ஓMonsters of the sea Sirensஓ

The Siren is a creature with various attributes that can label it a monster, seductress or a mysterious being. Defined as "any group of female and partly human creatures in Greek mythology that lured mariners to destruction by their singing"(Webster). These creatures have various forms in their definition it is seen in the synonyms of when they are defined as enchantress, femme fatale, seductress, temptress etc. When described in stories Sirens are often associated as beautiful female creatures with  upper body of a female and a lower half of a fish, but in Greek mythology they are women with bird like qualities such as bird legs or bird wings. Nonetheless they are most of the times described as beautiful. What makes Sirens monsters is the fact that they are able to lure men to their deaths from the use of their voices, when they begin to sing men loose all sense of consciousness and will throw themselves at sea. Another aspect of them that makes them monsters is not only that they "want" the men to kill themselves but in various stories they are also capable of eating their victims making them evil. Sirens are also classified as monsters from the various types of forms of their descriptions, an example is the fact that they have fish like and bird like qualities gives them that de-formality making them monstrous to humanity.

In various types of literature the Siren is portrayed differently giving its character a broad aspect. Auster and Naroditskaya state how "many of the beings in these pages, often counterparts or adaptations of the multiply hybridized Greek Sirens, can be deathly or angelic, Christian or Pagan- or some paradoxical combination of all at once. Nonetheless, they share an essential feature their powerful voices- which render them desirable objects for poets, visual artists, and musicians to describe or emulate" (pg.8). There is no sure way to determine is a Siren is a monster that has agency or not because literature describes them differently. The only aspect that all sirens have in common throughout literature and culture as well is the way they lure humans by their singing, a well know example of this is seen in Greek mythology in the poem of the odyssey where Odysseus the traveling "hero" tells his traveling soldiers while in his ship to cover their ears in order to not be lured by the Sirens and their fatal song.

In Greek culture however Sirens are not good beings as portrayed in some works of literature but evil creatures that would send men to their deaths by their beauty and by their voice. In the poem the Odyssey it is within the writer's interest to demonstrate the bad side of the Siren by stating that " If any one unwarily draws in too close and hears the singing of the Sirens, his wife and children will never welcome him home again, for they sit in a green field and warble him to death with the sweetness of their song"(Homer; Book XII). The poet shows how such a creature uses its power to lure the victim in and after they are entrapped in the enchantment of what is the Siren they are eaten by them. This brings to light the most crucial part of what is a monster which is eating its victim, causing their death with no mercy whatsoever. This is what distinguishes a monster from a creature or human.

After defining, describing and ex amplifying what makes up a Siren there is also the basis of unfolding and analyzing this ancient monster. A specific aspect of the Siren is the voice, because it is the main component of what catches the attention, lures and finally kills its victims. In other cultures Sirens are also described as hideous monsters with extreme deformed qualities, but the people they lure and kill are attracted not to the appearance of this monster but to the voice, meaning that any aspect of beauty is not necessary for their purpose. Another fact to keep in mind is that in every story that speaks of sirens only speaks of females and their victims are men, this plays into effect symbolizing Sirens as the females which are a weakness to men keep in mind that in Greek mythology a component of the various of the stories is sex or desire of the aspect. In modern times women are dubbed as sirens because they demonstrate the attraction, sensuallity and power to lure men that Sirens in literature have.

Whether dubbed as Mermaids or Sirens the female goddesses, monsters, killers of the sea have existed as the epitaph for men as the forbidden monstrous desire that guides them to their deaths from a sound of a voice. In any work of literature or vocal story it is clear that the Siren is always entitled for being dangerous which is another aspect of what defines a monster, even though beauty covers in most times their true intent it does not cover their monstrous side. There is an unclear distinction in various cultures as of what or who created the Siren. In Greek mythology it is said they are daughters of the sea god Achelous, but in other instances they are said to just be simply magical creatures. Whether daughters of gods or magical beings most stories portray them to being a monster in all occasions. 

works cited

"Siren." Def. 1. Merrian Webster Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed.2003. Print.

Austern, P. L., & Naroditskaya, I. (2006). Music of the Sirens. Indiana, Indiana University Press.

Homer, (2011, February 18). The Odyssey, Book XII The Sirens, Scylla and charybdis,The Cattle of the Sun. Retrieved from homer.classicauthors.net