A perfume vase in the form of a Siren, dating to about 560 BC. Homer does not describe the Sirens in detail, and indeed does not indicate that Odysseus and his crew actually saw them; but early Greek art depicted them as bird-like women, and in one form or another that remained the prevailing image for the ancients. The Greek word for Siren, Σειρήν, is used in the Septuagint (Greek language) version of Isaiah 13:21 where it stands for a bird crying mournfully among the ruins of Babylon. In 1 Enoch 19:2, dating to about 300-200 BC, the Archangel Uriel reveals that on the Day of Judgment “the women also of the angels who went astray shall become sirens.”
Episode 2 of 4 in the Series
The Odyssey
Introduction
Odysseus and his crew have parted, not without misgivings, from the paradise island of the goddess Circe. Before they set off for home and the island of Ithaca, Circe warned them about the Sirens. The sailor who once listens to their music will be drawn irresistibly into their meadow, there to sit spellbound forever by song among the other little heaps of withered flesh and bleaching bone.
WHEN morning broke I went down to the ship; and we took our places on board, and Circe sent a friendly breeze to fill our sails and help us. So we sat at ease while the ship ran on, and then I said to my crew:
“Comrades, you must all hear the counsel Circe gave me. She bade us beware of the Sirens and their magic song and the flowery meadow where they sit.* I alone may listen, but you must bind me to the mast so that I cannot move, and if I beg you to set me free bind me tighter than before.”
So the good ship went scudding on to the Sirens’ island with the fair breeze in her wake, when suddenly the wind dropped and there was a dead calm; something had put the waves to rest. Then my crew hauled down the sails and took out the oars, and I made plugs of wax and stopped their ears with them, and they bound me hand and foot to the mast. And when we came within earshot of the shore the Sirens caught sight of the ship and began their magic song:
* In warning Odysseus of the Sirens, Circe implied that they numbered just two by using the dual form of the noun Siren.
Précis
Before Odysseus left her island, Circe warned him about the Sirens, who lured sailors to their meadow with sweet song, never to return. Thus forewarned, when the sea fell calm and the strains of song were heard, Odysseus stopped up his comrades’ ears with wax, and they bound him to the mast so that he could listen in safety. (59 / 60 words)
Before Odysseus left her island, Circe warned him about the Sirens, who lured sailors to their meadow with sweet song, never to return. Thus forewarned, when the sea fell calm and the strains of song were heard, Odysseus stopped up his comrades’ ears with wax, and they bound him to the mast so that he could listen in safety.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, if, just, may, must, not, otherwise, unless.
Post Box : Ask Nicholas
Grok : Ask Grok
You are welcome to share your creativity with me, or ask for help with any of the exercises on Clay Lane. Write to me at this address:
See more at Post Box.
If you like what I’m doing here on Clay Lane, from time to time you could buy me a coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.
