The Sirens

Detail from the “The Siren Vase”, red-figured Attic stamnos, circa 480-470 BC, property of the British Museum.

The Sirens is my inspiration for a new body of works that I am creating. The idea emerged with the lockdowns. Being in isolation, I had plenty of time to ponder all the facets of these mysterious—and misunderstood—mythological creatures.

My research began with Homer’s Odyssey, the earliest known source of the Sirens myth. Whenever a ship would sail near their home island, the Sirens would sing a beautiful song, luring the sailors towards the shore. Their music was hypnotic.  Sailors would slowly, imperceptively, and blissfully perish while listening to it.   Homer’s description of Odysseus’s encounter with the Sirens is often misunderstood.  In rhapsody M of the Odyssey, Homer sets the scene.  Odysseus travels by the island of the Sirens. He has been warned of the approaching danger, so he orders his crew to seal their ears with wax and then tie him to his ship’s mast. This allows him to hear the Siren’s song—but prevents him from swimming to the shore.

Once tied, he hears their song. It is irresistible. Through a sweet melody, he is promised omniscience. He can learn everything about himself and his life. The Sirens know everything because they are chthonian creatures, after all.

Importantly, Homer does not provide us with a physical description of the Sirens. It is irrelevant to him. Unfortunately, in later times, we wrongfully linked the Sirens to the “wiles of femininity”, thereby reinforcing the patriarchy and suppressing the human libido. This characterisation underrates the significance of the Sirens. The myth is far grander than sexuality, femininity, and temptation. What is at stake here is absolute knowledge.

So naturally, I wondered: why should the price of knowledge be death?

The answer was revealed to me in a series of seminars I attended in Athens, titled “Tacit Mythology”.  We often think of myths as stories. Some interpret myths as psychological archetypes.  For others, they are “religious” stories.   In the seminar,  we examined them mainly through an etymological analysis of the ancient Greek language.  Combined with the tutor’s insight, we discovered and brought to light the actual “life manual” of Greek Mythology. The Sirens episode demonstrates the dual symbolism of the tactics and effects of manipulation and addiction. Let’s see more closely how this is done:

The approach begins…

Per Homer, as soon as the ship reaches the Sirens’ island, all wind and waves quieten. The vessel stalls. The sailor cannot avoid hearing the Siren’s song. This stillness is necessary and symbolic. Like a charmer’s tactics, it is crucial to remove all distractions and imponderables during the seduction process.

Then the enticing singing begins…

The Sirens recognise Odysseus from afar and call him by name. They promise him the most precious and valuable knowledge:  information about himself.  All great persuaders—and manipulators—know that when you want to exert power over others,  you learn whatever you can about them—their nicknames, interests, needs, etc. Although the Sirens promise knowledge that already lies within Odysseus, he still wants to hear it because it satisfies his ego. This is the real seductive power of the Sirens:  they rely upon their victims’ unbounded and unquenchable vanity.

Modern psychology confirms this truth. Whenever our egos are flattered by mirroring behaviour, we are riveted, similar to the influence of mind-altering substances. Such a substance creates–through chemistry–what the nervous system would naturally experience if it were not censored. This form of addiction pulls you away from reality. It traps you in a perpetual recycling of self, inevitably incapacitating the mind.  These addictions assume many forms: dogmatism, fanaticism, even our own putatively positive convictions. And we create these beliefs in ways that are rewarding and satisfying to our egos. But these beliefs confine us because they are based on faith, not knowledge of ourselves.

The Sirens, as their name in Greek implies, (Σειρήν, σειρή=tie up and drag) are expert manipulators. Manipulation is applied deceitfully, without evident manoeuvring. The victims are subtly caressed so that they will become dependent on their manipulator. Many people like being victims because they enjoy others taking care of them.  Victims may not realise their entrapment since they regard “captivity” as a pleasant need. The Sirens, therefore, symbolise addictions and attachments, obsessions, habits, dependency on others, etc.

After enticement, then the decay begins…

The sailors’ eventual death symbolises the stagnation that occurs after surrendering to others our capacity to think for ourselves. When we transfer to someone else our self-sovereignty because “they know better”, our lives then slowly decay. When we let others “take care” of our well-being, security, health, or existence, we guarantee that we will have an undignified ending. For safety or convenience, we have surrendered ourselves.  And we may not even be aware of this slow extinction because we become accustomed to the superficial comfort of being in “good hands”, “expert” hands.…

Does this sound familiar?