NalevaikoSirens

//__Sirens __//
 * Sirens seem to have been given two images in ancient mythology, one as a creature similar to a mermaid, and one half bird half woman (as seen in the two images above and below). The more traditional view seems to depict the Siren as a woman with features of a bird. The bird characteristics relate to the Siren’s beautiful and tempting singing voice t **** hat lures men to their deaths. **



** Artist sometimes change the image o **** f the bird version of a siren, usually the **** y are presented as birds with the heads of women, later they were made to only have the legs of a bird with the whole torso of a woman, and sometimes they were birds from the chest up and women from the chest down. **** The mermaid form of a siren came from other cultures such as the French culture where the word Siren means mermaid, which are half woman and half fish. **



** Today when sirens are used in movies or other modern references, they are depicted in mermaid form, genera lly with long hair and the body of a woman with the tail of a fish. Some say the Sirens, after luring the men from their ships, would make their victims fall asleep and then kill them. ** **In the words of Leonardo da Vinci "The siren sings so sweetly that she lulls the mariners to sleep; then she climbs upon the ships and kills the sleeping mariners."**

= __ ** Origins ** __ =

Siren’s seem to have originated in Greek mythology with the original image of a half woman half bird physique. There is a story that says Demeter is the one who gave the Sirens their bird bodies out of rage, after the Sirens failed to save Demeter’s daughter from Hades. Sirens were usually in groups of two to five; the three most common being Aglaope, Peisinoe, and Thelxiepeia, whom were the daughters of the river god named Achelous.

__ ** Appearance ** __

Sirens were generally depicted in Greek mythology as women with the legs or bodies of birds. Their stories allow us to visualize them alone on an island waiting for a passing ship to sing out to. Their island that they lived on has sharp rocks below a steep cliff, but they remained in a much nicer meadow on the top. If their victims escaped they jumped off their island's cliffs in to the ocean below committing suicide. As time progressed their image shifted into a more elegant woman to fit their seductive personalities. The Romans gave the Sirens the image of a mermaid, and today we link their name with a an image of a mermaid, singing beautiful songs, with long pretty hair.

__ ** Mythological Stories ** __

The most well known story of the Siren takes place in The Odyssey. The main character known as Odysseus was passing an island of Sirens while navigating his ship. Odysseus knew the dangers of the Sirens and made his shipmates clog their ears with beeswax so they couldn’t hear the Sirens singing to them. Then he made his crew tie him to the mast of the ship so that he would be able to hear the Siren’s song without risking his life. The Sirens were so upset, since this had never happened before, that they could not accept their defeat and they all drowned themselves by leaping into the ocean below them. Odysseus had made an incredible accomplishment, he was nearly the only man to hear the beautiful luring songs of the Siren and live.

The second man to pass the Siren's island and live was Jason and the Argonauts. Jason and the Argonauts were searching for the Golden Fleece, unfortunately their path took them by the Siren’s island. Jason brought Orpheus, who was a musician; Orpheus played music that was even more beautiful than the song of the Siren. Jason and his crew were able to resist the Sirens temptation by listening to Orpheus’ beautiful melody. Unfortunately one crew member, Butes, still herd the song of the Siren and was unable to resist it; he jumped off the boat into the ocean, luckily he was saved by Aphrodite who pulled him out of the ocean and away from the Sirens.

__ ** Importance ** __

Sirens were always women luring men to their death with their beautiful and seductive singing. They were a symbol of evil concealed by beauty and power. I guess the same could go for women and men today. Although the Siren seems to have so much evil, she is such an interesting creature hiding the mystery of her being in her song. Other important facts include... - Siren's eat the soul of the man not intending to eat the flesh. - The Roman's had said the Siren lives on the island Sirenum Scopuli. - One theory says the men lured there were never harmed by the Sirens, but refused to leave after being lured by their beauty and voice, and the men starved to death.


 * __ Modern Reference __ **

In __Pirates of the Caribbean__, Jack Sparrow and his crew try to capture a Siren in order to complete their mission. The Sirens in the movie are very similar to Mermaids and caused a debate between movie viewers whether or not they were Mermaids or Sirens. The crew struggles to resist the Sirens whom seem to be very sweet at first until they drag crew members to the bottom of the ocean causing a war of pirates versus sirens.

media type="youtube" key="uzQAdri0BcQ" height="315" width="560" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeIqgEImuS4&feature=endscreen&NR=1 this link is for the rest of the scene.

Any other reference to a mermaid may also be linked to a Siren, such as in The Little Mermaid.

Many musicians who were inspired by the Siren have written songs pertaining to their mystery, such as the song below which was featured in the movie __The Lovely Bones__... [|This Mortal Coil - Song to the Siren Cocteau Twins.mp3]

You can color a picture of a Siren or other mythical cr eatures on this site...[| Siren Coloring Page]

Sources [] [] [] []