The Sirens Research Paper
Madison Behon
Conway
English 1 Honors
2/6/2017
Sirens and Their Role in Greek Mythology On a small island neighboring Sylla and Charybdis, there lives monstrous creatures know by the name of “Sirens” (Cartwright Siren). Surrounded by the rotting bodies of their previous victims, the Sirens search for more mortals to lead to their doom. Their beautiful voices and lyre playing entices their prey and causes many sailors to shipwreck upon following the lovely sound. Few manage to escape the wretched beasts but those who have are clever in their attempts to drown out the Sirens melody. The Sirens have a tragic origin, play a large roll in Greek mythology, and their true appearance is still debated to this day. Like many characters in Greek mythology, the origin of the Sirens is debated. According to authors Michael Karas and Charilaos Megas, the Sirens are descendants of Achelous, a river God (C). It remains …show more content…
In the end, the unanswered question is whether the Sirens were more related to birds, or to fish. Author Mark Cartwright claims that Sirens have the head of a woman and the body of a bird (A). This ties in to the story of Persephone and makes the most logical sense. As this seems to be the most common statement, other sources believe that only parts of the Sirens were that of birds, such as their arms or legs (Sirens-Mythological Greek Sirens). On the other end of the spectrum, it is believed that the sirens were part fish, resembling a mermaid like creature. This is also logical given that their father is a river God and they live surrounded by the sea. A prominent example of this in modern day society is the logo of the Starbucks company, which presents a mermaid like Siren as previously described. Depending on the story, Sirens have been described as both horrible and frightening monsters with talons or as creatures with a face as gorgeous as their voice (Cartwright
Conway
English 1 Honors
2/6/2017
Sirens and Their Role in Greek Mythology On a small island neighboring Sylla and Charybdis, there lives monstrous creatures know by the name of “Sirens” (Cartwright Siren). Surrounded by the rotting bodies of their previous victims, the Sirens search for more mortals to lead to their doom. Their beautiful voices and lyre playing entices their prey and causes many sailors to shipwreck upon following the lovely sound. Few manage to escape the wretched beasts but those who have are clever in their attempts to drown out the Sirens melody. The Sirens have a tragic origin, play a large roll in Greek mythology, and their true appearance is still debated to this day. Like many characters in Greek mythology, the origin of the Sirens is debated. According to authors Michael Karas and Charilaos Megas, the Sirens are descendants of Achelous, a river God (C). It remains …show more content…
In the end, the unanswered question is whether the Sirens were more related to birds, or to fish. Author Mark Cartwright claims that Sirens have the head of a woman and the body of a bird (A). This ties in to the story of Persephone and makes the most logical sense. As this seems to be the most common statement, other sources believe that only parts of the Sirens were that of birds, such as their arms or legs (Sirens-Mythological Greek Sirens). On the other end of the spectrum, it is believed that the sirens were part fish, resembling a mermaid like creature. This is also logical given that their father is a river God and they live surrounded by the sea. A prominent example of this in modern day society is the logo of the Starbucks company, which presents a mermaid like Siren as previously described. Depending on the story, Sirens have been described as both horrible and frightening monsters with talons or as creatures with a face as gorgeous as their voice (Cartwright