The Sirens
The Monster of the Sea
By: Anchitha Honnur
What Sirens Are
Sirens are half bird half female sea nymphs that try to lure in mariners to their deaths by singing and enchanting song that charm sailors into crashing their ships on an island's rocky edge.
Ice Age: Continental Drift - Sirens (59:10-62:30)
What Sirens Look Like
Sirens are half bird half female creatures. They are bird-like up until their thigh, but then take on women-like features from there on up. Sirens were created like this when Demeter cursed them; she cast this spell because the Sirens were companions with Persephone, and they failed to protect Persephone when she was taken to the Underworld with Hades.
Siren Stories
Odysseus and the Argonauts are the only people who have evaded the Sirens. The Argonauts had escaped safely because Orpheus had played a song so he could drown out the sound of the Siren's song. Odysseus had his crew stuff moss into their ears when they had reached the Sirens and then tied himself to ship's mast so he could hear the Siren's enchanting song and not be tempted to steer the ship to the rocky cliffs and his crew to their deaths.
We're sirens.
We lure you in by singing enchanting songs and then we kill you. But I swear we're nice creatures if you get to know us.
Works Cited
Kravitz, David. Who's Who in Greek and Roman Mythology. N.p.: New English Library, 1975. Print.
Lindemans, Micha F. "Sirens." Pantheon. Encyclopedia Mythica, 30 July 2006. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/greek/articles.html>.
Parada, Carlos. "Sirens." Maicar. Carlos Parada and Maicar Förlag, 1977. Web. 7 Nov. 2014. <http://www.maicar.com/GML/SIRENS.html>.
"Siren." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica, 24 Apr. 2014. Web. 6 Nov. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/546538/Siren>.