The Importance Of The Sirens In Homer's Odyssey

Sirens are creatures that were found in the Strait of Messina, which is between Italy and Sicily. The Sirens looked like half woman half fish, almost looking like a mermaid. Many people say that some Sirens were even half, woman half bird. As they all sat on their shore, they were represented as beautiful women who sang and sometimes played instruments.The Sirens had beautiful voices to be able to sing into the sailors. Many say that their singing talent could calm the winds. Their singing lured in sailors into their death. Many sailors were left to suffer on the island while the Sirens lured in more sailors to capture.Ways of killing the sailors would vary depending on the size of the ship. If the ship was a decent size the Sirens would send the ship in the direction of rocky shores.

If the ship was bigger than the Sirens would send them sailing into high cliffs or mountains. According to “RealMermaids.net” the Sirens were daughters of the river god Achelous, who lived on the island Sirenum Scopuli. Many sailors

This book gave Sirens the spotlight which made them more popular and well known. In the book, Odysseus and his crew plugged their ears with beeswax so that they could not hear the song of the Sirens. According to ‘Sparknotes.com” the Sirens song is so suductive that Odysseus begged to be released from his fetters, but his faithful men only bind him tighter. The two most famous Sirens in Greek mythology is Charybdis and Scylla. Charybdis was a drowning vessel while Scylla was a destructing vessel. According to “GreekGods.info” Charybdis’s task was to swallow water three times a day and then throw it up to make whirlpools which drown ships that passed. Scylla’s task was to roll down rocks into the sea, destructing Ships that were passing