Tag Archives: Sirens in Odysseus

Odysseus and His Relatable Acceptance

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Rigo De Leon

ECL 305

Professor Pressman

March 3rd, 2024

For many people, writing is an outlet to convey emotions and gives writers the opportunity to combine their subconscious thoughts with their creativity. Reading stories that were written centuries ago gives readers the opportunity to see what the writer was going through at the time through the wording of their sentences, the imagery they choose to provide, and messages they leave for readers. By studying “Odysseus and the Sirens” which is a chapter in Homer’s “Odyssey”, Odysseus becomes infatuated with the siren song, and professes that he will tie himself to his ship, and be the only one in his crew to refrain from protecting his ears. Odysseus speaks in the form of a poem, which gives the reader a much better understanding of what he is going through, and also gives the reader the opportunity to relate to him by the way he conveys his feelings. As he is facing death, this passage hints at the idea that Odysseus is overcome with existential wonder that he shares with humanity as he enters the opening moments of the experience he has been longing for for years. The demonic imagery induces fear in Odysseus, but this is counteracted by the calming personification of the ocean, which leaves Odysseus with a relatable feeling of acceptance to whatever his fate may be.

The conflicting imagery in this passage is extremely important because it gives an idea as to how unsure Odysseus is made to feel in that moment. His initial reaction to meeting the Sirens makes him recall how the “waves below, at once forgot to move. Some demon calm’d the air and smooth’d the deep, Hush’d the loud winds, and charm’d the waves to sleep.” (43). The text makes it clear that through all the impending chaos, he is able to take in the nature around him as a natural coping mechanism. In reality, this may have only induced more fear in him. Such calmness caused by what he believes to be evil creatures juxtaposes what humans are conditioned to believe should happen when faced with danger. Did Odysseus see massive waves that threatened the safety of the boat? Did he see large, brainless brutes that could rip him apart? No. He experienced tranquility in his environment. The passage breaks down an experience that most people can relate to, that being the moment where people lose all power, and can do absolutely nothing but accept whatever fate is in store.

Odysseus has lived his life believing that these beautiful creatures are ultimately demonic and deadly, yet he is still willing to try to outsmart them in order to hear their song, which could prove to be fatal to not only him but his entire crew. By asking for only he “alone, with fetters firmly bound, The gods allow to hear the dangerous sound” (41). Odysseus emits a natural human response by sacrificing safety for the sake of honoring his desire of knowledge. Sacrifice is a very normal aspect to humanity, especially when curiosity consumes people. Odysseus proclaims that the gods will let him hear what he desires to hear. This is important to the rest of the story because it shows that Odysseus believes in a higher power. Given that this was written before the beginning of Christianity, it not only predicts how people behave once Christianity is brought to life, but it also proves that fate and a belief in a higher power is a principle that has existed throughout the existence of humanity. People find themselves closest to a higher power when experiencing a life threatening event. By mentioning the fetters, which are essentially chains that are restraining him, he is displaying a sense of hope that he will survive this encounter with the Sirens. Odysseus portrays a longing for wisdom and excitement, yet he is granted the knowledge that is needed for a chance to survive. People act similarly in the modern age in forms such as adrenaline rushes. There are people who risk their lives jumping out of planes, surviving in the woods alone, or deep sea diving who search for enticing experiences for the sake of pleasure. Similarly to Odysseus, the people that crave adrenaline accept their fates in order to slightly scratch the large itch that is meant to satisfy existential wonder.

As Odysseus prepares to encounter the Sirens, he further shows his animalistic wonder by making an effort to cover the ears of his crew. With “every sail [they] furl, each oar [they] ply; Lash’d by the stroke, the frothy waters fly. The ductile wax, with busy hands” Odysseus molds. The effort that is put into preparation for their encounter is treated like a space mission: Both require a lot of thought and knowledge, both are extremely dangerous, and both are not completely necessary. The world is big enough to provide those with the necessities they need. Despite people being programmed to value their lives, they have beat the natural world by being conscious enough to fight their primal instincts of survival for the sake of desire. Through his writings, Homer unintentionally shows us that human instincts have not changed from how they were thousands of years ago.

When Odysseus finally encounters the Sirens, they make an effort to make him succumb to his temptations. The Sirens sing their beautiful song, but instead of providing direct knowledge and wisdom, they use their voices to “instruct the soul, and charm the ear.” If Odysseus chooses to “Approach, [his] soul will shall into raptures rise” (43). Resisting temptation is a completely unnatural human response to a situation. Temptation is a concept that was constructed along with religion and society. Fighting temptation is what separates humans from animals, as humans are able to come together and think not only for themselves, but for those around them as well. Odysseus uses all of his strength to resist the urge to join the Sirens. 

One of the most impactful aspects of this story is the fact that the readers do not get to find out how Odysseus felt about the Siren song. The story ends abruptly after they simply sail past the Sirens. The readers should see this and rethink what the point of the entire text was. Homer leads people to believe that there will be a rewarding payoff to all of Odysseus’ work and desire. Instead, readers spend time learning about Odysseus’s battle against temptation. One could look at this and relate it to an experience they could have where the struggle of completing a task completely overshadows the feeling of success or satisfaction that they expected. Through Odysseus’ poem, he provides a relatable experience that can be related to universally, where he honors desire beyond what he knows is right, despite being at the hands of death.

Week 4: Gender roles slightly reversed

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In this week’s readings, “The Penguin Book of Mermaids”, I was really interested to see that in some aspects women figures like sirens were not seen as sexual, where, as we finally are introduced to some male creatures, for lack of better word, and they are on that flipside of being dangerous and predatory. In the chapter regarding “Odysseus and the sirens“ Sirens were more regarded as having “the law and knowledge [they] Held in antiquity, had to do with life and death, or knowing The future beyond human ability— Not so much with sexuality” (Brown, 9). I thought the view of this siren was probably the first time I encountered a perspective where they put A woman like in a positive light. Many of our other readings are to say that women are sexual, deceptive, dangerous, and so on, whereas in this interpretation, they have much to give; Far more than just their outward appearances and pleasure. The same page even goes onto emphasize this perspective by explaining how Odysseus is “subject to erotic temptation more than once— But the sirens law is a different kind”. The next sentence goes onto explain how “Homer’s Sirens sing a song that promises knowledge— A wisdom that bridges world— Instead of pleasure.” As I mentioned, before, if the reader didn’t understand that the sirens were not meant to be put in the box of sexual desire or deception, but that The siren song was putting out more valuable promise. Another way to interpret perhaps, Put men in a better light that they don’t simply crave sex and physicality from women but instead, they crave knowledge and power; creating a new theme of lifting up men without putting down women for once.

Adding onto the Idea of gender swaps, in the chapter regarding “The Tuna (Eel) of Lake Vaihira”, the eel character is said to have raped his beloved, princess bride. In this case, and throughout the whole story, the female character seems to be a respectable character rather than the eel, who could be described as menacing, yet still powerful, but ultimately unfavorably dangerous. Although one may counterclaim and say, the princess is a damsel in distress, following tired gender-norm, I would argue that this is one of those few times in the stories where you can see how the strong desire for women can be harmful; teaching men to be respectable, rather than to paint women as these sex-crazed, dangerous monsters.