Sirens

In the Odyssey the Sirens are beings whose song promises knowledge and destroys sailors. Odysseus hears them while tied to the mast, while his companions close their ears with wax. The episode made the Sirens a symbol of dangerous knowledge, temptation and self-control.

Appearance in art

In early Greek art Sirens often have bird bodies and female heads, not the later mermaid-like form. This is especially important when choosing images and museum parallels.

Additional sources and visual checks

Sirens should be separated from the later mermaid image: in ancient sources they are hybrid singers tied to dangerous knowledge, sea and death. Future images should be checked through vase-painting and funerary context.

For source checks: - Perseus Digital Library - Beazley Archive - LIMC online

Related topics

• Odyssey
• Scylla and Charybdis
• Greco-Roman Mythology

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