Legends of the sirens. Sirens in Greek mythology Who is a siren in mythology

Tananova Ekaterina

Sirens

Summary of the myth

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

Sirens are mythical female creatures, female birds or mermaids. They were the offspring of one of the sea gods - either Forkis or Aheloy - and one of the muses, more likely Terpsichore. Sirens lived on one of the lifeless islets of Anfemoesse near Sicily.

According to legend, the sirens were originally nymphs surrounded by the young goddess Persephone. Once, when Persephone was walking in a meadow near Enna near Lake Perg, the god of the underworld, 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 in search of 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 search for Persephone in the air and the water kingdom. But that didn't help either. When the sirens turned to ordinary people for help, mortals refused to help them. In despair, the sirens moved to a deserted island and began to take revenge on the entire human race: the fish-maidens dragged sailors into the depths of the sea with their singing. The winged maidens sucked the blood of those who stopped to listen to them.

It was predicted to the sirens that they would perish when one of the travelers passed their island, resisting temptation. When Odysseus sailed on his ship past the island of Anfemoess, he heeded Circe's warning and ordered everyone on the ship to seal their ears with wax and tie him 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 a siren in ancient Greek mythology is 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.

The bodies of birds and fish symbolize that part of the siren's nature that is animal and embittered.

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

Odysseus and the sirens. Drawing with antique vase

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

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

Communication tools for creating images and symbols

Herbert Draper. Odysseus and the sirens. 1909

The first surviving mentions of sirens are 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 have killed many people whose bones turn white in the meadow. Sirens with enchanting songs lure travelers sailing by, who, forgetting about everything in the world, swim to the magic island and die along with the ships.

In ancient times, sirens were perceived in the same way as the 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
End of the 4th century BC

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

Fountain "Sirens" FF Shchedrin
1805 year. Petrodvorets

Pre-Classical and Classical paintings and sculptures also depict sirens with the bodies of birds, and 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 the works of art that have come down to us testify to the connection of sirens with a number of associations and symbols that have survived in literature, not counting the images of sirens on tombstones and those that Odysseus and his companions met. Sirens are depicted next to Theseus, Artemis, Hero, Athena, Dionysus; although most sirens are female, some, especially early eras, have beards. They not only portend death or lead to death, but also deliver unearthly pleasure in their singing and symbolize animal power.

The social meaning of the myth

Edward Boutibonne. Sirens. 1883

In Greek mythology, sirens are demons in female form. Sirens represent a deceptive yet enchanting sea surface that hides sharp cliffs or shoals. The siren is a symbol of deceit, deception, destructive temptation of the material world, tempting the spirit on its way to the goal.

Frederick Leighton
Fisherman and siren
1858

In general, the image of the sirens actualizes the motive of the 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 a great danger in this, because you never know how they would behave: like a beautiful girl or like an animal.

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

By the number of "water women" in the first place, you can safely put Ancient Greece. Plato once joked that the Greeks are very similar to frogs sitting around a pond, as the vast majority of their cities are located on the Mediterranean coast. It is not surprising that the mythology of this people is closely related to water.

The 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 islets of Anfemoesse near Sicily. They were the offspring of one of the sea gods - either Forkis or Aheloy (which is more likely) - and one of the muses, who probably hid her motherhood due to the nature of her daughters.

In the beginning, they were all beautiful women. According to one of the legends, the sirens were turned into birds by Aphrodite, enraged by their pride and arrogance. According to another myth, the muses were awarded the bird's body for the fact that, proud of their beautiful voices, the sirens called 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 to be his wife by the ruler of the underworld, Hades, her angry mother, the goddess of fertility Demeter, gave the beautiful virgins a birdlike 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 the sweet-voiced singing of sirens, they 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 the 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 were widely used in the coats of arms of noble families. They were depicted not only with bird features, but also with a fish tail and even with 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 Argonautics, written by Apollonius of Rhodes (3rd century BC), meet the sirens, daughters of the Akeloy River and the muse of Terpsichora, half-bird, half-mermaid in appearance. Their singing attracted the Argonauts, and they would have perished if Orpheus himself had not enchanted the sirens with his lyre playing. Homeric Odysseus tied his companions to the mast and plugged their ears so that they could not hear the sirens singing. Homer does not attribute any superhuman properties to them; judging by his poem, there were two sirens.

Although Apollonius was later to write Homer, the myth of Jason is older than the story of Odysseus. Sirens are traditionally depicted more often as birds with female heads than female sorcerers, as some authors have tried to do, citing Homer, who omitted their description in the Odyssey. Classical writers dealing with this topic have always depicted sirens as birds.

In the "Library" of Apollodorus (I-II centuries AD), sirens are represented in the form of birds from the waist and below, their names are Pisinoe, Aglaope and Telksiepia, they are daughters of Akeloy and the muse of Melpomene, one plays the harp, the other - 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 Elian ("De natura animalium"), Ovid ("Metamorphoses"), Higinus ("Fabula"), Eustathius ("About the Odyssey of Homer") and Pausanias ("Description of Hellas") ... In different versions, the sirens are either two, or three, or four. Their father is Akeloy or Forkes, the god of the sea, their mother is Melpomene, Terpsichore or Steropa. The names of the sirens are Teles, Raidne, Molpe and Telksiope, Leukosia and Lygia or Telxione, Molpe and Aglaofonus, or Aglaofeme and Telksiepia. Apollodorus and Higinus. believe that the sirens died after meeting with Odysseus, and thus, fulfilled the ancient prediction of the oracle that they will die when the ship passes 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 Pausanias' Description of Hellas (II century AD): in the Coronei there was a statue of Hera with sirens in his hand, "as the story says that Hera convinced the daughters of Akeloy to compete with the muses in The muses won, plucked the feathers from the sirens ... and made themselves crowns from them. " The English poet of the 16th century E. Spencer interpreted the meaning of this myth in the sense that mermaids symbolize temptation: "girls-witches" were given fish tails as punishment for their "arrogance" in a competition with muses.

Pre-Classical and Classical paintings and sculptures also depict sirens with the bodies of birds, and 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 book "The Legend of Homer's" Odyssey "suggests that Homer could have come up with a description of his humanoid sirens, summarizing the legends about accompanying souls into 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 the works of art that have come down to us testify that a number of associations and symbols that have survived in literature are associated with sirens, not counting the images of sirens on tombstones and those that Odysseus and his companions met. Sirens are depicted next to Theseus, Artemis, Hero, Athena, Dionysus; although most sirens are female, some, especially early eras, have beards. They not only portend death or lead to death, but also deliver unearthly pleasure in their singing and symbolize animal power.

It is not known exactly when and in connection with what the sirens became associated with mermaids, having lost their wings and left their nests on rocky islands to plunge into the waves of the sea. Perhaps this happened in the Middle Ages in connection with the spread of bestiaries. In Romance and some other languages, the word "siren" and its related forms began to be called mermaids, although the use of this word also testifies to the influence of the classical image of a siren.

In the Italian legend "The Siren's Wife", the sirens who rescue a drowning wife and take care of her love to sing to sailors (this feature is inherent in some mermaids, and not only in classic sirens); the modern Italian writer Italo Calvino, retelling this story, strengthened the effect by composing the words of their song, which, as it were, urged sailors to jump overboard into the sea; the fishtail siren in Ligea by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (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 by no means a seductress and she has no inclination to play music.

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

In English, there is a distinction between the classic siren and the mermaid with a fishtail. The creation of the image of the mermaid may have been influenced by the newts, the younger deities in Poseidon's retinue.

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

Do sirens really exist? Hardly anyone will be able to give an exhaustive answer to this question. In the myths of the peoples of the world, sirens have a different look. Sometimes the siren was called the "soft water snake", the fairy Melusine or the lake siren.

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

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

The ancient Greek bestiary is full of interesting creatures with special abilities. Among the female creatures, one of the most significant is the sea maiden. The Siren is a demon in the form of a beautiful nymph. She is known for her divine voice, characterized by charm and alluring notes.

Origin of creatures

The god Achel and the muse of Terpsichore are considered the probable parents of half-female birds. There are versions about other higher creatures who gave birth to young nymphs, but the exact information has not been preserved. The mysterious maidens lived on the rocks of a small island near Sicily.

It says that at the beginning of their existence, the sirens were nymphs looking after the young goddess Persiphona. On one of the summer walks, the young maiden was kidnapped by Hades, who dreamed of getting her as his wife. The beauties were upset with their carelessness and immediately went in search of Persephone.

They could not find her either with the help of Demeter - the mother of the young goddess, or with the participation of influential representatives from the human world - they simply refused to help. Then the nymphs vowed to take revenge on the human race for inattention and moved to a small island, where they began to call out negligent travelers with their enchanting voice, and then tear them apart and deprive them of blood.

Description of the image of the sirens

Sirens are portrayed as beautiful creatures with a bewitching voice and unusual appearance.

According to mentions in mythology, sea maidens had two forms:

1. who lost their tail and acquired wings as punishment from Demeter for the loss of Persephone.
2. Women with a bird's body, in which the nymphs were turned by Aphrodite for not wanting to get married.

The alluring voice of the virgin was inherited from the mother. With its help, beautiful creatures enchanted sailors and lured them into the depths of their lair. In some sources, a description of the attractive gaze has been preserved, which helped the beauties to tempt travelers.

The first legends say about two sea creatures, but their names have not been preserved. Later, information about three sirens appeared:

• peisinoya, who plays the cithara;
• Aglaofa with a magical voice;
• flutist Telksiepia.

In other sources, the names of the nymphs change. In total, mentions of eight maidens have survived, tempting men with an alluring voice and bewitching appearance.

The image of mythical creatures is filled with special symbols. Their extraordinary appearance speaks of the erroneousness of judgments based only on appearance, and warns that malicious intentions can be hidden behind the beauty of a person. The singing of half-women, half-birds in mythology symbolizes deceit and danger. The appearance of sea creatures warns of animal instincts and anger of beauties.

Mention of beautiful virgins in ancient legends

Greek mythology of different eras interprets the essence and appearance of the sirens in accordance with the spirit of the current time:

1. The first information about the bewitches was preserved in Homer's Odyssey. He mentioned the existence of virgins living on a desert island. Its territory was littered with the bones of their victims and the remnants of ships.
2. Ancient myths described sea creatures as muses who came from another world. They were considered angels of death, mourning the dead and carved the image of sea nymphs on stone tombstones.
3. In the Middle Ages, sirens gained unprecedented popularity. The appearance of beautiful half-birds, half-women was used in the coats of arms of noble families. They were depicted not only in the traditional form: sometimes the bodies of animals or details from the images of other creatures were added to the maidens.
4. In the classical era, enchanting creatures were mistaken for spirits who accompanied the deceased to the Kingdom of the Dead and immortalized them on monuments.

One of the long-standing legends refutes the incomparable beauty of the sirens' voice. It talks about the competition between nymphs and muses. The sea maidens then lost, and the insidious muses took off their plumage and weaved wreaths from it, which they carried with them until the end of their days in memory of the victory.

The death of magical maidens

The sirens were predicted instant death in the event that one of the sailors could suppress the temptation and swim past the lair of beautiful maidens. Not a single traveler was able to resist the magical attraction of the beauties until Odysseus sailed near the island. Circe warned him about strange nymphs, and Odysseus was able to find a way out. He covered the ears of the whole team with wax, and ordered himself to be tied in order to hear the magic call and understand the essence of the magic of half-women, half-birds.

The ship was able to sail past the lair of wondrous creatures. Then the sirens drowned, jumping off the cliff, and turned into the cliffs that have surrounded the island for centuries.

The story of the death of the beauties refutes the opinion of the Virgo did not want death and were forced to lure every sailor to their island, avoiding the punishment of the prophecy.

Impact on the modern world

The current culture does not forget about mythical creatures; references to them can be found in TV shows, books, computer games.

A siren is called an alarm in memory of the main symbolic meaning of the voice of nymphs - warning of danger.

Astronomers have not forgotten half-women, half-birds. A small asteroid is named after them. Another one bears the name of the most beautiful nymph - Parthenopa.

Scriptwriters and writers love sirens, and in many works they add fantasy to the image of maidens. The series "The Witcher" showed magical creatures in their true appearance, but the serial beauties are credited much more than in the legends. Siren is the name of the heroine of the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" - a mermaid who was tested and was able to truly fall in love with a man. In 2018, the fantasy TV series Sirens was released, which convinces viewers of the existence of sea maidens in the real world and tells about their wars and lives.

Conclusion

Legends and myths about birdwomen have passed through the centuries and continue to influence culture and life. Their image combines many symbols warning of the hidden danger and vindictiveness of charming beauties. The story of their death changes the concept of the nature of the virgins - they followed the prophecy and had no other choice.

Sirens in ancient Greek mythology, they were called mysterious and mysterious female sea creatures, they were credited with a deceptive and cruel disposition. With their songs and seductive appearance, the sirens lured sailors to death. The mention of these girls-fish or girls-birds is often found, 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, they certainly died.

Deadly charm of ancient tradition

Different sources describe different versions of the origin of these creatures. According to one of the legends, these creatures are the offspring of the sea god Forkias or Aheloy, and one of the muses (Calliope, Terpsichora or Melpomene) was considered the mother, Steropa was sometimes considered the mother. This explains their demonic nature 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 bones and dry skin of unfortunate wanderers trapped in their insidious nature.

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

According to another version, they were turned by sirens by Demeter, the mother of Persefora, kidnapped by Hades. And another version claims that they themselves wanted to become birds, as 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, enticing pilgrims and sailors to die.

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

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

There is also a rare version of the origin of female birds. She claims that they were the result of experiments by an alien Intelligence, which ultimately created a person using genetic engineering. But this result was not obtained immediately. First, intermediate versions of living beings appeared, which combined the appearance of both animals and people, therefore, one of the side branches of the experiment, such as: pegasus or satyrs, can be called sirens. Of course, the same theory states that after a clean result, all these creatures 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 of a collective nature and personified a changeable and sometimes even unpredictable female nature? Maybe they really were part of our world, but later unknown changes disappeared? Or maybe somewhere else on a distant island you can hear a wondrous voice calling the wanderer to rest after a long journey, and the sailor to drop anchor and enjoy the wonderful singing and music.

There are still many mysteries left in ancient Greek mythology. Among them is the secret of the appearance and existence of sirens. These wondrous creatures of divine or demonic origin leave a double impression. They are beautiful nymphs with charming voices, but bloodthirsty and merciless.

Creature mythology

Myths say that sirens are women who are very similar to nymphs. They were on an island in the sea and lured sailors sailing past. The charming girls sang songs of extraordinary beauty, complementing the melody with playing the lyre and other gentle musical instruments. Their song became so attractive that men could not resist the temptation to swim closer to the beautiful creatures. Their brains were completely clouded, they did not see anyone or anything around them, they were drawn with great force to the island.

But then they were disappointed: on the way to the shore, the ship fell on sharp, merciless rocks, underwater reefs and shattered to smithereens. The entire island, on which the sirens were located, was strewn with the bones of former sailors and captains, the wreckage of their ships.

According to some reports, Zeus gave the wonderful sirens the island of Anfemoessa. It was located between the possessions of Circe and Sicily. It was a rather rocky sea area that was of little interest to humans. They preferred to swim past it (before the creatures settled on it).

They had an agreement with the gods - as soon as at least one mortal swims past their shore and does not die from their singing, then they themselves must die. Odysseus later turned out to be such a mortal.

The number of sirens in existence is not known. It varied from 2-3 to tens. People interpreted the image in different ways. They carved their images on tombs and gravestones, considering them to be angels of death who sing sad funeral songs to the lyre.

It is a struggle for survival, competition and predatory power. Beautiful singing should alert the traveler, poisonous flowers are also very beautiful and smell good. It is not for nothing that in the modern world a signal that denotes a threat is called a siren.

There are always sirens at sea. This is due to the fact that the sea disarms the traveler, tiring him, and therefore men succumb to their trick. For them, this is something new, unusual in a series of gray everyday life. They have long lost the habit of female affection, it is difficult for them to resist beautiful girls with wonderful singing.

External appearance

The exact descriptions of the appearance of mythical creatures differ slightly: some say that they are very beautiful girls with wings and bird paws with large claws. Others - that this is a creature in which the upper part of the body is human, and the bottom is similar to the tail of a fish. They have long hair, a beautiful figure, a gentle voice that they inherited from their mother.

In folklore, the image of the mysterious siren denotes the collective traits of women that are too unpredictable.

The fact that these creatures possessed extraordinary beauty is not for nothing. You should never trust the shell, the vessel may be beautiful on the outside, but completely empty on the inside. Sirens are characterized by changeable character, tenderness and cunning, fragility and power. The following body parts symbolize the animal nature in them:

• tail;
• scales;
• claws;
• feathers;
• wings.

Legends of origin

In mythology, the image of a siren is quite common, so there are many legends, myths, tales about their origin and mode of existence:

1. One of the ancient hypotheses says that the sirens were created by the deity Phocius by natural fusion with Kaliopa, Melpomene or Terpsichore. This assumption justifies their unnatural attractiveness and alluring voice.
2. The second legend says that the sirens are previously ordinary earthly girls who showed their proud disposition and inaccessibility, which terribly angered the goddess of beauty. As a punishment, she turned them into birds. They were very angry with men and tried to take revenge on them in the depths of the sea.
3. There is an idea that having a wonderful voice, the nymphs became arrogant and were not afraid to challenge the muses to a competition. They lost it and were punished by exile to an island in the middle of the sea in the form of sirens. It was Demeter who turned the young nymphs into birds.
4. The version in which the nymphs were created to serve the young goddess Persephone also has a right to exist, but the evil Hades decided to kidnap Persephone so that she would live with him. The young nymphs could not forgive themselves for not saving their mistress. They looked for her on land in all places where they could, but they could not find out exactly where she had disappeared. Desperate, they came to Demeter - the mother of the lost goddess. She was in deep despair and gave the young nymphs wings and fish tails so they could find her daughter. They lacked their strength to search. They decided to ask people for help, but they were refused. They remembered this ignoble act, settled on an abandoned island in the middle of the ocean and promised to take revenge on all men, dooming them to death.
5. There is even one version, similar to fantasy in mythology, that few know about. The Universal Mind decided to create an experimental living being. He wanted to create a man, but he did not succeed the first time - a siren appeared, something in between a woman and a bird. This did not stop the experimenter. The second time he managed to create a man, he no longer needed the siren. He destroyed all the sirens, but the exact number of created nymphs was not known, so there was a possibility that not all of them were destroyed. Several of them remained, they lived on an uninhabited island and sang sad songs, envying the person.

Who managed to escape the sirens

Almost all Greek ships sailing near the ominous island sank, and the crew died. There were also exceptions. Only those who knew about the power of sirens and how to deal with it could not fall under their rule.

1. A wise naval team of mythical individuals who were saved by Orpheus, drowning out the fatal voice of the sirens with his powerful, beautiful singing.
2. Successfully sailed past and comrades, whose commander was Odysseus. He was warned of an imminent meeting with the sirens, so he worried about the safety of the entire team. Having ordered to cover up the ears of all the members of the ship with wax, he tightly tied himself with ropes to the Greek ship so that he would not be overcome by the urge to rush to the nymphs. And he did it. All crew members survived and were not tempted, the ship did not crash on the reefs. After such humiliation, the sirens died - they themselves threw themselves off the cliff.

Nobody knows if sirens exist. Lonely sea wolves sometimes hear the wondrous sound of harps on a wild island, but no one will believe them, taking it for the plot of a fantasy novel. No need to be skeptical - the world still holds many secrets.