Odysseus and the Sirens

Odysseus's meeting with the Sirens begins with a briefing, not a ship. In the Odyssey he tells the story himself. Back on Aeaea after the visit to the dead, he says Circe told him the earlier trials were over and that a god would recall her words when he needed them (Homer, Odyssey 12.37-38).

The Sirens come first, Circe says. They beguile every man who comes near. Anyone who draws close unaware and hears their voice never gets home, so his wife and children never stand rejoicing beside him. The Sirens sit in a meadow and sing clearly, and around them lies a great heap of bones with the skin still shrivelling on them (Homer, Odyssey 12.39-46).

Her instructions are exact. Row past. Knead sweet wax and anoint the crew's ears so that none of them hears. If Odysseus himself wants to listen, the men must bind him hand and foot, upright against the step of the mast, with the rope ends fastened to the mast itself. If he begs to be freed, they must tie him with more bonds (Homer, Odyssey 12.47-54).

Circe speaks of "the two Sirens" and says nothing of their shape (Homer, Odyssey 12.52). Her warning then turns to the Planctae, beetling crags, and to two other routes between which she leaves the choice to him (Homer, Odyssey 12.55-65).

Odysseus shares the plan with his men, but not all of it. He says one or two of them should not hold the oracles alone, so that all may either die knowing or escape. He tells them Circe ordered them to avoid the Sirens' voice and flowery meadow, and that he alone may listen, bound fast, and must be tied tighter if he pleads (Homer, Odyssey 12.153-164).

The ship reached the island of the two Sirens on a fair, gentle wind. Then the wind dropped. A dead calm settled, and Odysseus says a god lulled the waves to sleep. The crew furled the sail, stowed it, took their seats and whitened the water with their fir oars (Homer, Odyssey 12.165-172).

Odysseus took his sharp sword and cut a great round cake of wax into small pieces. He kneaded it in his hands until the pressure and the rays of Helios warmed it soft, then anointed the ears of every man in turn (Homer, Odyssey 12.173-177).

The crew bound him hand and foot, upright in the mast-step, and made the ropes fast to the mast itself. Then they sat and struck the grey sea with their oars (Homer, Odyssey 12.177-180).

The Sirens noticed the ship when it came within shouting distance. Homer says they did not miss the swift vessel as it drew near, and they raised their clear-toned song (Homer, Odyssey 12.181-183). No man in the crew could hear it. The one man who could was tied where he could do nothing about it.

The song does not promise pleasure. It promises knowledge. It names Odysseus, praises him, and offers to tell him about the war he fought and about everything that happens on earth. The Sirens also claim that no man has passed without stopping, which Circe's meadow of bones has already contradicted.

Odysseus says his heart wanted to listen. He nodded with his brows and told his men to loose him. They rowed on. Perimedes and Eurylochus stood up, bound him with more ropes and drew them tighter (Homer, Odyssey 12.192-196).

When the ship had passed and the voices had faded, the men took the wax from their ears and untied him (Homer, Odyssey 12.197-200). Homer does not say what the Sirens do afterward.

The relief lasted only until the island was behind them. Odysseus saw smoke and a great swell and heard a booming. The oars flew from his men's terrified hands and splashed in the surf. The ship stood still (Homer, Odyssey 12.201-206).

He went along the benches with gentle words. He reminded them of the Cyclops's cave, from which his courage and wit had rescued them, and told them to keep rowing and obey. He ordered the steersman to keep the ship away from the smoke and hug the cliff (Homer, Odyssey 12.207-221; compare Odysseus and the Cyclops).

One thing he kept from them. He did not mention Scylla, a bane with no cure, for fear the crew would stop rowing and huddle in the hold (Homer, Odyssey 12.223-225). Then he forgot Circe's order not to arm himself, put on his armour and took two spears to the fore-deck. He could not see her anywhere (Homer, Odyssey 12.226-233).

The ship sailed on up the narrow strait with wailing, Scylla on one side and Charybdis sucking down the sea on the other. Scylla then seized six of his best men from the ship (Homer, Odyssey 12.234-246).