• bird-people
• Huldra
• El Trauco
• Siren (noisemaker)
• Syrenka Coat of Arms of Warsaw
• Rusalka
• Siren (disambiguation) - for other uses of sirens

References

Anonymous (1989) Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Oxford.

External links

• Theoi Project, Seirenes the Sirens in classical literature and art
• The Suda (Byzantine Encyclopedia) on the Sirens

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