Source Verification: Odysseus and the Sirens

Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.

What the Sources Attest

How did Odysseus beat the Sirens?

He followed Circe's instructions, which combined two precautions. His crew stopped their ears with softened wax so that none of them heard the song. He had them tie him hand and foot upright against the mast, so that he could listen without being able to steer toward the island. He ordered them to bind him tighter if he begged to be freed, and two crewmen, Perimedes and Eurylochus, did so.

Source: Homer, Odyssey 12.47-54; 12.153-200

What did Odysseus say about the Sirens?

In Homer he says little about them and never judges the song. His speech about them in book 12 is the briefing to his crew: Circe told them to avoid the Sirens' voice and meadow, and only he may listen, tied to the mast. Afterward he says his heart wanted to listen and that he signalled to be freed. He keeps Scylla secret from the crew, but not the Sirens.

Source: Homer, Odyssey 12.153-164; 12.192-196

What do the Sirens in The Odyssey symbolize?

Homer gives no allegory. His Sirens offer wisdom about Troy and about everything on earth, and Circe's bones show the price. One ancient reading of that offer comes from Cicero, who says the Sirens do not tempt with the sweetness of their voices but with the promise of knowledge. Cicero adds that Homer knew a great man could not be held by a mere ditty.

Source: Homer, Odyssey 12.184-191; Cicero, De Finibus 5.49

Did Odysseus cut off the Sirens' tails?

No. Odysseus never touches the Sirens in Homer. The only thing he cuts is the cake of wax for his crew's ears, which he slices with his sword. Homer gives no description of the Sirens' bodies. Ancient authors who do describe them, such as Apollodorus and Hyginus, give them the lower body of a bird, not a fish's tail.

Source: Homer, Odyssey 12.173-177; Apollodorus, Epitome 7.18-7.19; Hyginus, Fabulae 125

Where Accounts Differ

sirens-bodies-not-in-homer
number-names-and-mother-of-the-sirens
wax-and-mast-or-orpheus
fate-of-the-sirens
origin-of-the-bird-form
song-as-promise-of-knowledge

Homer never describes the Sirens' bodies. His Sirens are two, they sit in a meadow, and they sing (Odyssey 12.39-46, 12.52). Apollodorus says they had the forms of birds from the thighs (Epitome 7.18). Apollonius makes them part bird and part maiden (Argonautica 4.895-899). Hyginus gives them the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a bird (Fabulae 125). No account cited here gives them a fish's tail.
Number, names and mother differ. Homer says two (Odyssey 12.52, 12.167). Apollodorus names three, Pisinoe, Aglaope and Thelxiepia, daughters of Achelous and the Muse Melpomene (Epitome 7.18). Hyginus also gives Melpomene (Fabulae 125, 141). Apollonius makes their mother the Muse Terpsichore (Argonautica 4.895-896).
The way past them differs. In Homer and Apollodorus, Odysseus uses wax and the mast on Circe's advice (Odyssey 12.47-54, Epitome 7.18-7.19). In Apollonius, Orpheus stops the Argonauts from landing by playing his lyre until it overcomes the maidens' voice (Argonautica 4.903-909). The Argonaut Butes still swims toward them and is carried away to Lilybaeum by Aphrodite (Argonautica 4.912-919).
Their fate differs. Homer is silent. Apollodorus says it was foretold that they would die when a ship passed them, and so they died (Epitome 7.19). Hyginus says the same prophecy applied to anyone who heard them and passed by, and that they threw themselves into the sea, leaving the place called Sirenides (Fabulae 141).
The origin of their bird form is not in Homer. Apollonius says they once tended Demeter's unwed daughter and were then partly birds (Argonautica 4.896-899). Hyginus says they wandered after the rape of Proserpina and Ceres made them flying creatures for not helping (Fabulae 141).
Homer gives no allegory. The song's content is knowledge of Troy and of all things on earth (Odyssey 12.189-191). Cicero reads it as an offer of knowledge rather than of sweet sound, in a passage where he translates the song into Latin himself (De Finibus 5.49). Cicero's reading is his own, and this page treats it as such.

Sources

Primary sources

Homer, Odyssey 12.37-38
Homer, Odyssey 12.39-46
Homer, Odyssey 12.47-54
Homer, Odyssey 12.55-65
Homer, Odyssey 12.69-72
Homer, Odyssey 12.153-164
Homer, Odyssey 12.165-172
Homer, Odyssey 12.173-177
Homer, Odyssey 12.177-180
Homer, Odyssey 12.181-183
Homer, Odyssey 12.184-191
Homer, Odyssey 12.192-196
Homer, Odyssey 12.197-200
Homer, Odyssey 12.201-206
Homer, Odyssey 12.207-221
Homer, Odyssey 12.223-225
Homer, Odyssey 12.226-233
Homer, Odyssey 12.234-246
Homer, Odyssey 12.260-276
Apollodorus, Epitome 7.18-7.19
Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 4.891-919
Hyginus, Fabulae 125
Hyginus, Fabulae 141
Cicero, De Finibus 5.49