X. When Odysseus, in his wanderings through the Mediterranean, came near the island on the lovely beach of which the Sirens were sitting, and endeavouring to allure him and his companions, he, on the advice of Circe, stuffed the ears of his companions with wax, and tied himself to the mast of his vessel, until he was so far off that he could no longer hear their song (Hom. Plato interprets this myth as a play on appearances versus reality, stating that the shade of Eurydice was merely an apparition reflecting Orpheus' desire for insubstantial, mortal love. : . Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) : Shewring) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) In front of the island lies that promontory which is opposite the Seirenoussai (Sirenussae) and with them forms the Poseidonian Gulf. . (Strab. One of the Seirens (Schol. Orpheus, during the end of his life, worshipped no gods except the sun, whom he called Apollo. 85 (trans. His parents were the king of Thrace Oeagrus and the muse Calliope. "Then with heavy heart I [Odysseus] spoke to my comrades thus : ‘Friends it is not right that only one man, or only two, should know the divine decrees that Lady Kirke (Circe) has uttered to me. Meanwhile the trim ship sped swiftly on to the island of the Seirenes, wafted still be the favouring breeze. [1.4] AKHELOIOS (Pausanias 9.34.3, Ovid Metamorphoses 14.85) For the story goes that the daughters of Akheloios (Achelous) were persuaded by Hera to compete with the Mousai (Muses) in singing. Rieu) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.) 3. "Others [Odysseus] shall wander . 4. 1 ff : Orpheus Vs. I myself, with my sharp sword, cut a great round of wax into little pieces and set about kneading them with all the strength I had. "Down to the present day men are wont to liken to a Seiren (Siren) whatever is charming in both poetry and prose. "She is of course not more melodious than the Serenides (Sirens), for they are goddesses. 7. Orpheus' sole weapon was his lyre, which he used to raise the spirits of his fellow Argonauts, and to charm fish from the sea as food for their long journey. Under my mighty hands, and under the beams of the lordly sun-god [Helios] whose father is Hyperion, the wax quickly began to melt, and with it I sealed all my comrades' ears in turn. Arg. : Euripides, Helen 167 (trans. 18 (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D.) : 2:56 PREVIEW Argo. A surname of the Sirens, the daughters of Achelous and a muse. : Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) : Orpheus' shade then fled to the Underworld, retracing his steps searching for Eurydice and eventually found her in the Elysian Fields. . There is dispute regarding the manner of her death, some say that she was struck as she danced to Orpheus' music, while others maintain that she was fleeing the advances of Aristaeus, Apollo's son. p. 1709; Virg. Raising his Bistonian lyre, he drew from it the lively tune of a fast-moving song, so as to din their ears with a medley of competing sounds. 18 - 19 (trans. The island is named after one of the Seirenes (Sirens), who was cast ashore here after the Seirenes had flung themselves, as the myth has it, into the depths of the sea [following their encounter with Odysseus]. http://www.pantheon.org/articles/o/orpheus.html, http://books.guardian.co.uk/greekmyths/story/0,,2240708,00.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheus#Orphic_poems_and_rites, http://www.offoffonline.com/archives.php?id=727. Decorative Siren, Paestan red-figure kylix C4th B.C., Metropolitan Museum of Art. 892 ff (trans. 246, 252; Serv. Since Orpheus had been the bard of Bacchus' mysteries, the god avenged his death by transforming the Maenads into trees. : Ptolemy Hephaestion, New History Book 6 (summary from Photius, Myriobiblon 190) (trans. However, they told him not to look back until they had reached the surface. Orpheus Vs. "The triple daughters [Seirenes (Sirens)] of Tethys' son [Akheloos (Achelous)], who imitated the strains of their melodious mother [Melpomene] . Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D.) : X.13). According to Homer, the island of the Sirens was situated between Aeaea and the rock of Scylla, near the south-western coast of Italy. But Aphrodite, Queen of Eryx, had pity on him. "[Kirke (Circe) warns Odysseus of the dangers of the journey ahead :] ‘You will come to the Seirenes (Sirens) first of all; they bewitch any mortal who approaches them. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) : Strabo, Geography 5. ", Suidas s.v. Ulysses [Odysseus] proved fatal to them, for when by his cleverness he passed by the rocks where they dwelt, they threw themselves into the sea. [1.3] AKHELOIOS & STEROPE (Apollodorus 1.63) Although one might not expect a famous musician to be a "hero" per se, Jason sought out Orpheus to join him and the other Argonauts in his quest to recover the Golden Fleece for King Pelias. Orpheus vs. the Sirens, an Album by Hermit and the Recluse. ", Lycophron, Alexandra 712 ff (trans. "[Odysseus tells Penelope of his travels :] How he heard the Seirenes (Sirens) singing and came to the Wanderers, to grim Kharybdis (Charybdis) and to Skylla (Scylla). "[Odysseus] sailed past the island of the Seirenes (Sirens). "Surrenton [in Italy], a city of the Kampanoi (Campania), whence the Athenaion (Athenaeum, temple of Athena) juts forth into the sea, which some call the Cape of Seirenoussai (Sirenussae) (of the Sirens) . The pair climbed the steep path back to the upper world, and Orpheus stepped out into the sunlight, but eager and forgetting that they must both be out of the Underworld, Orpheus looked back before Eurydice had time to follow. ", Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca E7. Following his failure to rescue Eurydice from Hades, Orpheus went mad, Ovid compares him to Heracles, a hero who similarly visited the underworld and would later be driven to insanity (Metamorphoses. ", Aelian, On Animals 17. 313 ff (trans. Also in the Epigrams, ‘And that talking is sweeter than Seirenes.’ The names of the Seirenes : Thelxiepeia, Peisinoe, Ligeia; Anthemousa the island they inhabited. He pleaded to let him take his wife back, and after singing to them, their hearts were softened so much that they agreed. to C1st A.D.) : Virgil, Georgics 4. Details concerning Apollo's early life are sparse, although it appears as though his mother and aunts taught him to sing and play the lyre. Featured peformers: Ka (performer, rap), Animoss (performer, producer), Scotty Hard (aka_text mixing role_id 1327.aka_text), Chris Pummill (recording engineer), Michael Fossenkemper (mastering), Candido Casillas (editing), Mark Shaw (design). It was predicted that they would live only until someone who heard their singing would pass by. . i. p. 23, v. p. i. 61 (trans. 896). [1.1] AKHELOIOS & MELPOMENE (Apollodorus 1.18, 1.63, Lycophron 712, Hyginus Fabulae 141) 10 (trans. He was considered the best musician and poet of all, and he perfected the lyre. p. 1709); and others, that there were three, Peisinoë, Aglaope, and Thelxiepeia (Tzetz. They are called daughters of Phorcus (Plut. Honor Killed The Samurai Vinyl. 336.) Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Despite all his efforts, he would not be admitted into the Underworld a second time, and so Orpheus returned to the land of the living, living in the wild and spurning the love of women, although many burned with desire for him, and it is said that this behaviour is what inspired the men of Thrace to love adolescent boys rather than women. Pearse) (Greek mythographer C1st to C2nd A.D.) : 135 (trans. : ], Lycophron, Alexandra 712 ff : [1.2] THELXIEPEIA, PEISINOE, AGLAOPE (Apollodorus E7.18) What barren nightingale [Seiren (Siren)], slayer of the Kentauroi (Centaurs), Aitolis or Kouretis (Curetis), shall not with her varied melody tempt them to waste away through fasting from food?" . v. 364), or of Gaea (Eurip. . "The Seirenes (Sirens). Some writers connected the self-destruction of the Sirens with the story of Orpheus and the Argonauts, and others With that of Odysseus (Strab. 18 (trans. 1. : "And he [Odysseus] shall slay the triple daughters [Seirenes (Sirens)] of Tethys' son [Akheloos (Achelous)], who imitated the strains of their melodious mother [Melpomene] : self-hurled from the cliff's top they dive with their wings into the Tyrrhenian Sea, where the bitter thread spun by the Moirai (the Fates) shall draw them. Ligeia or Ligea (Ligeia), (Ligeia), i. e. the shrill sounding, occurs as the name of a seiren and of a nymph. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2018 Vinyl release of Orpheus vs. The Sirens were three bird-women, who lived on an island meadow scattered with the bones of their numerous victims. It is only a short voyage from here across to the island of Kaprea (Capri); and after doubling the cape you come to desert, rocky isles, which are the called the Seirenes (Sirens). "In the Alexandra which Lykophron (Lycophron) wrote : ‘What sterile nightingale killer of Kentauroi (Centaurs) . They started walking towards the surface; when Orpheus reached the opening of the cave with his wife following, he looked back, anxious to see if Eurydice was behind him. Rhod. l. c.), or from Aphrodite, because they wished to remain virgins (Eustath. Other references not currently quoted here: Argonautica Orphica 1271 & 1284, Eustathius on Homer's Odyssey 1709, Tzetzes on Lycophron 712, Servius on Virgil's Eclogues 4.562, Servius on Virgil's Aeneid 5.364, Plutarch Table-Talk 9.14. "They [King Porthaon and his wife Euryte of Aitolia (Aetolia)] also had a daughter Sterope, who was alleged to be the mother by Akheloios (Achelous) of the Seirenes (Sirens). "I, Virgil, was nursed by sweet Parthenope [i.e. "Sailing out past the gulf [Poseidonian Gulf of Leukania in Italy], one comes to Leukosia (Leucosia), an island, from which it is only a short voyage across to the continent. : 168) (trans. Was it not because, when Proserpine [Persephone] was picking those spring flowers, they were her comrades there, and, when in vain they’d sought for her through all the lands, they prayed for wings to carry them across the waves, so that the seas should know their search, and found the gods gracious, and then suddenly saw golden plumage clothing all their limbs? 4. "The Tyrrhenian winged maids [Seirenes' (Sirens')] chant to mariners from the fatal cliff. The Seirenes were depicted as birds with either the heads or entire upper bodies of women.