The Sirens Research Paper

Madison Behon
Conway
English 1 Honors
2/6/2017
Sirens and Their Role in Greek Mythology On a small island neighboring Sylla and Charybdis, there lives monstrous creatures know by the name of “Sirens” (Cartwright Siren). Surrounded by the rotting bodies of their previous victims, the Sirens search for more mortals to lead to their doom. Their beautiful voices and lyre playing entices their prey and causes many sailors to shipwreck upon following the lovely sound. Few manage to escape the wretched beasts but those who have are clever in their attempts to drown out the Sirens melody. The Sirens have a tragic origin, play a large roll in Greek mythology, and their true appearance is still debated to this day. Like many characters in Greek mythology, the origin of the Sirens is debated. According to authors Michael Karas and Charilaos Megas, the Sirens are descendants of Achelous, a river God (C). It remains
unclear of who the Siren’s mother truly is, but some believe that they may be the offspring of Chthon, Melpomene, Sterope, or Terpsichore. Mark Catwright adds Phoreys, Gaia, Achclons, and one of the muses to the list of potential mothers (Cartwright Siren). With the vast amount of possibilities, it is indistinguishable whom the ancestors of the Sirens truly are. In most tales, Sirens have a connection to Persephone, daughter of the goddess Demeter. To protect her daughter, Demeter is said to have given the Sirens wings to search for her if she were to be lost (Karas Sirens). After the Sirens fail to protect Prosephone from being kidnapped by Hades, her mother curses them. In a similar story, the Sirens are given the bodies of birds as punishment for failing to thwart Persephone from being raped (Cartwright Siren). One of the biggest appearances the Sirens make in Greek mythology is in Homer's The Odyssey. When voyaging home from the Trojan War, Odysseus comes across the Sirens and thinks up a clever plan to elude them (Cartwright Siren). Directed by Circe, he is tied to the mast of the ship so he can hear the Siren’s beautiful singing but is unable to swim to them. His crew is ordered to plug their ears with wax to block out the Siren’s song, and because of this, they escape their demise (Kelly 97). In another tale, the hero Jason comes across the Sirens on his journey to find the Golden Fleece (Cartwright Siren). By playing his lyre, Jason’s crewmate, Orpheous, masks the Siren’s song with a song far more beautiful than their own (Kelly 97). Because of their defeat the Sirens commit suicide by hurling themselves into the ocean and transform into rocks. The outward appearance of the Sirens varied depending upon which source is being used.
In the end, the unanswered question is whether the Sirens were more related to birds, or to fish. Author Mark Cartwright claims that Sirens have the head of a woman and the body of a bird (A). This ties in to the story of Persephone and makes the most logical sense. As this seems to be the most common statement, other sources believe that only parts of the Sirens were that of birds, such as their arms or legs (Sirens-Mythological Greek Sirens). On the other end of the spectrum, it is believed that the sirens were part fish, resembling a mermaid like creature. This is also logical given that their father is a river God and they live surrounded by the sea. A prominent example of this in modern day society is the logo of the Starbucks company, which presents a mermaid like Siren as previously described. Depending on the story, Sirens have been described as both horrible and frightening monsters with talons or as creatures with a face as gorgeous as their voice (Cartwright
Siren). Although it is uncertain of how they came about, the different theories of the Sirens origins are all unique yet unfortunate. They make their way into famous stories such as The Odyssey and the tale of Jason and the Golden Fleece. Because of their complicated backgrounds, nobody is truly sure what the Sirens actually look like. It arises the question of whether the Sirens were more like a fish or a bird or whether they were gorgeous or grotesque. Conclusively, the stories of the Sirens are all interesting and diverse, even they aren’t all comprehensive.