Previously, we saw the Sirens (illustrated to your left in a painting by John William Waterhouse) appear in the Odysssey. They are considered a cunning, blood-thirsty group of creatures intent on leading Odysseus, his crew, and many other sailors to their deaths. But we don't really get their backstory during this process. One version of their story, is that at some point, they were good friends with Persephone. When Persephone was stolen by Hades and went missing, Demeter called to the Sirens for help. Since the Sirens failed to return Persephone home, Demeter turned them into bird-like creatures and cursed them to wait on an island and call(sing) to Persephone until she was returned for good. In the poem we read this year,"Siren Song", it seemed to show us that maybe they aren't happy to be on the island. What's your opinion of how the Sirens feel on the island (Mad, happy, sad...etc.). Explain your answer. How do you think the sirens differ from other Greek mythological monsters/obstacles?
The emotions of the Sirens remained unknown to any reader of Greek mythology, and perhaps for a good reason. The reader have gained more knowledge than they would have needed to have, and that would have taken from the mystery and allure of the Sirens. In my opinion, I believe the Sirens could be feeling a whole range of emotions in the myths. When they are waiting for another foolish ship to wander by, they would be bored. When singing, maybe they would feel happy, and anxious to grab their next meal. Perhaps they were very annoyed and angry when Odysseus escaped their captivating singing. I imagine that would have put a dent in their ego. The Sirens are different from other mythical figures because they have their voice as a weapon. However, the sphinx, another mythical creature, asks riddles in a similar type of way. Along with its stunning knowledge of riddles and tricks, it also hosts some very sharp claws and fangs for tearing apart any unlucky passerby who could not find the correct answer to her riddles. This fact is similar to the myth of the Sirens, but then again the enchanting power of their voice steals the wits out of men, rather than challenging them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Carolyn said about the emotions being unknown to the reader, but to me I got the idea that they were sad but also tricky. They do not do anything until ships go by them. So while waiting for men or women to go by they are sad because they have nothing to do, but when a ship of people go bye they get excited and tricky. They try to mesmerize the people on the boat so they can capture them.I think that there are a few differences between other Greek mythological creatures, but also some similarities. One of the differences that I see is that the Sirens sing to captivate people, but for example, monsters fight and kill people to take them captive. A similarity between the monsters and Sirens is that they are both trying to steer the humans the wrong way because they are both obstacles the people are trying to dodge.
ReplyDeleteIn Greek mythology there are many monsters and obstacles that heroes must overcome to reach hero status. Many of these monsters are ones of great size and strength. This means that for a hero to overcome them all they need to do is be athletic strong or fast. An example of this kind of monster is Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the entrance to Hades’ underworld. One would need to be extremely muscular or fast to get by this massive dog. The sirens do not attack physically but are just as dangerous. They attack the will of man with their twisting words in their song. They bait the men in and then attack them while the men are enchanted by their voices.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the sirens were extremely unhappy to be on the island which makes sense because if the sirens were enjoying themselves on the island, then Persephone should have come up with a better idea of punishing them. Many of the monsters in Greek mythology are similar to the sirens because, like the sirens, many other monsters captured their prey by luring it over or tempting it first. The sirens are different from many other Greek mythological monsters because of the way that get the victim's attention. The sirens are the only Greek monster that I know of that sang and used their beauty as a disguise to attract their prey.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Sirens differ from other mythological monsters because the other monsters are trying to affect you form reaching your goals and the sirens kind of gave the traveler a warning.
ReplyDelete