The Songs of the Sirens

 

In Greek mythology, Sirens were defined as extremely dangerous and incredibly beautiful creatures (always portrayed as a woman or femine figure), who would lure nearby sailors into their domain with their music. When Sirens sing, it would be almost hypnotic and those who heard it had no choice but to head toward the source of the sound. This form of manipulation caused said sailors to shipwreck on the rocky edged coast of their island.

          Sirens are often the demise of, or some sort of foreseen doom for, the heroes in Greek Mythology. They were referred to as ‘The Muses of the lower world’. Walter Copeland Perry (A famous British Author) wrote of the Siren song. "Their song, though irresistibly sweet, was no less sad than sweet, and lapped both body and soul in a fatal lethargy, the forerunner of death and corruption." A Siren song is simply a melody that is hard to resist but, if followed, will inevitably have a horrible ending.

 

Sirens song to Odysseus:

Once he hears to his heart's content, sails on, a wiser man.

We know all the pains that the Greeks and Trojans once endured
on the spreading plain of Troy when the gods willed it so—

all that comes to pass on the fertile earth, we know it all!^[

 

 

 

Sirens have been physically described in a variety of ways. They seem to be most often described as some form of hybrid of a woman and a bird (The alternating of the woman’s features and bird’s features changing based on the story). It seems to be that the earlier Greek representations of sirens, Sirens large birds with only a head of a woman. These creatures had things like bird feathers and scaly feet to complete the look. I do not know about you, but that sounds pretty gross. Sirens are supposed to be beautiful and alluring; there is nothing attractive about big bird singing songs to bring you to your death…. Later, they became a little more appropriately represented as a, usually younger, female with the legs of birds. In certain fables, the Siren may or may not have had wings. Some of the Sirens even used instruments on the occasion! I mean, c’mon, we can’t expect them to sing acapella all of the time. Sirens could be seen playing a variety of musical instruments. The most common instrument for Sirens would be harps. It is believed that Sirens took on the partial forms of birds because birds and their melodious tones are often considered very musical and birds can have beautiful voices. While Sirens were depicted as some form of bird hybrid, it was simply their voices and music that drew sailors to them. In later depictions, Sirens were usually described simply as seductive women whom had very alluring beauty and music. Sounds like an extremely lethal combination.

          The most common appearances of the Sirens in mythology were their encounters with Greek heroes such as; Odysseus and Jason. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason ). There is also an interesting tale that Hera, queen of the Gods and sister of the big 3; Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, challenged the Sirens to a singing competition with the muses. Unfortunately for the Sirens, the muses defeated them in their musical battle and, as if their victory was not enough, they plucked out the feathers of the Sirens and made crowns out of them.

          In classic fable, a Sirens life ended when a human was able to pass by them without succumbing to their music… There have been scenarios in modern literature and cinema where Sirens are not birdish or water bound hybrids, but may appear as regular women living among humans. Though the basis of a Siren is that their singing captures their prey, the interpretation of the creature has been far beyond distorted for modern entertainment to the point where the entire definition of the creature has been warped. The only common factor between a Siren in ancient Greek Mythology and modern cinema is that they can hit a note and stay on pitch.