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SEIRENES

Greek Name Transliteration Latin Spelling Translation

SeirnSeirnes SirenSireni Entwiner, Binder(seira)

Odysseus & the Sirens, Athenian red-figurestamnos C5th B.C., British Museum

THE SEIRENES (or Sirens) were three sea nymphs who lured sailors to their deathwith a bewitching song. They were formerly handmaidens of the goddessPersephone. When the girl was secretly abducted by Haides, Demetergave them thebodies of birds, and sent to assist in the search. They eventually gave up andsettled on the flowery island of Anthemoessa.

The Seirenes were later encountered by the Argonauts who passed by unharmewith the help of Orpheus, the poet drowing out their music with his song.Odysseus also sailed by, bound tightly to the mast, his men blocking their ears

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with wax. The Seirenes were so distressed to see a man hear their song and yeescape, that they threw themselves into the sea and drowned.

The Seirenes were depicted as birds with either the heads, or the entire upperbodies, of women. In mosaic art they were depicted with just bird legs.

PARENTS

[1.1] AKHELOIOS &MELPOMENE(Apollodorus 1.18, 1.63, Lycophron 712, Hyginus Fabulae141)

[1.2] AKHELOIOS &TERPSIKHORE(Apollonius Rhodius 4.892, Nonnus Dionysiaca 13.313)[1.3] AKHELOIOS & STEROPE (Apollodorus 1.63)[1.4] AKHELOIOS(Pausanias 9.34.3, Ovid Metamorphoses 14.85)[2.1] GAIA(Euripides Helen 167)

NAMES

[1.1] THELXIOPE-THELXINOE, MOLPE, AGLAOPHONOS (Hesiod Catalogues Frag 47)[1.2] THELXIEPEIA, PEISINOE, AGLAOPE (Apollodorus E7.18)

[1.3] THELXIEPEIA, PEISINOE, LIGEIA (Suidas 'Seirenas')[2.1] PARTHENOPE, LEUKOESIA (Strabo 5.4.7 & 6.1.1)[2.2] PARTHENOPE, LIGEIA, LEUKOSIA (Lycophron 712)

ENCYCLOPEDIA

SIRENES or SEIRENES (Seirnes), mythical beings who were believed to havthe power of enchanting and charming, by their song, any one who heard themWhen Odysseus, in his wanderings through the Mediterranean, came near thisland on the lovely beach of which the Sirens were sitting, and endeavouring tallure him and his companions, he, on the advice of Circe, stuffed the ears his companions with wax, and tied himself to the mast of his vessel, until h

was so far off that he could no longer hear their song (Hom. Od. xii. 39, &c166, &c.). According to Homer, the island of the Sirens was situated betweeAeaea and the rock of Scylla, near the south-western coast of Italy. Homer saynothing of their number, but later writers mention both their names annumber some state that they were two, Aglaopheme and Thelxiepeia (Eustatad Hom. p. 1709); and others, that there were three, Peisino, Aglaope, anThelxiepeia (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 712), or Parthenope, Ligeia, and Leucos(Eustath. l. c. ; Strab. v. pp. 246, 252; Serv. ad Virg. Georg. iv. 562). They acalled daughters of Phorcus (Plut. Sympos. ix. 14), of Achelous and Sterop(Apollod. i. 7. 10), of Terpsichore (Apollon. Rhod. iv. 893), of Melpomen(Apollod. i. 3. 4), of Calliope (Serv. ad Aen. v. 364), or of Gaea (Eurip. He

168). Their place of abode is likewise different in the different traditions, fosome place them on cape Pelorum others in the island of Anthemusa, anothers again in the Sirenusian islands near Paestum, or in Capreae (Strab. i. p22; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1709; Serv. l.c.). The Sirens are also connected witthe legends about the Argonauts and the rape of Persephone. When thArgonauts, it is said. passed by the Sirens, the latter began to sing, but in vaifor Orpheus rivalled and surpassed them ; and as it had been decreed that theshould live only till some one hearing their song should pass by unmoved, the

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threw themselves into the sea, and were metamorphosed into rocks. Somwriters connected the self-destruction of the Sirens with the story of Orpheuand the Argonauts, and others With that of Odysseus (Strab. v. p. 252; Orph

Arg. 1284; Apollod. i. 9. 25; Hygin. Fab. 141). Late poets represent them aprovided with wings, which they are said to have received at their own requesin order to be able to search after Persephone (Ov. Met. v. 552), or as punishment from Demeter for not having assisted Persephone (Hygin. l. c.), ofrom Aphrodite, because they wished to remain virgins (Eustath. l. c. ; AeliaH. A. xvii. 23; Apollon. Rhod. iv. 896). Once, however, they allowed themselveto be prevailed upon by Hera to enter into a contest with the Muses, and beindefeated, they were deprived of their wings (Paus. ix. 34. 2; Eustath. aHom. p. 85). There was a temple of the Sirens near Surrentum, and the tomof Parthenope was believed to be near Neapolis. (Strab. i. p. 23, v. p. 246.)

ACHELOIS. A surname of the Sirens, the daughters of Achelous and a muse(Ov. Met. v. 552, xiv. 87; Apollod. i. 7. 10.)

LIGEIA or LIGEA (Ligeia), (Ligeia), i. e. the shrill sounding, occurs as the namof a seiren and of a nymph. (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1709; Virg. Georg. iv. 336.)

PARTHENOPE (Parthenop). One of the Seirens (Schol. ad Hom. Od. xii. 39Aristot. Mir. Ausc. 103.) At Naples her tomb was shown, and a torch race waheld every year in her honour. (Strab. v. p. 246; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 732.)

Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

BIRTH & NAMES OF THE SEIRENES

Hesiod, Catalogues of Women Fragment 47 (from Scholiast on Homer's Odysse

12. 168) (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :

"Their [the Seirenes] names are Thelxiope or Thelxinoe, Molpe andAglaophonos."

Euripides, Helen 167 (trans. Vellacott) (Greek tragedy C5th B.C.) :

"Winged maidens, virgin daughters of Gaia (Earth), the Seirenes."

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 18 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer

C2nd A.D.) :

"Melpomene bore to Akheloios the Seirenes, whom we shall discuss in the coursof the tale of Odysseus."

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 63 :

"They [King Porthaon & his wife Euryte of Aitolia] also had a daughter Sterope,

who was alleged to be the mother by Akheloios of the Seirenes."Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca E7. 18 :

"The Seirenes. They were the daughters of Akhelous and the Mousa Melpomeneand their names were Peisinoe, Aglaope, and Thelxiepeia."

Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4. 892 (trans. Rieu) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.) :

"Lovely Terpsikhore, one of the Mousai, had borne them [the Seirenes] toAkheloios."

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Lycophron, Alexandra 712 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.) :"The triple daughters [the Seirenes] of Tethys son [Akheloos], who imitated thestrains of their melodious mother [Melpomene] . . . One of them . . . the birdgoddess Parthenope. And Leukosia . . . and Ligeia."

Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 141 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.)"The Sirenes, daughter of the River Achelous and the Muse Melpomene."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 13. 313 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :"Lake Katana [in Sicily] near the Seirenes, whom rosy Terpsikhore brought forthby the stormy embraces of her bull-horned husband Akheloios."

Suidas s.v. Seirenas (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D

:

"The names of the Seirenes: Thelxiepeia, Peisinoe, Ligeia."

Greek Names:Transliteration:Latin Spelling

Translation:

ThelxiopThelxiopeCharming Voice(thelxis, ops)

ThelxinoThelxinoeMind Charming(thelxis, noos)

ThelxiepeiaThelxiepeaCharming-?(thelxis)

Molp

MolpeSong(molp)

Greek Names:Transliteration:Latin SpellingTranslation:

PeisinoePeisinoeMind-Affecting(noos, peisis)

AglaophnosAglaophonusSplendidSounding(aglaos, phn)

AglaopAglaopeSplendid Voice(aglaos, ops)

ParthenopParthenopeMaiden Voice(parthenos,ops)

Greek Names:Transliteration:

Latin SpellingTranslation:

LigeiaLigeaClear Toned(ligeios)

LeuksiaLeucosiaWhiteSubstance(leuk, sia)

SEIRENES GENERAL

Hesiod, Catalogues of Women Fragment 47 (from Scholiast on Homer's Odysse12. 168) (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :

"He [Apollonius] followed Hesiod who thus names the island of the Seirenia: 'Tothe island Anthemoessa (Flowery) which the son of Kronos gave them. And theinames are Thelxiope or Thelxinoe, Molpe and Aglaophonos. Hence Hesiod saidthat they charmed even the Anemoi (Winds)."

Alcman, Fragment 1 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric II) (Greek lyric C7th B.C

:"She is of course not more melodious than the Serenides, for they aregoddesses."

Alcman, Fragment 30 :

"The Mosa (Muse) cries out, that clear-voiced Seren."

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Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 21. 1 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nA.D.) :

"Down to the present day men are wont to liken to a Seiren whatever ischarming in both poetry and prose."

Aelian, On Animals 17. 23 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd A.D.) "But for beauty and clarity of tone their [an Indian birds] singing is unsurpassethey might be, if the expression is not too strong, Seirenes, for these fabledmaidens as celebrated by poets and portrayed by artists had wings."

Ovid, Metamorphoses 14. 85 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1stA.D.) :

"The fleet [of Aeneas] . . . cast off and left behind Hippotades [Aiolos] domainthe smoking land of sulphur fumes, and the three Sirenes Acheloiades rock."

Statius, Silvae 2. 1. 10 (trans. Mozley) (Roman poetry C1st A.D.) :"The triple chant of the Sicilian maidens [the Seirenes] wafted hither."

Statius, Silvae 5. 3. 82 :

"The Tyrrhenian winged maids [the Seirenes] chant to mariners from the fatalcliff."

Apuleius, The Golden Ass 5. 12 (trans. Walsh) (Roman novel C2nd A.D.) :

"Like Sireni they lean out over the crag, and make the rocks resound with thedeath-dealing cries!"

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 2. 10 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :

"When a sailor hears the Seirens perfidious song, and bewitched by the melodyhe is dragged to a self-chosen fate too soon; no longer he cleaves the waves, nlonger he whitends the blue water with his oars unwetted now, but falling intothe net of melodious Moira (Fate), he forgets to steer, quite happy, caring not fothe seven starry Pleiades and the Bears circling course."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 22. 1 ff :"Sang a melody of Sikelian tune like the hymns which the minstrel Seirenes poufrom their honeytongued throats."

Suidas s.v. Seirenas (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D

:"Seirenes : Seirenes were women with lyric voices who, in bygone Greek myth,dwelled on a small island and so enticed passing sailors with their beautifulvoices that crews steered in and perished there. From their chests up they hadthe form of sparrows, below they were women. Mythologers say that they werelittle birds with women's faces who beguiled sailors as they passed by, bewitchi

with lewd songs the hearing of those harkening to them. And the song ofpleasure has no good consequence, only death. But the truth of the matter isthis, that there are narrow straits in the sea created by certain mountains inwhich the compressed rush of water sends up a sort of melodious lilt; when thowho sail by hear it, they trust their lives to the rushing water and perish, withcrews and ships . . . Also in the Epigrams, 'And that talking is sweeter thanSeirenes.' The names of the Seirenes: Thelxiepeia, Peisinoe, Ligeia; Anthemousthe island they inhabited."

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Suidas s.v. Sereneion melos :"Seireneion melos (Siren Song)."

O21.1 SIREN

DECORATIVE

O21.3 SIRENS,

ODYSSEUS

O21.5 SIRENS,

ODYSSEUS

O21.6 SIRENS,

ODYSSEUS

SEIRENES HANDMAIDENS OF PERSEPHONE

Euripides, Helen 167 ff (trans. Vellacott) (Greek tragedy C5th B.C.) :"[Helene speaks :] `Winged maidens, virgin daughters of Gaia (Earth), theSeirenes, may you come to my mourning with Libyan flute or pipe or lyre, tearsto match my plaintive woes; grief for grief and mournful chant for chant, mayPersephone send choirs of death in harmony with my lamentation, so that shemay receive as thanks from me, in addition to my tears, a paean for thedeparted dead beneath her gloomy roof.'"

Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4. 892 ff (trans. Rieu) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.) :"Lovely Terpsikhore, one of the Mousai, had borne them [the Seirenes] toAkheloos, and at one time they had been handmaids to Demeters gallantDaughter [Persephone], before she was married, and sung to her in chorus. But

now, half human and half bird in form, they spent their time watching for shipsfrom a height that overlooked their excellent harbour; and many a traveller,reduced by them to skin and bones, had forfeited the happiness of reachinghome."

Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 141 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.)

"The Sirenes, daughter of the River Achelous and the Muse Melpomene,wandering away after the rape of Proserpina [Persephone], came to the land ofApollo, and there were made flying creatures by the will of Ceres [Demeter]because they had not brought help to her daughter. It was predicted that theywould live only until someone who heard their singing would pass by."

Ovid, Metamorphoses 5. 552 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1stA.D.) :

"The Acheloides [Seirenes], why should it be that they have feathers now andfeet of birds, though still a girls fair face, the sweet-voiced Sirenes? Was it notbecause, when Proserpine [Persephone] was picking those spring flowers, theywere her comrades there, and, when in vain theyd sought for her through all thlands, they prayed for wings to carry them across the waves, so that the seasshould know their search, and found the gods gracious, and then suddenly saw

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golden plumage clothing all their limbs? Yet to reserve that dower of glorioussong, their melodies enchantment, they retained their fair girls features andtheir human voice."

CONTEST OF SEIRENES & MOUSAIPausanias, Description of Greece 9. 34. 3 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2n

A.D.) :

"[At Koroneia in Boiotia] is a sanctuary of Hera . . . in her [the statue's] handsshe carried the Seirenes. For the story goes that the daughters of Akheloios wepersuaded by Hera to compete with the Mousai in singing. The Mousai won,plucked out the Seirenes feathers and made crowns for themselves out of them

SEIRENES & THE DEATH OF THE KENTAUROI

Lycophron, Alexandra 648 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.) :

"Others [Odysseus] shall wander . . . the narrow meet of the Tyrrhenian Straitand the watching-place fatal to the hybrid monsters [the Kentauroi] . . . and therocks of the harpy-limbed nightingales [Seirenes]."

Ptolemy Hephaestion, New History Book 6 (summary from Photius, Myriobiblon

190) (trans. Pearse) (Greek mythographer C1st to C2nd A.D.) :

"In the Alexandra which Lykophron wrote : `What sterile nightingale killer ofKentauroi (centaurs) . . . ', these are the Seirenes who he called killers ofKentauroi."

Ptolemy Hephaestion, New History Book 5 (summary from Photius, Myriobiblon190) :

"The Kentauroi (centaurs) who fled from Herakles through Tyrsenia [in Italy]

perished of hunger, ensnared by the soft song of the Seirenes."

SEIRENES & THE ARGONAUTS

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 135 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographerC2nd A.D.) :

"As they [the Argonauts] sailed past the Seirenes, Orpheus kept the Argonauts check by singing a song that offset the effect of the sisters singing. The only onto swim off to them was Butes, whom Aphrodite snatched up and settled atLilybaeum."

Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4. 892 ff (trans. Rieu) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.) :

"Before long they [the Argonauts] sighted the beautiful island of Anthemoessa,where the clear-voiced Seirenes, Akheloios daughters, used to bewitch with theseductive melodies whatever sailors anchored there. Lovely Terpsikhore, one ofthe Mousai, has borne them to Akheloios, and at one time they had beenhandmaids to Demeters gallant Daughter [Persephone], before she was marrieand sung to her in chorus. But now, half human and half bird in form, they spentheir time watching for ships from a height that overlooked their excellentharbour; and many a traveller, reduced by them to skin and bones, had forfeite

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the happiness of reaching home. The Seirenes, hoping to add the Argonauts tothese, made haste to greet them with a liquid melody; and the young men wousoon have cast their hawsers on the beach if Thrakian Orpheos had notintervened. Raising his Bistonian lyre, he drew from it the lively tune of a fast-moving song, so as to din their ears with a medley of competing sounds. The

girlish voices were defeated by the lure; and the set wind, aided by the soundinbackwash from the shore, carried the ship off. The Seirenes song grew indistincyet even so there was one man, Boutes the noble son of Teleon, who was soenchanted by their sweet voices that before he could be stopped he leapt into tsea from his polished bench. The poor man swam through the dark swell makinfor the shore, and had he landed, they would soon have robbed him of all hope reaching home. But Aphrodite, Queen of Eryx, had pity on him. She snatchedhim up while he was still battling with the surf; and having saved his life, shetook him to her heart and found a home for him on the heights of Lilybaion."

Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 14 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :"Butes, son of Teleon, though diverted by the singing and lyre of Orpheus,

nevertheless was overcome by the sweetness of the Sirens song, and in an effoto swim to them threw himself into the sea. Venus [Aphrodite] saved him atLilybaeum, as he was borne along by the waves."

Seneca, Medea 355 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st A.D.) :

"[On the voyage of the Argonauts :] What, when the deadly pests [the Seirenessoothed the Ausonian sea with their tuneful songs, when, sounding back on hisPierian lyre, Thracian Orpheus well-nigh forced the Siren to follow, though wontto hold ships spell-bound by her song?"

O21.2 SIRENS,

ODYSSEUS

O21.2B SIRENS,,

ODYSSEUS

O21.2C SIRENS,

ODYSSEUS

O21.4 SIRENS,

ODYSSEUS

SEIRENES & ODYSSEUS

Homer, Odyssey 12. 39 ff (trans. Shewring) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :"[Kirke advises Odysseus on his journey :] You will come to the Seirenes first ofall; they bewitch any mortal who approaches them. If a man in ignorance drawtoo close and catches their music, he will never return to fine wife and littlechildren near him and to see their joy at his homecoming; the high clear tones the Seirenes will bewitch him. They sit in a meadow; mens corpses lie heaped all round them, mouldering upon the bones as the skin decays. You must rowpast there; you must stop the ears of all your crew with sweet wax that you ha

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kneaded, so that none of the rest may hear the song. But if you yourself are beon hearing, then give them orders to bind you both hand and foot as you standupright against the mast-stay, with the rope-ends tied to the mast itself; thusyou may hear the two Seirenes voices and be enraptured. If you implore yourcrew and beg them to release you, then they must bind you fast with more bon

again. When your crew have rowed past the Seirenes [you reach the WanderingRocks & the straight of Skylla and Kharybdis]."

Homer, Odyssey 12. 200 ff :

"Then with heavy heart I [Odysseus] spoke to my comrades thus : `Friends it inot right that only one man, or only two, should know the divine decrees thatLady Kirke has uttered to me. I will tell you of them, so that in full knowledge wmay die or in full knowledge escape, it may be, from death and doom. Her firstcommand was to shun the Seirenes--their enchanting notes, their flowerymeadow. I alone was to hear their song, she said. You for your part must bindme with galling ropes as I stand upright against the mast-stay, with the rope-ends tied to the mast itself; then I shall stay there immovably. And if I beg and

beseech you to set me free, you must bind me hard with more ropes again.Thus I told my comrades and made things plain, point by point. Meanwhile thetrim ship sped swiftly on to the island of the Seirenes, wafted still be thefavouring breeze. Then of a sudden the wind dropped and everything becamehushed and still, because some divinity lulled the waters. My men stood up,furled the sails and stowed them in the ships hold, then sat at the thwarts andmade the sea white with their polished oars of fir. I myself, with my sharp swordcut a great round of wax into little pieces and set about kneading them with allthe strength I had. Under my mighty hands, and under the beams of the lordlysun-god whose father is Hyperion, the wax quickly began to melt, and with it Isealed all my comrades ears in turn. Then they bound me fast, hand and foot,

with the rope-ends tied to the mast itself, then again sat down and dipped theiroars in the whitening sea. But them, the Seirenes saw the quick vessel nearthem and raised their voices in high clear notes : `Come hither, renownedOdysseus, hither, you pride and glory of all Achaea! Pause with your ship; listento our song. Never has nay man passed this way in his dark vessel and leftunheard the honey-sweet music from our lips; first he has taken his delight, thegone on his way a wiser man. We know of all the sorrows in the wide land of Trothat Argives and Trojans bore because the gods would needs have it so; we knoall things that come to pass on the fruitful earth.So they sang with their lovely voices, and my heart was eager to listen still. Itwitched my brows to sign to the crew to let me go, but they leaned to their oaand rowed on; Eurylokhos and Perimedes quickly stood up and bound me with

more ropes and with firmer hold. But when they had rowed well past theSeirenes--when music and words could be heard no more--my trusty comradeswere quick to take out the wax that had sealed their ears, and to rescue andunbind myself. But the island was hardly left behind when I saw smoke above theavy breakers and heard a great noise [the whirlpool of Kharybdis]."

Homer, Odyssey 13. 322 ff :

"[Odysseus tells Penelope of his travels :] How he heard the Seirenes singing an

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came to the Wanderers, to grim Kharybdis and to Skylla."

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca E7. 18 - 19 (trans. Aldrich) (Greekmythographer C2nd A.D.) :

"[Odysseus] sailed past the island of the Seirenes. They were the daughters of

Akheloios and the Mousa Melpomene, and their names were Peisinoe, Aglaope,and Thelxiepeia. One played the cithara, the second sang, and the third playedthe flute, and in this manner they used to persuade passing sailors to remainwith them. From the thighs down they had the shape of birds. As Odysseussailed past, he wanted to hear their song, so, following Kirkes instructions, heplugged the ears of his comrades with wax, and had them tie him to the mast,When the Sierenes persuaded him to stay with them, he begged to be set free,but his men tied him even tighter, and thus he sailed past. An oracle had saidthat the Seirenes would die if a ship ever made it past them; and indeed theydied."

Lycophron, Alexandra 648 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.) :"Others [Odysseus] shall wander . . . the narrow meet of the Tyrrhenian Straitand the watching-place fatal to mariners of the hybrid monster [Skylla] . . . andthe rocks of the harpy-limbed nightingales [Seirenes]."

Lycophron, Alexandra 668 ff :

"What Kharybdis shall not eat of his [Odysseus] dead? What half-maiden Fury-hound [Skylla]? What barren nightingale [Seiren], slayer of the Kentauroi [theKentauroi who escaped Herakles were so charmed by the song of the Seirenesthey forgot to eat and so perished], Aetolis or Kouretis, shall not with her variedmelody tempt them to waste away through fasting from food?"

Lycophron, Alexandra 712 ff :

"And he [Odysseus] shall slay the triple daughters [the Seirenes] of Tethys son

[Akheloos], who imitated the strains of their melodious mother [Melpomene] :self-hurled from the cliffs top they dive with their wings into the Tyrrhenian Seawhere the bitter thread spun by the Moirai (Fates) shall draw them."

Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 1. 14d (trans. Gullick) (Greek rhetorician C2nd toC3rd A.D.) :

"The Seirens sing to Odysseus the things most likely to please him, reciting whawould appeal to his ambition and knowledge. `For we know, say they, `all othethings and all that shall befall upon the fruitful earth as well."

Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 125 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.)"He [Odysseus] came to the Sirenes, daughters of the Muse Melpomene andAchelous, women in the upper parts of their bodies but bird below. It was their

fate to live only so long as mortals who heard their song failed to pass by.Ulysses, instructed by Circe, daughter of Sol [Helios], stopped up the ears of hicomrades with wax, had himself bound to the wooden mast, and thus sailed by

Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 141 :"The Sirenes, daughter of the River Achelous and the Muse Melpomene . . . Itwas predicted that they would live only until someone who heard their singingwould pass by. Ulysses proved fatal to them, for when by his cleverness he

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passed by the rocks where they dwelt, they threw themselves into the sea. Thisplace is called Sirenides from them, and is between Sicily and Italy."

Z41.1 SIRENS

ON THE ROCKS

Z41.1B SIRENS,

ODYSSEUS SHIP

SEIRENES & TELEMAKHOS

Ptolemy Hephaestion, New History Book 7 (summary from Photius, Myriobiblon190) (trans. Pearse) (Greek mythographer C1st to C2nd A.D.) :

"Telemakhos was put to death by the Seirenes when they learned that he wasthe son of Odysseus."

CULT OF THE SEIRENES

Lycophron, Alexandra 712 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.) :

"And he [Odysseus] shall slay the triple daughters [the Seirenes] of Tethys son[Akheloos], who imitated the strains of their melodious mother [Melpomene] :self-hurled from the cliffs top they dive with their wings into the Tyrrhenian Sea

where the bitter thread spun by the Moirai shall draw them. One of them[Parthenope] washed ashore the tower of Phaleros shall receive, and Glaniswetting the earth with its streams. There the inhabitants shall build a tomb forthe maiden and with libations and sacrifice of oxen shall yearly honour the birdgoddess Parthenope. And Leukosia shall be cast on the jutting strand of Enipeusand shall long haunt the rock that bears her name, where rapid Is andneighbouring Laris pour forth their waters. And Ligeia shall come ashore atTereina spitting out the wave. And her shall sailormen bury on the stony beachnigh to the eddies of Okinaros; and an ox-horned Ares shall lave her tomb withhis streams, cleansing with his waters the foundation of her whose children werturned into birds. And there one day in honour of the first goddess [Parthenopeof the sisterhood shall the ruler of the navy of Popsops [historical Athenianadmiral Diotimos] array for his mariners a torch-race, in obedience to an oraclewhich one day the people of the Neapolitans shall celebrate."

Strabo, Geography 5. 4. 7 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st

A.D.) :"A monument of Parthenope, one of the Seirenes, is pointed out in Neapolis[Naples in Italy], an in accordance with an oracle a gymnastic contest iscelebrated there."

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Strabo, Geography 5. 4. 8 :"Surrenton [in Italy], a city of the Kampanoi (Campani), whence the Athenaion(of Athena) juts forth into the sea, which some call the Cape of Seirenoussai (ofthe Sirens) . . . It is only a short voyage from here across to the island of Kapre(Capri); and after doubling the cape you come to desert, rocky isles, which are

the called the Seirenes."

Strabo, Geography 6. 1. 1 :"Sailing out past the gulf [Poseidonian Gulf of Leukania in Italy], one comes toLeukosia, an island, from which it is only a short voyage across to the continentThe island is named after one of the Seirenes, who was cast ashore here afterthe Seirenes had flung themselves, as the myth has it, into the depths of the se[following their encounter with Odysseus]. In front of the island lies thatpromontory which is opposite the Seirenoussai and with them forms thePoseidonian Gulf."

Virgil, Georgics 4. 563 (trans. Fairclough) (Roman bucolic C1st B.C.) :"I, Virgil, was nursed by sweet Parthenope [i.e. the town of Naples, where theSeiren was worshipped], and rejoiced in the arts of inglorious ease."

Sources:

Homer, The Odyssey- Greek Epic C8th B.C.

Hesiod, Catalogues of Women - Greek Epic C8th-7th B.C.

Greek Lyric II Alcman, Fragments - Greek Lyric C7th B.C.

Apollodorus, The Library- Greek Mythography C2nd A.D.

Apollonius Rhodius, The Argonautica - Greek Epic C3rd B.C.

Lycophron, Alexandra - Greek Poetry C3rd B.C.

Strabo, Geography- Greek Geography C1st B.C> - C1st A.D.

Pausanias, Description of Greece - Greek Geography C2nd A.D.

Ptolemy Hephaestion, New History- Greek Scholar C1st-2nd A.D.

Aelian, On Animals - Greek Natural History C2nd - C3rd A.D.

Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae - Greek Rhestorician C3rd A.D.

Hyginus, Fabulae - Latin Mythography C2nd A.D.

Ovid, Metamorphoses - Latin Epic C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.

Virgil, Georgics - Latin Bucolic C1st B.C.

Seneca, Medea - Latin Tragedy C1st A.D.

Statius, Silvae - Latin Poetry C1st A.D.

Apuleius, The Golden Ass - Latin Epic C2nd A.D.

Nonnos, Dionysiaca - Greek Epic C5th A.D.

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Photius, Myriobiblon - Byzantine Greek Scholar C9th A.D.

Suidas - Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D.

Other references not currently quoted here: Argonautica Orphica 1271 & 1284;Eustathius on Homer's Odyssey 1709; Tzetzes on Lycophron 712; Servius on Virgil's

Eclogues 4.562; Servius on Virgil's Aeneid 5.364; Plutarch Table-Talk 9.14

Theoi Project Copyright 2000 - 2007, Aaron Atsma