In the past 7 days, I have indulged myself with the fascinating stories of ancient Egypt and I must say that its really addicting. The diversity of the history of Egyptian can really make someone like me, a history buff go loco. In fact, I have downloaded a couple of documentaries just to satisfy my indulgence.

Pardon me with all this Egyptology stuff popping on your feeds, I just can't help it. I know it will get boring eventually and I won't allow it. So, I will be entertaining you with something different, something that will tickle your interest.

Ready?

Sirens have always been considered a threat to sailors, luring their ships to rocks and the mariners to their deaths. Aside from their sway over seamen, some old myths attest to the Sirens powers of prophesy.

Origin of the Sirens

Sirens, or Seirenes, didn’t always have chimera characteristics. In their early life they were Nereids or sea nymphs. They were Persephone's attendants, daughter of Zeus, god of the sky and Demeter, the harvest goddess. When Hades, ruler of the Underworld, kidnapped Persephone, the Sirens went looking for her.

To facilitate their search or to punish them for failing to protect her daughter, Demeter gave the Sirens the bodies of birds.

The Sirens’ captivating song, used to attract the sailors to their doom, was at first the tune they intoned in calling for Persephone.

There is no real evidence as to how many Sirens are there. Homer state that there were two, some mentioned up to ten while others said three, Peisinoe, meaning seductress; Thelchtereia, the enchantress; and Aglaope, whose name means wonderful face.One is playing the flute, the second one the lyre and the third one sang.

Eventually, the Sirens moved to a Mediterranean island full of flowers with a rocky coast, where their enthralling singing could entice the mariners.

Evolution of the Sirens’ Appearance

As the story of the Sirens spread, their form began to change. At first, the total upper body of a female became attached to the bird, kind of a flying centaur. The second step on their progression was that the Siren had a female body with the wings and feet of a bird.

In due course the sirens got to have sexy, beautiful female bodies and the tail of a fish. They became mermaids. The mermaid connection became so strong that in the Romance Languages – French, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, and Romanian – as well as in Polish the word for mermaid is that language’s equivalent of Siren.

While not immortals, the Sirens lived as long as the mortal who heard their song did not pass by them. However, there are at least two stories in which the sailors do get by and the Sirens do not die naturally.

The Ones that Got Away

One of the tales in which the mariners get away is that of Jason and the Argonauts. The wise Centaur Chiron told Jason that he would need the help of the great musician Orpheus to get past the Sirens.

Sure enough when they came close to the Sirens’ island and the beautiful chimeras began to sing, Orpheus pulled out his lyre and played a much more beautiful melody which protected his companions.

And then there was cunning Odysseus who in his trip back home from the Trojan War – the Odyssey -, wanted to hear the Sirens’ song. Odysseus poured wax on his companion’s ears and then had himself tied up to the mast of the ship so he wouldn’t swim to the Siren’s when he heard their song.

Upset that somebody got away from them, the Siren’s committed suicide by throwing themselves into the sea.

To this day, Sirens are a symbol of female sneakiness and the temptation of physical beauty.

References:
_{Theoi - Seirenes
Wikipedia - Sirens Mythology
Ancient Origins - Seductive Sirens}

Image Credits: 1 2 3 4 5 6

If you find Egyptian history fascinating as much as I do, you may check some of my posts for further reading.

• Tutankhamun - The Boy King
• Valley of the Kings - Graveyard of the Pharaohs
• The Great Sphinx of Giza
• The Tyrant and The Great Pyramid Builder - Khufu
• The Pyramids of Egypt
• The First Female Pharaoh of Egypt - Hatshepsut