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Siren: Difference between revisions
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Sirens were said to live on an island called '''Sirenum scopuli''', or in some different traditions, some place them on '''cape Pelorum''', others in the island of '''Anthemusa''', and others again in the '''Sirenusian islands''' near Paestum, or in '''Capreae''', which was surrounded by cliffs and rocks. | Sirens were said to live on an island called '''Sirenum scopuli''', or in some different traditions, some place them on '''cape Pelorum''', others in the island of '''Anthemusa''', and others again in the '''Sirenusian islands''' near Paestum, or in '''Capreae''', which was surrounded by cliffs and rocks. | ||
They were considered the daughters of [ | They were considered the daughters of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achelous Achelous] (by Terpsichore, Melpomene or Sterope) or Phorcys ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil 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 Thelxiepia/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 changed into the monsters of lore by Demeter for failing to intervene when Persephone was abducted ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovid Ovid] V, 551). The term "siren song" refers to an appeal that is hard to resist but that, if heeded, will lead to a bad result. | ||
===Appearance=== | ===Appearance=== | ||
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===Behaviour: encounters with the Sirens=== | ===Behaviour: encounters with the Sirens=== | ||
Odysseus escaped the Sirens by having all his sailors plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast. He was curious as to what the Sirens sounded like. When he heard their beautiful song, he ordered the sailors to untie him but they ignored him. When they had passed out of earshot, Odysseus stopped thrashing about and calmed down, and was released (''[ | Odysseus escaped the Sirens by having all his sailors plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast. He was curious as to what the Sirens sounded like. When he heard their beautiful song, he ordered the sailors to untie him but they ignored him. When they had passed out of earshot, Odysseus stopped thrashing about and calmed down, and was released (''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey Odyssey]'' XII, 39). | ||
Jason had been warned 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. | Jason had been warned 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. | ||
It is said that after a ship successfully sailed by the Sirens, they threw themselves into the water to show protest. Varying traditions associate this event with their encounters with Jason or Odysseus, though the incident appears in neither Homer's ''[[Odyssey]]'' nor Apollonios Rhodios's ''Argonautika''. It is also said that Hera, queen of the gods, persuaded the Sirens to enter a singing contest with the [ | It is said that after a ship successfully sailed by the Sirens, they threw themselves into the water to show protest. Varying traditions associate this event with their encounters with Jason or Odysseus, though the incident appears in neither Homer's ''[[Odyssey]]'' nor Apollonios Rhodios's ''Argonautika''. It is also said that Hera, queen of the gods, persuaded the Sirens to enter a singing contest with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muse Muse]s. The Muses won the competition and then plucked out all of the Sirens' feathers and made crowns out of them. | ||
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* [[Nix]] | * [[Nix]] | ||
* [[Nymph]] | * [[Nymph]] | ||
* [ | * [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorelei Lorelei], an area of the [Rhine River where fishermen were drawn to their doom by enchanting songs and music. | ||
==Popular culture== | ==Popular culture== | ||
