A crew of shipwrecked sailors, in danger of being drowned, begs for mercy to the sirens floating in the mist….
Circe looked out at Odysseus boat and felt a wave of sadness flow threw her. His crew was out there making the last small repairs on it, and then he would be off. She wished he didn’t have to go. She had loved him ever since he had resisted her powers to try and turn him into a pig. God knows how this would lead to loving him, but it had, and now he would be leaving her forever.
Odysseus strode into the room, looking strong and determined. He was renowned for his guile, and that he had taken more than ten years to return from the Trojan War. His wife was yet to know of his survival. He was to set sail in the direction he thought lay his hometown, but he had traveled so far and been knocked off course so many times he was not entirely certain. But now he just wanted to set sail, having been stranded of Circe’s island for more than a year, to feel the wind in his hair and the spray of the sea on his face, to feel free once again.
‘Odysseus, before you go, I must warn you of something.’
Odysseus turned to face her, as he knew her knowledge of the seas and that what she was about tell him may lead to his survival.‘On your path, you will past a small group of islands known as Sirenum scopuli. You will know them when you see them. On these islands live three sisters; Aglaopheme, Peisinoe and Thelxiepeia. Now they where friends with Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Queen of the Underworld. When Persephone was abducted by Hades, they were there but yet did nothing to help her. In a rage, Dementer, her mother, turned the sisters into sirens’.
Odysseus nodded, not wishing to interrupt her.
‘Sirens, half bird, half women creatures, charm voyaging sailors with their sweet songs and overcome all men with their enchantment. The men, unable to resist them, sail towards them. And never get seen again. Only the skulls and bones of former sailors bear witness to the true ferocity of these creatures.’
‘What do I do?’Circe turned out of the room and returned with a mound wrapped up with tissues. Odysseus looked at her curiously.
‘Beeswax,’ she replied to his look.’I want you to put this in your and your crew’s ears. That way you won’t hear them and will get passed unharmed.’Odysseus nodded. But curiosity was getting the better of him.
‘I wish to hear their song,’ he said, but even as the worlds came out of his mouth he knew that it sounded impossible.
‘Mmm I thought you would. So I have a plan. If you feel you absolutely have to hear them, get your crew to tie you up on the mast of your ship. That way you can hear their song but won’t be able to swim out or move the ship.’
‘What would I do without you?’ Odysseus asked smiling, and gave her a hug.
‘Give Penelope a hug for me,’ she said as he walked out the room, tears in her eyes.
‘Ready to sail sir?’ asked Misenus, one of his crew.
‘Yep, but first boys stick this beeswax in your ears to protect you from the sirens. You must not hear their song.’
‘What about you?’
‘Circe has told me I have to hear their cries, so therefore you will tie me up on the mast. No matter what I say, no matter what I do, you must not untie me until we are safely past Sirenum scopuli.’ Odysseus had lied to them, but there was nothing dangerous about it; just they would surely protest if he had told them he had simply wanted to hear them.
They had traveled for about half a day when Odysseus saw a group of island with a huge mystical cloud which appeared to be forming in the shape of beautiful faces. He immediately got his crew to tie him up, which was a bit hard since they all had beeswax in their ears.And then he heard it. It was faint as first, but it was the most beautiful music he had ever heard. One was playing the harp, he could tell that for sure. It was so beautiful he knew that the one who was playing it had to be one of the most beautiful creatures on the earth. Then he heard singing, he had never heard singing like that before, it was calling him to come closer…
Come closer Odysseus, draw nearer, draw nearer, and come hear our voices. Those and come to listen to us leave so much wiser, and none are disappointed with our song. Come, as we have knowledge of everything that will happen on this wondrous earth, and we will happily tell you. Draw near Odysseus, come to us…
Odysseus started thrashing around like mad in his tightly bound ropes. He longed to get out; he had to go see them, to hear what they had to say. He wanted nothing more in the whole world. He yelled and screamed for his crew to let him out, telling them that they didn’t understand that they had to release him. But as their ears were full of beeswax they couldn’t hear him and even though they could see, they did nothing to help him.He could see them now. They were beautiful, with the upper half a women and the bottom half bird, they looked like angles in that mysterious cloud. His life depended on getting out, but as hard as he tried he just couldn’t.
The boat was quickly going past the island; they were nearly completely passed it, with Odysseus screaming his head off, when the sirens started changing. They were hideous, repulsive, the ugliest creatures Odysseus had ever seen in his life. Their once beautiful white feathers on their wings had all gone a dirty brown to a black, and their beautiful faces were now plastered with evil and hatred. They were screaming, at the top of their lungs for the boat to come back, how it dare go past them, how dare they not stop. How could they be resisted? It was surely impossible! They threw themselves in the water, trying to go after Odysseus and his crew, but their wings started to weigh them down and in a few moments they were gone, never to be seen again, into the depths of the sea, with Odysseus crew watching dumbfounded.
