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The Sounds of Sirens; Odyssey 12.184-91.

Article Excerpt
The Siren episode in the Odyssey provides an excellent example of its hero's famous poly-tropia. "The Sounds of Sirens" draws upon the work of ancient and modern commentators to address the episode as a liminal experience. The importance of music in Greek civilization is a given, as is its importance in the Greco-Roman system of education. However, the particular appeal of the Sirens' song lies in its ability to transcend the earthly and lift the human spirit to a higher plane. To the mortal Odysseus, the bewitching song of the Sirens is a passageway through which he can attain, however imperfectly, a sense of union with the divine.

The enduring popularity of the Siren episode in Homer's Odyssey bears witness to the timelessness of the Greek classic in general and to the bewitching charm of this adventure in particular. These birdlike women have captivated the art world from earliest time, but often without any evidence from Homer or his mouthpiece, Circe, to support such avian illustrations. Perhaps one of the more famous and popular illustrations may be the Attic red-figure stamnos displayed in the British Museum collection (E440), and dating to the 5th century B.C.E. There, one of the Sirens is seen plunging to her death, in support of an earlier story found in Lycophron's Alexandra (712-15) that proclaimed the suicidal end of the Sirens when their song was resisted. The Attic black oinochoe, housed in Berlin's Antikensammlung Staatliche Museen (Nr. 253), and dated to the late 6th century B.C.E. may be one of the more intriguing illustrations. That artist has allotted a double set of arms to Odysseus, one set dutifully tied to the mast and the other gesticulating, as he addresses the Sirens. But it is the late Corinthian black figure aryballos, preserved in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (01.81.00) and dated to the second half of the 6th century that comes closest to a graphic illustration of the Homeric text. (1)

However, artistic fascination with the Odyssey in general and the Sirens in particular is by no means limited to graphic artists. Music and literature, especially poetry, find their inspiration in that Pierian Spring. Indeed, each successive generation discovers anew a voice in Homer that speaks to its own heart and finds in that ancient epic a special resonance with the specifically novel circumstances peculiar to its modern world condition. It is this irresistible attraction that calls each new class of students, however initially recalcitrant, to resonate with the personalized story they find in the ancient bard. The poet's ability to charm, enchant and bewitch his audiences has never dimmed with the passage of time. Even in our sophisticated 21st century we may learn from the ancient Greek master how to resolve today's human conflicts: how to repatriate our soldiers successfully upon their returning from a modern day Trojan War--yet another veritable East/West conflict--how to forgive even our deadliest enemies who destroyed those dearest to us, and how to live peacefully in a civilized, global society. However tempting and timely these many themes may be, the present paper will limit its scope to a close reading of the story of the Sirens, a brief reflection on the role and natural charm of music in ancient and modern times, and a discussion of the liminal aspect of these intriguing passages. But first, let us consider the text itself and the remarks of some prominent Homeric scholars a propos the present topic.

Homer provides three versions of the story of the Sirens. First, there is the prediction of Circe, who tells Odysseus, upon his return from the Underworld, that his next encounter will be with the Sirens.

Your next encounter will be with the Sirens, who bewitch everyone who approaches them. There is no homecoming for the man who draws near them unawares and hears the Sirens' voices: no welcome from his wife, no little children brightening at their father's return. For with their high clear song the Sirens bewitch him, as they sit there in a meadow piled high with the moldering skeletons of men, whose withered skin still hangs upon their bones. Drive your ship past the spot, and to prevent any of your crew from hearing, soften some beeswax and plug their ears with it. But if you wish to listen to it yourself, make them bind you hand and...

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