Tananova Ekaterina

Sirens

Summary of the myth

Siren figure. Bronze. 8.1 cm. Etruscans, V century. BC.

Sirens - mythical creatures female, bird woman or mermaid. They were the product of one of the sea gods - either Phorkis or Achelous - and one of the muses, most likely Terpsichore. The sirens lived on one of the lifeless islands of Anfemoesse near Sicily.

According to legend, the sirens were originally nymphs surrounded by the young goddess Persephone. One day, when Persephone was walking in a meadow near Enna by Lake Perg, the god underground kingdom, Hades, kidnapped her to make her his wife. The poor nymphs could not forgive themselves for not keeping track of their beautiful goddess. No one could tell them where Persephone had disappeared, so they decided to go find her on their own. Not finding the young goddess on land, they went to Persephone's mother, Demeter, for help. The desperate mother turned the nymphs into half-birds and half-fish so that they could look for Persephone in the air and water kingdom. But that didn't help either. When the sirens turned to ordinary people for help, mortals refused to help them. The sirens, in despair, moved to a deserted island and began to take revenge on the entire human race: the fish maidens, singing, pulled the sailors into the depths of the sea. The winged maidens sucked the blood of those who stopped to listen to them.

The Sirens were predicted that they would die when any of the travelers passed by their island without succumbing to temptation. When Odysseus sailed his ship past the island of Anthemoess, he heeded Circe's warning and ordered everyone on the ship to cover their ears with wax, and he himself was tied to the mast. Only thanks to this trick, Odysseus’s ship remained intact, and the sirens rushed into the sea and turned into cliffs.

Images and symbols of myth

Waterhouse John William
Siren, 1900

The image of the siren in ancient Greek mythology represents an alluring but destructive beauty. Sirens are accompanied by numerous symbolism, which makes the image complete. I would like to highlight the main symbols in the myth of the sirens.

Bird and fish bodies symbolize that part of the sirens' nature that is animalistic and embittered.

The beauty of sirens shows us how deceiving appearances can be. Often bad thoughts and intentions are hidden behind a beautiful, pleasant face.

Odysseus and the Sirens. Drawing from an antique vase

The singing of the sirens attracts men and forces them to face certain death. The singing of sirens symbolizes danger and threat. It’s not for nothing that in the modern world a siren is a signal used to warn about something.

Sirens are almost always found at sea. Perhaps this is due to the fact that on water spaces travelers become defenseless and more easily succumb to the spell of sirens.

Communicative means of creating images and symbols

Herbert Draper. Odysseus and the Sirens. 1909

The first surviving mention of sirens is in Homer's Odyssey. According to him, they live between the land of Circe and Scylla on the rocks of the island, strewn with the bones and dried skin of their victims. They killed many people, whose bones are white in the meadow. Sirens with enchanting songs lure travelers floating by, who, forgetting about everything in the world, swim up to magical island and perish along with the ships.

In ancient times, sirens were perceived in the same way as muses of another world. They were often carved on stone tombstones in the form of angels of death singing funeral songs to the sound of a lyre.

Siren sculpture
Gold. 3x4 cm
Late 4th century BC

In the Middle Ages, sirens were also very popular as symbols; they became widespread in the coats of arms of noble families. They were depicted not only with birdlike features and a fish tail, but even with the body of a four-legged animal.

Fountain "Sirens" F. F. Shchedrin
1805 Petrodvorets

Paintings and sculptures from the pre-classical and classical eras also depict sirens with the bodies of birds, and they are quite difficult to distinguish from harpies. Sirens were often depicted on ancient classical tombstones and could symbolize the souls of the dead or the spirits that accompany the soul to the god of the underworld Hades (Hades).

American researcher John Pollard points out that works of art that have come down to us indicate a connection between sirens and a number of associations and symbols preserved in literature, not counting images of sirens on tombstones and those encountered by Odysseus and his companions. Sirens are depicted next to Theseus, Artemis, Hera, Athena, Dionysus; Although most sirens are female, some, especially from earlier eras, have beards. They not only foretell death or lead to death, but also bring unearthly pleasure with their singing and symbolize animal strength.

Social significance of the myth

Edward Boutibonne. Sirens. 1883

In Greek mythology, sirens are demons in female form. Sirens represent the deceptive but charming surface of the sea, beneath which lie sharp cliffs or shoals. The siren is a symbol of deceit, seduction, the disastrous temptation of the material world, tempting the spirit on its way to the goal.

Frederic Leighton
The Fisherman and the Siren
1858

In general, the image of sirens actualizes the motif of disastrous female beauty, characteristic of Greek culture at a certain stage (during the transition from matriarchy to patriarchy). Sirens are associated with destruction and death.

Also, remembering the sirens, the ancient Greeks often talked about their double-mindedness and saw this as a great danger, because you never know how they will behave: like a beautiful girl or like an animal.

However, there are not only negative associations associated with sirens. The image of sirens can be endowed with positive connotations (in the context of the interpretation of music and singing as symbols of world creation). In Plato, for example, the sirens are located on the eight spheres of the cosmic spindle of the goddess Ananke, creating harmony in the world with their sweet-sounding singing.

In terms of the number of “water women” we can safely put Ancient Greece. Plato once joked that the Greeks were very much like frogs sitting around a pond, since the vast majority of their cities were located on Mediterranean coast. It is not surprising that the mythology of this people is closely connected with water.

Sirens were considered the most harmful and unusual of the “water maidens.” Sirens are mythical female creatures, female birds or mermaids, who with their singing and enchanting music lure sailors and destroy them. Sirens live on one of the uncomfortable lifeless islands of Anfemoesse near Sicily. They were the offspring of one of the sea gods - either Phorkis or Achelous (which is more likely) - and one of the muses, who probably hid her motherhood because of the nature of her daughters.

In the beginning they were all beautiful women. According to one legend, the sirens were turned into birds by Aphrodite, angered by their pride and arrogance. According to another myth, the muses rewarded them with a bird’s body because, proud of their beautiful voices, the sirens challenged the muses to a singing competition. According to another version, the sirens were originally nymphs surrounded by the young goddess Persephone. When their mistress was kidnapped by the ruler the afterlife Hades, her angry mother, the fertility goddess Demeter, gave the beautiful maidens a bird-like appearance. Finally, in another version, they themselves wanted to turn into birds in order to find Persephone, and when people did not help them, in despair they moved to a deserted island and began to take revenge on the entire human race. With their sweet singing, sirens lured sailors to the coastal cliffs and killed them on the shore. Their voice was so beautiful that not a single person could resist; all the rocks of the island were strewn with the bones of their victims.

In ancient times, sirens were perceived in the same way as muses of another world. They were often carved on stone tombstones in the form of angels of death singing funeral songs to the sound of a lyre. In the Middle Ages, sirens were very popular as symbols; they became widespread in the coats of arms of noble families. They were depicted not only with bird-like features, but also with a fish tail and even the body of a four-legged animal.

Sirens came to us from ancient Greek mythology, mainly from the legends of Jason and Odysseus (Ulysses, in Latin). Jason and the Argonauts in the Argonautica, written by Apollonius of Rhodes (3rd century BC), meet the Sirens, daughters of the river Akeloy and the muse Terpsichore, in the appearance of half birds, half mermaids. Their singing attracted the Argonauts, and they would have died if Orpheus himself had not enchanted the sirens with his playing of the lyre. Homer's Odysseus tied his companions to a mast and plugged their ears so that they could not hear the sirens singing. Homer does not attribute to them any superhuman properties; judging by his poem, there were two sirens.

Although Apollonius worked later than Homer, the myth of Jason ancient history about Odysseus. Sirens are traditionally depicted more often as birds with female heads than female sorceresses, as some authors tried to do, citing Homer, who omitted their description in the Odyssey. Classical writers who dealt with this topic always depicted sirens as birds.

In the "Library" of Apollodorus (1st - 2nd centuries AD), the sirens are presented in the form of birds from the waist down, their names are Pisinoe, Aglaope and Telxiepia, they are the daughters of Akeloy and the muses Melpomene, one plays the harp, the other plays the flute , the third sings.

The English historian James George Fraser (1854-1941) summarized references to sirens in the works of classical writers. According to him, bird-like sirens are found in Aelian ("De natura animalium"), Ovid ("Metamorphoses"), Hyginus ("Fables"), Eustathius ("On Homer's Odyssey") and Pausanias ("Description of Hellas") . Various versions have either two, three, or four sirens. Their father is Akelaus or Forkes, the god of the sea, their mother is Melpomene, Terpsichore or Sterope. The names of the sirens are: Teles, Raidne, Molpe and Telxiope, Leucosia and Lygia or Telxione, Molpe and Aglaophonus or Aglaofem and Telxiepia. Apollodorus and Hyginus. It is believed that the Sirens died after meeting with Odysseus, and thus fulfilled the ancient oracle's prediction that they would die when the ship passed them unharmed. Other authors claim that they drowned themselves out of frustration.

Another version of the myth is known from a brief mention of the sirens in the Description of Hellas by Pausanias (2nd century AD): in Coronea there was a statue of Hera with the sirens in her hand, “for the story says that Hera convinced the daughters of Akeloy to compete with the muses in singing. The Muses won, plucked the feathers from the sirens... and made themselves crowns from them." The 16th-century English poet E. Spencer interpreted the meaning of this myth in the sense that mermaids symbolize temptation: “witch girls” were given fish tails as punishment for their “arrogance” in competition with the muses.

Pre-classical and classical paintings and sculptures also depict sirens with the bodies of birds, and they are quite difficult to distinguish from harpies. Sirens were often depicted on ancient classical tombstones and could symbolize the souls of the dead or the spirits that accompany the soul to the god of the underworld Hades (Hades). Dennis Page, in The Legend of Homer's Odyssey, suggests that Homer could have come up with a description of his humanoid sirens by combining legends about escorting souls to the domain of Hades with legends about demonic female creatures who, using their beauty, seduce and then kill men.

American researcher John Pollard points out that works of art that have come down to us indicate that a number of associations and symbols are associated with sirens, preserved in literature, not counting images of sirens on tombstones and those that Odysseus and his companions encountered. Sirens are depicted next to Theseus, Artemis, Hera, Athena, Dionysus; Although most sirens are female, some, especially from earlier eras, have beards. They not only foretell death or lead to death, but also bring unearthly pleasure with their singing and symbolize animal strength.

It is not known exactly when and why sirens began to be associated with mermaids, losing their wings and leaving their nests on rocky islands to plunge into the sea waves. Perhaps this happened in the Middle Ages in connection with the spread of bestiaries. In the Romance and some other languages, the word “siren” and its related forms began to be used to refer to mermaids, although the use of this word also indicates the influence of the classical image of the siren.

In the Italian legend "The Siren's Wife", the sirens who rescue and care for a drowning wife love to sing to sailors (this feature is also shared by some mermaids, not just classic sirens); the modern Italian writer Italo Calvino, retelling this story, enhanced the effect by composing the words of their song, which seemed to encourage sailors to jump overboard into the sea; the fish-tailed siren in Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's Ligeia (in English translation"The Professor and the Mermaid") has a classic name; the “little siren” Eleanor from Jean de Brunhoff’s book “Zephyr’s Vacation” also has a fish tail, she is good-natured and is by no means a seductress, and she has no inclination to play music.

In the sixth century, a siren was caught and christened in North Wales, and in some ancient calendars she is listed as a saint under the name Merjen. Another siren slipped through a breach in the dam in 1403 and lived in Haarlem until her death. No one could understand her speeches, but she learned to weave and, as if instinctively, worshiped the cross. A certain sixteenth-century chronicler claims that she was not a fish, for she could weave, and she was not a woman, for she could live in water.

IN English language There is a difference between the classic siren and the mermaid with a fish tail. The creation of the image of the mermaid may have been influenced by the tritons, minor deities in Poseidon's retinue.

In the tenth book of Plato's Republic, eight sirens control the movement of eight concentric celestial spheres.

Do sirens really exist? It is unlikely that anyone will be able to give a comprehensive answer to this question. In the myths of the peoples of the world, sirens have different appearances. Sometimes the siren was called the “soft water snake”, the fairy Melusine or the lake siren.

In the Renaissance, sirens were also called flirtatious naiads - nymphs of rivers, streams and lakes. The image of these sirens began to appear in ballet performances, and artists preferred to “undress” them.

Apparently, they really were beautiful after all. Or maybe there is?

SIREN

SIREN

1. preim. pl. Among the ancient Greeks, it was a mythical sea creature, depicted as a woman (sometimes with bird legs) or a bird with a woman’s head, whose singing lured sailors to dangerous, disastrous places for them.

3. A tailed amphibian without hind legs, with eyes under the skin and external gills (zool.).

4. A device for receiving sounds of various heights and measuring sound vibrations (physical).

5. A signal horn that produces strong and sharp sounds that can be heard far away. Steamboat siren. Factory siren. A car with a siren.

Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935-1940.

See what "SIREN" is in other dictionaries:

siren- y, w. sirene f. lat. Siren gr. Seiren. 1. In Greek mythology, a creature living in the sea in the form of a woman with bird legs or a bird with a woman’s head, whose singing lured sailors to dangerous and disastrous places. BAS 1. August 15 1749 … … Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

1) a device for measuring the number of air vibrations producing a tone of known pitch; the more frequent the fluctuations, the higher it is; 2) p. or howler, a device installed on ships or places dangerous for navigation and warning sailors with a sharp sound in ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

- (foreign) seductive beauty. Wed. "Voice, siren singing." Wed. I’ll show you a “little thing” there, you’ll lick your fingers! “Little thing” isn’t that what daddy calls sirens?... Saltykov. All year round. September 1st. Wed. If only you... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

Women a crafty temptress from Greek theology. | Siren and sirens male, American swamp, two-legged lizard. II. SIREN or sirens, see seren. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. IN AND. Dahl. 1863 1866 … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

Acoustic emitter, the action of which is based on periodic. interruption of gas (or liquid) flow. According to the principle of operation, oscillators are divided into dynamic (rotating) and pulsating. In pulsating systems, the flow is blocked by a damper that... ... Physical encyclopedia

Demon, buzzer, howler monkey, khahans, mammal, manatee, temptress, dugong, nymph, temptress, seductress, circe, emitter Dictionary of Russian synonyms. siren 1. see horn 2. see ... Synonym dictionary

Steam, air, electric (Siren, hooter) signaling sound device that can produce sounds of very high power and any tone using steam or compressed air. Modern ship signals can be heard at a distance of 3-5 km in any atmospheric conditions... ... Marine Dictionary

- (French sirene from Greek seiren), an emitter of high-intensity sound waves, in which a stream of air or steam is interrupted by a disk with holes or other means. Used on lighthouses, ships, etc... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

In ancient Greek mythology: a creature with a woman's head and a bird's body, living on rocky sea ​​islands. Tatar, Turkic, Muslim female names. Glossary of terms... Dictionary of personal names

Books

• Siren, M. Volkonsky. Siren. An intriguing novel...

Sirens are one of the most famous monsters from Greek mythology. Sirens are also known in the modern world thanks to numerous films, books, comics, and games that refer to ancient Greek history in a mythological vein. Let's look at them through a magnifying glass.

In the article:

Sirens - origin and characteristics

These creatures personify the beautiful, changeable and treacherous surface of the sea - sailors have more than once encountered the fact that the seemingly reliable depth turned out to be shallow or, even worse, fraught with sharp cliffs. Sirens refer to mixanthropic creatures - their bodies are half female, half bird. In some legends they have fish tails, which reminds them.

In the Odyssey, Homer wrote that there were two sirens, but he did not call them by name. Later there were three of them, like . The eldest was called Persinoia, the middle one was Aglaotha, and the youngest was Telskepia. The first was fluent in playing the cithara, the second had a beautiful voice, and the third was mesmerizing in playing the flute. In addition, they had a bewitching look. According to other myths, the sirens were called Parthenope, Ligeia and Leukosia.

It is not known for certain who gave birth to the creatures enchanting with their singing - it could have been Phorcys, or chthonic goddess Keto, or deity Ahelous. Sometimes legends call one of the muses their mother - Melpomene, Terpsichore or Calliope. In addition, myths indicate that the mother of the sirens could be Sterope, and Gaia.

Another possible father, Achelous, was a powerful river deity, a descendant of Tethys and Oceanus, or the son of Oceanus and Gaia, or Gaea and Helios. From the union of Achelous with Melpomene or Terpsichore, the sirens appeared. In his travels, Hercules fought with Achelous. God took the form of a bull to fight the hero, but Hercules broke one of his horns and saved Princess Deianira from an unwanted suitor.

Still from the film "Pirates of the Caribbean"

Phorcys also took on different forms - thus, the possible fathers of the sweet-voiced creatures were werewolves, hence the duality in the description of their animal parts. Post-Homeric tales of the Sirens describe them as maidens with the wings of birds, or women resembling mermaids, or maidens with human heads but bird bodies and legs. From their father they inherited a furious, spontaneous, unbridled disposition, and their mother, the muse, gave them her enchanting voice.

Some legends indicate that the sirens acquired a semi-animal appearance as a result of a curse. According to the legends, they were Persephone’s retinue, and after her abduction by Hades they wandered aimlessly around the earth. Eventually they joined Apollo. Angered by the loss of her daughter, Demeter cursed the sirens, causing them to grow bird wings.

There is another version of this legend - the gods turned the sirens into birds for their desperate search for the missing goddess, since Zeus himself allowed his brother to kidnap her. Or Aphrodite sent the curse because they rejected marriage. According to the third version, the new appearance was the desire of the sirens themselves, which was fulfilled by the gods.

Sirens in legends

"Orpheus and the Sirens", Herbert Draper, 1909

One of the legends describes a competition between sirens and muses in the art of singing in the city of Apter. Hera advised the sea maidens to challenge the muses to a duel - her goal is unknown, but perhaps Zeus liked one of the sirens, and the goddess of marriage became angry. One way or another, victory remained with the muses. They plucked their rivals, making victory wreaths out of feathers. Zeus gave the island of Anthemoessu to the humiliated sirens.

Post-Homeric legends described them as having incredibly beautiful voices. They lured sailors by singing, and when their ship was smashed on sharp coastal rocks, they looked for people washed ashore to tear them into pieces and eat them. The Argonauts managed to escape - Orpheus sailed with them, capable of drowning out the song of the sirens with his music. All the time the ship sailed past the disastrous island, Orpheus played the forming (lyre) and sang. One of the crew members, Booth, still had a chance to hear the voices of the sirens - he threw himself from the ship into the sea waves, trying to swim to the island, but Aphrodite saved him. Booth spent the rest of his days in Lilybaeum.

The most ancient source with references to these creatures is the Homeric "Odyssey". Homer described the location of the island of the Sirens - it was located between the possessions of Circe and the abode of Scylla. The island is littered with the withered skin and whitened bones of victims. Odysseus's team managed to escape thanks to Circe's warning and cunning - they covered their ears with beeswax, so they did not hear the songs. Odysseus himself, wanting to understand the destructive secret of the magic songs, ordered him to be tied to the mast. No matter how he raged, wanting to go to the source of the sound, the sailors did not untie him, and the ship safely passed the deadly island.

Long before these events, the sirens were predicted that death would come to them along with a ship that passed their island without casualties. When Odysseus's ship passed by unharmed, they went mad. Most of them threw themselves into the sea and turned into cliffs, and the rest tore out their feathers and drowned. But often a ship is called a deadly ship Jason and the Argonauts.

Sophocles claimed that he met the surviving Sirens who revealed to him the law of Hades. A fan of classical antiquity, Sophocles imagined them as good, wise virgins, each living in their own celestial sphere on the world spindle of the all-mother goddess Ananke. With their singing they generate majestic cosmic harmony. The home of the classic sirens is Hades. Later legends connect them with the Delphic Oracle and world harmony.

Over time, these creatures became close to and. Images of sirens can be found on tombstones of the late Greek period. Nikomon and Theopompus created comedies of the same name about these creatures. The southern Italian city of Surrente once had a magnificent temple in honor of the Sirens, and near Naples there is the tomb of the Elder Siren.

Sirens in the Middle Ages

With the beginning of the Middle Ages, the Christian vision intervened in the ancient vision of the universe and its monsters. Homeric myths began to be perceived from the point of view of Catholics, who saw biblical canons and interpretations in everything. The perception of the canonical myth of Odysseus has also changed.

IN "Physiologist", the very first work from which later bestiaries were written, the episode with the sirens was borrowed from the Homeric text. The author rewrote it in his own way:

The moralist says that sirens bring death. Their habitat is the sea, and their songs are mesmerizing. Sailors who hear the sirens lose consciousness, fall into the sea waves and die there. Up to the navel their bodies are female, and from the navel they are bird-like.

Thus, the author concluded that double-minded people are cunning in everything. And those who came to the church, but did not move away from their sins, are like sirens. With gentle words, sinners deceive the gullible and lead them to destruction.

Medieval authors compared Odysseus to Christ, and the mast to which he was tied to a cross. The ship became an allegory of the church, the siren - of carnal desires. Their sweet songs expressed worldly goods that were destructive to the soul. Only ropes symbolizing faith could keep Odysseus from falling into sin and eternal torment in the afterlife. The three siren sisters became an expression of greed, pride and debauchery. Ignoring the descriptions of Pliny and Ovid, medieval monks deprived the sirens of wings and bird legs, rewarding them with fish tails. The “heavenly” past of the virgins was forgotten.

Sirens in modern culture

In the modern world, images of sirens are common in many works of art. Often, authors turn directly to ancient primary sources to recreate an accurate image of the creature. The destroyer sea maidens are not forgotten these days.

Sirens were called mysterious and mysterious female sea creatures in ancient Greek mythology; they were credited with a deceptive and cruel disposition. With your songs and seductive appearance, sirens lured sailors to their deaths. Mention of these fish girls or bird girls is common, there are also a lot of legends and legends associated with them, they are united by one thing, that everyone who met the sirens, we are, of course, talking about men, first of all, certainly died.

The deadly charm of ancient legend

Different sources describe different versions of the origin of these creatures. According to one legend, these creatures are the offspring of the sea god Phorcys or Achelous, and one of the muses (Calliope, Terpsichore or Melpomene) was considered the mother, and Sterope was also sometimes considered the mother. This explains their demonic essence and melodic voice. The number of these creatures ranged from two or three and reached a whole multitude. According to legend, they lived on the rocks of an island strewn with the bones and dried skin of unfortunate wanderers who fell into the trap of their insidious nature.

Another legend is connected with their origin: the sirens used to be very beautiful and arrogant girls who angered Aphrodite with their obstinate disposition, and she punished them by turning them into birds. Another, no less wonderful legend says that nymphs who were turned into birds by the muses became sirens. Because they had extraordinary voices, they were so proud of it that they dared to challenge the muses in a competition, and lost. As punishment, they were turned into sirens.

According to another version, they were turned into sirens by Demeter, the mother of Persephora, who was kidnapped by Hades. And another version claims that they themselves began to want to become birds, because they were going to find the young goddess kidnapped by Hades, but since people did not want to help them, they settled on a distant island and began to take revenge on everyone, luring wanderers and sailors to their deaths.

Over the years, poets and writers have tried to recreate the ancient image, and each time the legend comes to life in a new way. Either these are insidious beautiful maidens, or they are harbingers of death from the other world. Their image was often carved on tombstones because they were associated with the angels of death, who sang funeral songs to the sounds of the lyre.

The Middle Ages also left many references and facts that proved amazing devotion to this image. Very often you can see images of birds with female heads or the body of fish on coats of arms and frescoes.

There is also a less common version of the origin of female birds. She claims that they were the result of experiments by an alien Intelligence, which ultimately created man using genetic engineering. But this result was not obtained immediately. First, intermediate variants of living creatures appeared, which combined the appearance of both animals and people, so sirens can be called one of the side branches of the experiment, such as: pegasi or satyrs. Of course, the same theory states that after receiving a clean result, all these beings were destroyed. But if this is so, then it remains unknown exactly how many individuals were created and how many were destroyed; there is a possibility that someone managed to survive and become the object of numerous legends and traditions.

Maybe the mysterious nature of the sirens was collective in nature and personified the changeable and sometimes even unpredictable female nature? Maybe they really were part of our world, but subsequently disappeared due to unknown changes? Or maybe somewhere else on a distant island you can hear a wonderful voice calling the wanderer to rest after a long journey, and the sailor to drop anchor and enjoy wonderful singing and music.