LEGENDS OF MYSTERY

Hello ladies and gents this is the viking telling you that today we are learning about

The Sirens

Image result for sirens

The Sirens were creatures that sang beautifully, luring those passing by to their deaths. Each Siren combined the appearance of a woman and a bird, with the exact appearance varying depending on the artist. 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 of Sirens made them look like seductive women and minimized their bird features.

The Sirens were originally friends of PERSEPHONE. There are multiple myths regarding what happened to the Sirens after Persephone was abducted by HADES, with one saying that DEMETER gave them wings to search for her and another saying that he cursed them because they didn’t stop the abduction.

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, and 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 Sirens to release him.

While Homer’s tale has two Sirens, other myths have reported between two and five Sirens. 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.

We hope you liked this post and as always have a chilled day from thee viking

Comments