Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, sirens () are female humanlike beings with alluring voices; they appear in a scene in the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'' in which

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

saves his crew's lives. Roman poets place them on some small islands called Sirenum scopuli. In some later, rationalized traditions, the literal geography of the "flowery" island of Anthemoessa, or Anthemusa, is fixed: sometimes on Cape Pelorum and at others in the islands known as the Sirenuse, near

Paestum Paestum ( , , ) was a major Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, in Magna Graecia. The ruins of Paestum are famous for their three ancient Greek temples in the Doric order dating from about 550 to 450 BCE that ...

, or in Capreae. All such locations were surrounded by cliffs and rocks. Sirens continued to be used as a symbol of the dangerous temptation embodied by women regularly throughout Christian art of the medieval era. "Siren" can also be used as a slang term for a woman considered both very attractive and dangerous.

Nomenclature

Greek - Vase in the Form of a Siren - Walters 482020

The etymology of the name is contested. Robert S. P. Beekes has suggested a

Pre-Greek The pre-Greek substrate (or substratum) consists of the unknown pre-Greek language or languages (either Pre-Indo-European or other Indo-European languages) spoken in prehistoric Greece prior to the emergence of the Proto-Greek language in the r ...

origin. Others connect the name to σειρά (''seirá'', "rope, cord") and εἴρω (''eírō'', "to tie, join, fasten"), resulting in the meaning "binder, entangler", i.e. one who binds or entangles through magic song. This could be connected to the famous scene of

being bound to the mast of his ship, to resist their song. Sirens were later often used as a synonym for

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

s and portrayed with upper human bodies and fish tails. This combination became iconic in the medieval period. The circumstances leading to the commingling involve the treatment of sirens in the medieval ''

Physiologus The ''Physiologus'' () is a didactic Christian text written or compiled in Greek by an unknown author in Alexandria. Its composition has been traditionally dated to the 2nd century AD by readers who saw parallels with writings of Clement of Alexa ...

'' and bestiaries, both iconographically, as well as textually in translations from Latin to vulgar languages, as described below.

Iconography

Classical iconography

The sirens of Greek mythology first appeared in

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

's ''

'', where Homer did not provide any physical descriptions, and their visual appearance was left to the readers' imagination. By the 7th century BC, sirens were regularly depicted in art as human-headed birds.

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Go ...

in ''

Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' () is a Greek literature, Greek epic poem written by Apollonius of Rhodes, Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only entirely surviving Hellenistic civilization, Hellenistic epic (though Aetia (Callimachus), Callim ...

'' (3rd century BC) described the sirens in writing as part woman and part bird. They may have been influenced by the ba-bird of Egyptian religion. In early Greek art, the sirens were generally represented as large birds with women's heads, bird feathers and scaly feet. Later depictions shifted to show sirens with human upper bodies and bird legs, with or without wings. They were often shown playing a variety of musical instruments, especially the

lyre The lyre () (from Greek λύρα and Latin ''lyra)'' is a string instrument, stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the History of lute-family instruments, lute family of instruments. In organology, a ...

kithara The kithara (), Latinized as cithara, was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the yoke lutes family. It was a seven-stringed professional version of the lyre, which was regarded as a rustic, or folk instrument, appropriate for teaching mu ...

, and

aulos An ''aulos'' (plural ''auloi''; , plural ) or ''tibia'' (Latin) was a wind instrument in ancient Greece, often depicted in art and also attested by archaeology. Though the word ''aulos'' is often translated as "flute" or as " double flute", ...

. The tenth-century Byzantine dictionary ''

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...

'' stated that sirens () had the form of sparrows from their chests up, and below they were women or that they were little birds with women's faces. Originally, sirens were shown as male or female, but the male siren disappeared from art around the fifth century BC.

Early siren-mermaids

Some surviving Classical period examples had already depicted the siren as mermaid-like. The sirens are described as mermaids or "tritonesses" in examples dating to the 3rd century BC, including an earthenware bowl found in Athens and a terracotta oil lamp possibly from the Roman period. The first known literary attestation of siren as a "mermaid" appeared in the Anglo-Latin catalogue '' Liber Monstrorum'' (early 8th century AD), where it says that sirens were "sea-girls... with the body of a maiden, but have scaly fishes' tails".

Medieval Iconography

The siren appeared in several illustrated manuscripts of the ''

'' and its successors called the bestiaries. The siren was depicted as a half-woman and half-fish mermaid in the 9th century Berne ''Physiologus'', as an early example, but continued to be illustrated with both bird-like parts (wings, clawed feet) and fish-like tail.

Classical literature

Family tree

Although a

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

fragment makes

Phorcys In Greek mythology, Phorcys or Phorcus (; ) is a primordial sea god, generally cited (first in Hesiod) as the son of Pontus and Gaia (Earth). Classical scholar Karl Kerenyi conflated Phorcys with the similar sea gods Nereus and Proteus. His w ...

their father, when sirens are named, they are usually as daughters of the river god

Achelous In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Achelous (also Acheloos or Acheloios) (; Ancient Greek: Ἀχελώϊος, and later , ''Akhelôios'') was the god associated with the Achelous River, the largest river in Greece. Accordi ...

, either by the

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

Terpsichore In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; , "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word " terpsichorean", which means "of or relating to dance". Appearance Terpsichore is usually d ...

Melpomene Melpomene (; ) is the Muse of tragedy in Greek mythology. She is described as the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne (and therefore of power and memory) along with the other Muses, and she is often portrayed with a tragic theatrical mask. Etymolog ...

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses". Mythology Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...

or lastly by Sterope, daughter of King Porthaon of Calydon.Apollodorus, 1.7.10 In

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

's play '' Helen'' (167), Helen in her anguish calls upon "Winged maidens, daughters of the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

( Chthon)." Although they lured mariners, the Greeks portrayed the sirens in their "meadow starred with flowers" and not as sea deities.

Epimenides Epimenides of Knossos (or Epimenides of Crete) (; ) was a semi-mythical 7th- or 6th-century BC Greek seer and philosopher-poet, from Knossos or Phaistos. Life While tending his father's sheep, Epimenides is said to have fallen asleep for fifty ...

claimed that the sirens were children of

Oceanus In Greek mythology, Oceanus ( ; , also , , or ) was a Titans, Titan son of Uranus (mythology), Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys (mythology), Tethys, and the father of the River gods (Greek mythology), river gods ...

and Ge. Sirens are found in many Greek stories, notably in

's ''

''.

List of sirens

Their number is variously reported as from two to eight. In the ''

'', Homer says nothing of their origin or names, but gives the number of the sirens as two. Later writers mention both their names and number: some state that there were three, Peisinoe, Aglaope and Thelxiepeia

Apollodorus Apollodorus ( Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: :''Note: A ...

Epitome An epitome (; , from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "to the degree of." A ...

br>7.18

Tzetzes John Tzetzes (; , Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who lived at Constantinople in the 12th century. He is known for making significant contributions in preserving much valuable information from ancien ...

Lycophron Lycophron ( ; ; born about 330–325 BC) was a Hellenistic Greek tragic poet, grammarian, and commentator on comedy, to whom the poem ''Alexandra'' is attributed (perhaps falsely). Life and miscellaneous works He was born at Chalcis in Euboea, a ...

, 7l2 or Aglaonoe, Aglaopheme and Thelxiepeia; Parthenope, Ligeia, and Leucosia;

Apollonius Apollonius () is a masculine given name which may refer to: People Ancient world Artists * Apollonius of Athens (sculptor) (fl. 1st century BC) * Apollonius of Tralles (fl. 2nd century BC), sculptor * Apollonius (satyr sculptor) * Apo ...

followed

Hesiod Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient Greece, Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.M. L. West, ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press (1966), p. 40.Jasper Gr ...

gives their names as Thelxinoe, Molpe, and Aglaophonos; the ''

'' gives their names as Thelxiepeia, Peisinoe, and Ligeia;

Hyginus Hyginus may refer to: People *Hyginus, the author of the '' Fabulae'', an important ancient Latin source for Greek mythology. *Hyginus, the author of the ''Astronomia'', a popular ancient Latin guide on astronomy, probably the same as the author ...

gives the number of the sirens as four: Teles, Raidne, Molpe, and Thelxiope; Eustathius states that they were two, Aglaopheme and Thelxiepeia;Eustathius on

1709 an ancient

vase painting Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

attests the two names as Himerope and Thelxiepeia. Their names are variously rendered in the later sources as Thelxiepeia/Thelxiope/Thelxinoe, Molpe, Himerope, Aglaophonos/Aglaope/Aglaopheme, Pisinoe/Peisinoë/ Peisithoe, Parthenope, Ligeia, Leucosia, Raidne, and Teles. *Molpe () *Thelxiepeia () or Thelxiope () "eye pleasing")

Mythology

Demeter

According to

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

(43 BC–17 AD), the sirens were the companions of young

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

gave them wings to search for Persephone when she was abducted by

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

. However, the ''Fabulae'' of

(64 BC–17 AD) has Demeter cursing the sirens for failing to intervene in the abduction of Persephone. According to

, sirens were fated to live only until the mortals who heard their songs could pass by them.

The Muses

In the sanctuary of

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...

in Coroneia was a statue created by Pythodorus of Thebes, depicting Hera holding the sirens. According to the myth, Hera persuaded the sirens to challenge the Muses to a singing contest. After the Muses won, they are said to have plucked the sirens' feathers and used them to make crowns for themselves.Lemprière 768. According to

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephen of Byzantium (; , ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD) was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethnica'' (). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epit ...

, the sirens, overwhelmed by their loss, cast off their feathers from their shoulders, turned white and then threw themselves into the sea. As a result, the nearby city was named Aptera ("featherless") and the nearby islands were called the ''Leukai'' ("the white ones").

John Tzetzes John Tzetzes (; , Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who lived at Constantinople in the 12th century. He is known for making significant contributions in preserving much valuable information from ancien ...

recounts that after defeating the sirens, the Muses crowned themselves with the sirens' wings, except for

who was their mother, adding that the city of Aptera named after this event. Furthermore, in one of his letters, Julian the Emperor mentions the Muses' victory over the sirens.

''Argonautica''

In the ''

'' (third century BC),

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

had been warned by

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology for ...

that

Orpheus In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...

would be necessary in his journey. When Orpheus heard their voices, he drew out his

and played his music more beautifully than they, drowning out their voices. One of the crew, however, the sharp-eared hero

Butes In Greek mythology, the name Butes (; Ancient Greek: Βούτης, ''Boútēs'') referred to several different people. *Butes, an Athenian prince as the son of King Pandion I and the naiad Zeuxippe. He was a priest of Poseidon and Athena and was ...

, heard the song and leapt into the sea, but he was caught up and carried safely away by the goddess

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

.Apollonius Rhodius, ''Argonautica'' IV, 891–919. Seaton, R. C. ed., tr. (2012)
p. 354ff

''Odyssey''

was curious as to what the sirens sang to him, and so, on the advice of

Circe In Greek mythology, Circe (; ) is an enchantress, sometimes considered a goddess or a nymph. In most accounts, Circe is described as the daughter of the sun god Helios and the Oceanid Perse (mythology), Perse. Circe was renowned for her vast kn ...

, he had all of his sailors plug their ears with

beeswax Bee hive wax complex Beeswax (also known as cera alba) is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in o ...

and tie him to the mast. He ordered his men to leave him tied tightly to the mast, no matter how much he might beg. When he heard their beautiful song, he ordered the sailors to untie him but they bound him tighter. When they had passed out of earshot, Odysseus demonstrated with his frowns to be released. Some post-Homeric authors state that the sirens were fated to die if someone heard their singing and escaped them, and that after Odysseus passed by they therefore flung themselves into the water and perished.

Pliny

The first-century Roman historian

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

discounted sirens as a pure fable, "although Dinon, the father of Clearchus, a celebrated writer, asserts that they exist in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and that they charm men by their song, and, having first lulled them to sleep, tear them to pieces."

Sirens and death

Statues of sirens in a funerary context are attested since the classical era, in mainland

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, as well as

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...

. The so-called "Siren of Canosa"—

Canosa di Puglia Canosa di Puglia, generally known simply as Canosa (), is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia, southern Italy. It is located between Bari and Foggia, on the northwestern edge of the plateau of the Murgia which ...

is a site in

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

that was part of

—was said to accompany the dead among

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are items buried along with a body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into an afterlife, or offerings to gods. Grave goods may be classed by researche ...

in a burial. She appeared to have some

psychopomp Psychopomps (from the Greek word , , literally meaning the 'guide of souls') are creatures, spirits, angels, demons, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife. Their role is ...

characteristics, guiding the dead on the afterlife journey. The cast

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

figure bears traces of its original white pigment. The woman bears the feet, wings and tail of a bird. The sculpture is conserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Spain, in Madrid. The sirens were called the Muses of the lower world. Classical scholar Walter Copland Perry (1814–1911) observed: "Their song, though irresistibly sweet, was no less sad than sweet, and lapped both body and soul in a fatal lethargy, the forerunner of death and corruption." Their song is continually calling on Persephone. The term " siren song" refers to an appeal that is hard to resist but that, if heeded, will lead to a bad conclusion. Later writers have implied that the sirens ate humans, based on

's description of them "lolling there in their meadow, round them heaps of corpses rotting away, rags of skin shriveling on their bones." As linguist

Jane Ellen Harrison Jane Ellen Harrison (9 September 1850 – 15 April 1928) was a British classical scholar and linguist. With Karl Kerenyi and Walter Burkert, Harrison is one of the founders of modern studies in Ancient Greek religion and mythology. She ...

(1850–1928) notes of " The Ker as siren": "It is strange and beautiful that Homer should make the sirens appeal to the spirit, not to the flesh." The siren song is a promise to Odysseus of mantic truths; with a false promise that he will live to tell them, they sing, "They are mantic creatures like the

Sphinx A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In Culture of Greece, Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, th ...

with whom they have much in common, knowing both the past and the future", Harrison observed. "Their song takes effect at midday, in a windless calm. The end of that song is

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

." That the sailors' flesh is rotting away suggests it has not been eaten. It has been suggested that, with their feathers stolen, their divine nature kept them alive, but unable to provide food for their visitors, who starved to death by refusing to leave.

Early Christian to Medieval

Book of Enoch

According to the ancient Hebrew

Book of Enoch The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch; Hebrew language, Hebrew: סֵפֶר חֲנוֹךְ, ''Sēfer Ḥănōḵ''; , ) is an Second Temple Judaism, ancient Jewish Apocalyptic literature, apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to the Patriar ...

, the women who were led astray by the

fallen angel Fallen angels are angels who were expelled from Heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" does not appear in any Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven. Such angels are often described ...

s will be turned into sirens.

Late antiquity

By the fourth century, when

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

beliefs were overtaken by

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

Saint Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known for his translation of the Bible ...

, who produced the Latin

Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Diocese of ...

version of the bible, used the word ''sirens'' to translate Hebrew ''tannīm'' ("

jackal Jackals are Canidae, canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe Canina (subtribe), canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-b ...

s") in the

Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah ( ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah ben Amo ...

13:22, and also to translate a word for "

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

s" in the

Book of Jeremiah The Book of Jeremiah () is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. The superscription at chapter Jeremiah 1#Superscription, Jeremiah 1:1–3 identifies the book as "th ...

50:39. The siren is allegorically described as a beautiful courtesan or prostitute, who sings pleasant melodies to men, and is the symbolic vice of Pleasure in the preaching of

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

(2nd century). Later writers such as

Ambrose Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...

(4th century) reiterated the notion that the siren stood as a symbol or allegory for worldly temptations. and not an endorsement of the Greek myth.

Isidorus

The early Christian euhemerist interpretation of mythologized human beings received a long-lasting boost from the ''

Etymologiae (Latin for 'Etymologies'), also known as the ('Origins'), usually abbreviated ''Orig.'', is an etymological encyclopedia compiled by the influential Christian bishop Isidore of Seville () towards the end of his life. Isidore was encouraged t ...

'' by

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville (; 4 April 636) was a Spania, Hispano-Roman scholar, theologian and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville, archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of the 19th-century historian Charles Forbes René de Montal ...

(c. 560–636):

Physiologus and bestiaries

The allegorical texts

The siren and the onocentaur, two hybrid creatures, appear as the subject of a single chapter in the ''

'', as they appear together in the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

translation of the aforementioned Isaiah 13:21–22, and 34:14. They also appear together in some Latin bestiaries of the First Family subgroup called B-Isidore ("B-Is").

The miniatures

Sirens. One on the left holds a comb. {{{{small, ―Worksop Bestiary. ">Morgan Library M.81 file:Sloane278, fol.47r-sirena&onocentaurus.jpg, (Bottom left) fish-siren{{sfnp, Druce, 1915, loc=pp. 174–175, Pl. X, No. 2 of mermaid-form. (Bottom right) onocentaur {{{{small, ―Bestiary, Sloane MS. 278, fol. 47r The siren's bird-like description from classical sources was retained in the Latin version of the ''Physiologus'' (6th century) and several subsequent bestiary, bestiaries into the 13th century, but at some time during the interim, the mermaid shape was introduced to this body of works. ;As woman-fish or mermaid {{further, Mermaid#Sirens The siren was illustrated as a woman-fish (mermaid) in the '' Bern Physiologus'' dated to the mid-9th century, even though this contradicted the accompanying text which described it as avian.{{Refn, name="berne-physiologus", Berne, Bürgerbibliotek Cod. 318. fol. 13v. Rubric: "De Natura Serena et honocentauri". An English-made Latin bestiary dated 1220–1250 also depicted a group of sirens as mermaids with fishtails swimming in the sea, even though the text stated they resembled winged fowl ({{lang, la, volatilis habet figuram) down to their feet.{{Refn, Oxford, MS Bodley 764, fol. 74v.{{sfnp, Hardwick, 2011, p=92{{Refn, group="lower-alpha", There is another entry for "siren", as a winged white serpent of Arabia.{{sfnp, Barber tr., 1993, p=150 Illustrating the siren as a pure mermaid became commonplace in the "second family" bestiaries, and she was shown holding a musical instrument in the classical tradition, but also sometimes holding apparently an eel-fish.{{sfnp, Clark, 2006, loc=p. 57 and n50 An example of the siren-mermaid holding such a fish is found in one of the earlier codices in this group, dated the late 12th century.{{efn, Brit. Lib. Add. 11283, late 12c., {{harvp, Clark, 2006, p=21, fol. 20v{{sfnp, Clark, 2006, loc=p. 52 and Fig. 20{{sfnp, Druce, 1915, loc=pp. 174–175, Pl. X, No. 2 ;As bird-like A counterexample is also given where the illustrated sirens (group of three) are bird-like, conforming to the text.{{Refn, Oxford, MS Bodley 602, fol. 10r. 12th century. ;As hybrid The siren was sometimes drawn as a hybrid with a human torso, a fish-like lower body, and bird-like wings and feet. While in the Harley 3244 (cf. fig. top right) the wings sprout from around the shoulders, in other hybrid types, the style places the siren's wings "hanging at the waist".{{Refn, Cambridge University Library Ii.4.26, fol. 39v.{{Refn, Compare Northumberland bestiary (Getty MS 100) (olim Alnwick bestiary,

Alnwick Castle Alnwick Castle () is a castle and country house in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland. It is the seat of the Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland, 12th Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman Conquest and renovated an ...

MS 447). Comment of "webbed feet" in the two examples{{sfnp, George, Yapp, 1991, p=99 seems false for the CUL ms., while "webbed feet of an aquatic animal" is corroborated for the Northumberland bestiary. ;Comb and mirror Also, a siren may be holding a comb,{{sfnp, George, Yapp, 1991, p=99{{Refn, Or there may be three sirens drawn, two holding fish and third a mirror, as in Getty MS. 100 (olim Alnwick ms.){{sfnp, George, Yapp, 1991, p=99 A similar composition occurs on the Morgan M.81, cf. fig. right. or a mirror.{{Refn, British Library Ms. Royal 2.B.Vii, fol. 96v.{{sfnp, George, Yapp, 1991, p=99 Thus the comb and mirror, which are now emblematic of mermaids across Europe, derive from the bestiaries that describe the siren as a vain creature requiring those accoutrements.{{sfnp, Waugh, 1960, p=77{{cite book, last=Chunko-Dominguez, first=Betsy , author-link= , title=English Gothic Misericord Carvings: History from the Bottom Up , publisher=BRILL , date=2017 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jo1ZDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 , pages=82–84 , isbn= 9789004341203

Verse bestiaries

Later, bestiary texts appeared which were modified to accommodate the artistic conventions.{{sfnp, Holford-Strevens, 2006, p=34 It is explained that the siren's "other part" may be "like fish or like bird" in Guillaume le clerc's

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th "l'altre partie est figuree / Come peisson ou con oisel" (vv. 1058–1059).{{sfnp, Waugh, 1960, p=77 as well as Philippe de Thaun's Anglo-Norman verse bestiary (c. 1121–1139).{{sfnp, Holford-Strevens, 2006, p=34

Derivative literature

There also appeared medieval works that conflated sirens with mermaids while citing ''Physiologus'' as their source.{{Refn, Hugh of St. Victor (d.1240), ''De bestiis et aliis rebus'' XCVII, quoted in Latin by {{harvp, Mustard, 1908, p=23, and in translation by {{harvp, Holford-Strevens, 2006, p=32: "sirens.., as the Physiologus describes them have a woman's form above down to the navel, but their lower part down to the feet has the shape of a fish". The work continues "excerpts from Servius and Isidore" to say: "three Sirens, part maids, part fish, of whom one sang,..etc.". But despite attribution to Hugh, this work had so heavily interpolated that it has been a 16th century compilation, and dubbed a "problematic" bestiary. Cf. {{harvp, Clark, 2006, pp=10–11: Chapter 1: The Problematic ''De bestiis et aliis rebus''. Italian poet

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

depicts a siren in Canto 19 of ''

Purgatorio ''Purgatorio'' (; Italian for "Purgatory") is the second part of Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', following the ''Inferno (Dante), Inferno'' and preceding the ''Paradiso (Dante), Paradiso''; it was written in the early 14th century. It is an alleg ...

'', the second canticle of the ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

''. Here, the pilgrim dreams of a female who is described as "stuttering, cross-eyed, and crooked on her feet, with stunted hands, and pallid in color."{{Cite book, last=Dante Alighieri, url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/32430822, title=The divine comedy of Dante Alighieri, date=1996–2013, publisher=Oxford University Press, others=Robert M. Durling, Ronald L. Martinez, isbn=978-0-19-508740-6, location=New York, oclc=32430822 It is not until the pilgrim "gazes" upon her that she is turned desirable and is revealed by herself to be a siren. This siren then claims that she "turned Ulysses from his course, desirous of my / song, and whoever becomes used to me rarely / leaves me, so wholly do I satisfy him!" Given that Dante did not have access to the ''

'', the siren's claim that she turned Ulysses from his course is inherently false because the sirens in the ''Odyssey'' do not manage to turn Ulysses from his path.{{Cite book, url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/193827830, title=Lectura Dantis: Purgatorio, date=2008, publisher=University of California Press, others=Allen Mandelbaum, Anthony Oldcorn, Charles Ross, isbn=978-0-520-94052-9, location=Berkeley, oclc=193827830 Ulysses and his men were warned by

and prepared for their encounter by stuffing their ears full of wax,{{Cite book, last=Homero, first=s. IX a. C., url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57058042, title=Odisea, date=2004, publisher=Alianza, others=Carlos García Gual, John Flaxman, isbn=84-206-7750-7, location=Madrid, oclc=57058042 except for Ulysses, who wishes to be bound to the ship's mast as he wants to hear the siren's song. Scholars claim that

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

may have "misinterpreted" the siren's claim from an episode in

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

's '' De finibus.'' The pilgrim's dream comes to an end when a lady "holy and quick" who had not yet been present before suddenly appears and says, "O Virgil, Virgil, who is this?"

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

, the pilgrim's guide, then steps forward and tears the clothes from the siren's belly which, "awakened me he pilgrimwith the stench that issued from it." This marks the ending of the encounter between the pilgrim and the siren. In

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...

's ''

Historia Regum Britanniae (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a fictitious account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the List of legendary kings o ...

'' ({{circa, 1136),

Brutus of Troy Brutus, also called Brute of Troy, is a mythical British king. He is described as a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas, known in medieval British legend as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain. This legend first appears ...

encounters sirens at the

Pillars of Hercules The Pillars of Hercules are the promontory, promontories that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. The northern Pillar, Calpe Mons, is the Rock of Gibraltar. A corresponding North African peak not being predominant, the identity of ...

on his way to Britain to fulfil a prophecy that he will establish an empire there. The sirens surround and nearly overturn his ships until Brutus escapes to the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy. Geography The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...

.{{cite wikisource , author=

, wslink=Six Old English Chronicles/Geoffrey's British History , chapter=Book 1 , plaintitle=

, at=Chapter 12

Renaissance

By the time of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, female court musicians known as

courtesan A courtesan is a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele. Historically, the term referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History In European feudal society, the co ...

s filled the role of an unmarried companion, and musical performances by unmarried women could be seen as immoral. Seen as a creature who could control a man's reason, female singers became associated with the mythological figure of the siren, who usually took a half-human, half-animal form somewhere on the cusp between nature and culture.

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

wrote of them in his notebooks, stating "The siren sings so sweetly that she lulls the mariners to sleep; then she climbs upon the ships and kills the sleeping mariners."

Age of Exploration

However, in the 17th century, some

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

writers began to assert their actual existence, including

Cornelius a Lapide Cornelius Cornelii a Lapide (''né'' Cornelis Cornelissen van den Steen; 28 December 1567 – 12 March 1637) was a Flemish Catholic priest. He was a Jesuit and exegete of Sacred Scripture. Life Lapide was born in Bocholt, Belgium. He studied hu ...

, who said of woman, "her glance is that of the fabled

basilisk In European bestiary, bestiaries and legends, a basilisk ( or ) is a legendary reptile reputed to be a Serpent symbolism, serpent king, who causes death to those who look into its eyes. According to the ''Natural History (Pliny), Naturalis Histo ...

, her voice a siren's voice—with her voice she enchants, with her beauty she deprives of reason—voice and sight alike deal destruction and death." Antonio de Lorea also argued for their existence, and

Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Society of Jesus, Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to fellow Jes ...

argued that compartments must have been built for them aboard Noah's Ark.

Late Modernity (1801–1900)

Charles Burney Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicis ...

expounded {{circa, 1789, in ''A General History of Music'': "The name, according to Bochart, who derives it from the Phoenician, implies a ''songstress.'' Hence it is probable, that in ancient times there may have been excellent singers, but of corrupt morals, on the coast of Sicily, who by seducing voyagers, gave rise to this fable." John Lemprière in his ''Classical Dictionary'' (1827) wrote, "Some suppose that the sirens were several lascivious women in Sicily, who prostituted themselves to strangers, and made them forget their pursuits while drowned in unlawful pleasures. The etymology of Bochart, who deduces the name from a Phoenician term denoting a ''songstress,'' favours the explanation given of the fable by Damm. This distinguished critic makes the sirens to have been excellent singers, and divesting the fables respecting them of all their terrific features, he supposes that by the charms of music and song, they detained travellers, and made them altogether forgetful of their native land."

Arts and influence

The French

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

composer,

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

, composed the orchestral work '' Nocturnes'' in which the third movement, " Sirènes", depicts sirens. According to Debussy, ''"'Sirènes' depicts the sea and its countless rhythms and presently, amongst the waves silvered by the moonlight, is heard the mysterious song of the Sirens as they laugh and pass on"''. In 1911, French composer Lili Boulanger composed " Les sirènes" for mezzo-soprano soloist, choir, and piano. Contemporary British composer and former child prodigy,

Alma Deutscher Alma Elizabeth Deutscher (born 19 February 2005) is a British composer, pianist, violinist and conductor. A former child prodigy, Deutscher composed her first piano sonata at the age of five; at seven, she completed the short opera, ''The Sweep ...

, composed "Waltz of the Sirens", an orchestral work based on the mythology creature. English artist William Etty portrayed the sirens as young women in fully human form in his 1837 painting '' The Sirens and Ulysses'', a practice copied by future artists.{{cite book, last=Robinson, first=Leonard, title=William Etty: The Life and Art, year=2007, publisher=McFarland & Company, location=Jefferson, NC, isbn=9780786425310, oclc= 751047871 {{Gallery , title=Sirens in 19th and 20th-century paintings , width=160 , height=170 , align=center , File:The Sirens and Ulysses by William Etty, 1837.jpg , alt1=Painting of Ulysses tempted by sirens , ''The Sirens and Ulysses'' (1837) by William Etty , File:Ulysses And The Sirens by Léon Belly.jpg , alt2=Painting of Ulysses tempted by sirens , ''Odysseus and the Sirens'' (1867) by Léon Belly , File:Armitage Siren.JPG , alt3=Painting of a siren , ''The Siren'' (1888) by

Edward Armitage Edward Armitage (20 May 1817 – 24 May 1896) was an English Victorian-era painter whose work focused on historical, classical and biblical subjects. Family background Armitage was born in London to a family of wealthy Yorkshire industrialist ...

, File:WATERHOUSE - Ulises y las Sirenas (National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1891. Óleo sobre lienzo, 100.6 x 202 cm).jpg , alt4=Painting of Ulysses tempted by sirens , '' Ulysses and the Sirens'' (1891) by

John William Waterhouse John William Waterhouse (baptised 6 April 184910 February 1917) was an English painter known for working first in the Academic style and for then embracing the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. His paintings are known for ...

, File:John William Waterhouse-The Siren-1900.jpg , alt5=Painting of a siren depicted as a fish-chimera , '' The Siren'' ({{circa, 1900) by

, File:Draper Herbert James Ulysses and the Sirens.jpg , alt6=Painting of Ulysses tempted by sirens , '' Ulysses and the Sirens'' ({{circa, 1909) by Herbert James Draper {{clear

Explanatory notes

{{notelist

References

{{Reflist, 30em, refs= {{cite web, url=http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100055965341.0x000001 , title=British Library Add MS 11283 , website=British Library , access-date=2022-09-06 {{cite web , url=https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=6467&CollID=16&NStart=20207 , title=Detailed record for Royal 2 B VII (Queen Mary Psalter) , website=British Library , access-date=2022-09-06 , archive-date=2022-10-17 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017104335/https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=6467&CollID=16&NStart=20207 , url-status=dead
fol. 96v
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911143924/https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=52724 , date=2022-09-11 {{cite web , url=http://mandragore.bnf.fr/jsp/switch.jsp?division=Mix&cote=Latin+6838+B , title=Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms. Latin 6838 B , website=Mandragore , access-date=2022-09-10 , archive-date=2021-09-18 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918042521/http://mandragore.bnf.fr/jsp/switch.jsp?division=Mix&cote=Latin+6838+B , url-status=dead {{cite web, url=https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/ecf96804-a514-4adc-8779-2dbc4e4b2f1e/surfaces/ee2bf789-7152-449b-9760-fa864718e2d0/ , title=Bodleian Library MS. Bodl. 764 , website=Oxford University, the Bodleian Libraries , access-date=2022-09-09 , fol. 074v. {{cite book, ref={{SfnRef, Barber tr., 1993, editor-last=Barber , editor-first=Richard , editor-link= , chapter=Sirens , title=Bestiary: Being an English Version of the Bodleian Library, Oxford M.S. Bodley 764 : with All the Original Miniatures Reproduced in Facsimile , location=, publisher=Boydell Press , year=1993, chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=94opjX2vfjQC&pg=PA150 , page=1150 , isbn= 9780851157535 {{cite web, url=https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/109B24 , title=Ms. 100 (2007.16), fol. 14. Sirens. about 1250–1260 , website=Getty Museum , access-date=2022-09-10. "serene" fol. 20v {{cite book, last=Harrison , first=Jane Ellen , author-link=Jane Ellen Harrison , title=Myths of the Odyssey in Art and Literature , location=London , publisher=Rivingtons , year=1882, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1CkGAAAAQAAJ , pages=169–170; Plate 47a {{cite book, last=Knight , first=Virginia , author-link= , title=The Renewal of Epic: Responses to Homer in the Argonautica of Apollonius , publisher=E. J. Brill , year=1995 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=292mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA201 , page=201, isbn=9789004329775 {{cite journal, last=Leclercq , first=Jacqueline , author-link= , title=De l'art antique à l'art médièval. A propos des sources du bestiaire carolingien et de se survivances à l'époque romane , trans-title=From ancient to mediaeval Art. On the sources of Carolingian bestiaries and their survival in the romance period , journal=Gazette des Beaux-Arts , volume=113 , date=February 1989 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JYBLAAAAYAAJ&q=siren , page=88 , doi=10.2307/596378 , jstor=596378 , quote=The chapter devoted to the Siren and the Centaur is an excellent example of this because the Siren is represented as a woman-fish whereas she is described in the form of a woman-bird.., url-access=subscription {{inlang, fr (summary in English); {{cite journal, last=Leclercq-Marx , first=Jacqueline , author-link= , title=La sirène dans la pensée et dans l'art de l'Antiquité et du Moyen Âge: du mythe païen au symbole chrétien , journal=Publication de la Classe des Beaux-Arts. Collection In-4O , publisher=Classe des beaux-arts, Académie royale de Belgique , date=1997 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N2qix5cCTdgC , page=62ff , issn=0775-3276 {{cite web, url=https://www.themorgan.org/collection/worksop-bestiary/21 , title=Workshop Bestiary MS M.81, fols. 16v–17r , website=Morgan Library and Museum , date=27 February 2018 , access-date=2022-09-09 {{cite book, editor1-last=Muratova , editor1-first=Xénia , editor1-link= , editor2-last=Poirion, editor2-first=Daniel , editor2-link=:fr:Daniel Poirion , translator1=Marie-France Dupuis , translator1-link= , translator2=George E. J. Powell , translator2-link= , title=Le bestiaire , publisher=Philippe Lebaud , date=1988 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uYBiAAAAMAAJ&q=peisson , page=33 , isbn=9782865940400 {{cite journal, last=Mustard , first=Wilfred P. , author-link= , title=Mermaid—Siren , journal=Modern Language Notes , volume=23 , date=1908 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sv8mAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA21 , page=22, doi=10.2307/2916861 , jstor=2916861 , url-access=subscription {{cite book, author=Philippe de Thaun , author-link=Johannes Jonston , editor-last=Weditor-first=Thomas , editor-link=Thomas Wright (antiquarian) , title=The Bestiary of Philipee de Thaun , work=Popular Treatises on Science Written During the Middle Ages: In Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman and English , location=London , publisher=Historical Society of Science , year=1841 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-RYJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA98 , page=98, fol. 59r
Cotton MS Nero A V
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Online version at Harvard University Press
{{refend

External links

{{Commons category, Sirens
''The Suda'' (Byzantine Encyclopedia) on the sirens

A Mythological Reference by G. Rodney Avant

The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Sirens)
{{Portal bar, Greece {{Greek mythology (deities) {{Metamorphoses in Greco-Roman mythology {{Dacia topics {{Characters in the Odyssey {{Authority control Sirens (mythology), Water spirits Wind creatures Musicians in Greek mythology Greek legendary creatures Birds in mythology Female demons Children of Achelous Women in Greek mythology Characters in the Argonautica Characters in the Odyssey Mythological Aetolians Supernatural legends Legendary creatures in popular culture Piscine and amphibian humanoids Deeds of Demeter Avian humanoids Slang terms for women Merfolk

Nomenclature

Iconography

Classical iconography

Early siren-mermaids

Medieval Iconography

Classical literature

Family tree

List of sirens

Mythology

Demeter

The Muses

''Argonautica''

''Odyssey''

Pliny

Sirens and death

Early Christian to Medieval

Book of Enoch

Late antiquity

Isidorus

Physiologus and bestiaries

The allegorical texts

The miniatures

Verse bestiaries

Derivative literature

Renaissance

Age of Exploration

Late Modernity (1801–1900)

Arts and influence

See also

Explanatory notes

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links