Odysseus and the Sirens, by Homer

By Herbert James Draper (1863–1920), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

‘Ulysses and the Sirens’ by English artist Herbert James Draper (1863–1920). Ulysses was the Roman form of the name Odysseus. Although Circe implies that the Sirens were just two in number, many modern artists have depicted them as a much larger group. In the Middle Ages, the original bird-like form gave way to the now-familiar mermaid, a woman with a fish-tail in place of legs; following the Renaissance, artists gradually turned Sirens into whole but naked women. For Draper, it would seem, the Siren-mermaid turned fully human in form when out of contact with water.

Odysseus and the Sirens

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“HITHER, come hither and hearken awhile,
Odysseus, far-famed king!
No sailor ever has passed this way
but has paused to hear us sing.
Our song is sweeter than honey,
and he that can hear it knows
What he never had learnt from another,
and has joy before he goes.
We know what the heroes bore at Troy
in the ten long years of strife.*
We know what happens in all the world,
and the secret things of life.”*

I heard the wonderful music and my heart longed to listen, and I made signs to my comrades to set me free; but the others only bent to their oars and rowed the harder, while two of them stood up and bound me tighter than before, till at last we had left the Sirens behind us and could not hear their song, and then my comrades took out the wax from their ears and unfastened me.

by Homer 8th century BC

freely translated by Francis Marvin, Robert Mayor and Florence Stawell

From ‘The Adventures of Odysseus, Retold in English’ (1900), a free translation of Homer’s ‘Odyssey’, by Francis Sydney Marvin (1863-1943), Robert John Grote Mayor (1869-1947) and Florence Melian Stawell (1869-1936). Additional information from ‘The Odyssey, Rendered into English Prose’ (1900) by Samuel Butler (1835-1902).

* Odysseus had been one of the Greek warriors at The Siege of Troy.

* The prose translation by Samuel Butler (1835-1902) ran: “‘Come here,’ they sang, ‘renowned Ulysses, honour to the Achaean name, and listen to our two voices. No one ever sailed past us without staying to hear the enchanting sweetness of our song — and he who listens will go on his way not only charmed, but wiser, for we know all the ills that the gods laid upon the Argives and Trojans before Troy, and can tell you everything that is going to happen over the whole world.’”

Précis

When Odysseus heard the Sirens’ song, he begged his crew to free him and let him follow the voices. But they hardened their hearts, bound him tighter and rowed harder. As soon the Sirens were out of earshot, Odysseus gave the signal and the crew, after removing the wax from their ears, released their grateful captain from his bonds.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

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