The Sirens In The Odyssey By Herbert James Draper

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“Then Circe said to me, “Listen while I explain the course of your journey so that you will know how to proceed without further suffering. First of all, you will come upon the two Sirens. Anyone who is foolish enough to approach them will never return. They sit upon their island and tempt those who sail nearby with their beautiful songs, and anyone who cannot resist them becomes their victim. He joins the decaying bodies and mounds of bones that surround them”. (Homer, 35) In the Odyssey I’ve chosen “The Sirens” and the visual artwork was by Herbert James Draper. In this scene, the three beautiful sirens were either sitting, hanging, and holding onto the boat, as they were trying to get Odysseus and his crews’ attention by their seductive, …show more content…

They were focused on rowing so they can get away from the sirens. Odysseus had to be wrapped tightly by rope on the sailing mass because he had to hear the sirens voices and command his men were to go. He had to command one of his men to hold him down with extra rope even if he said to let him be with the sirens, his crew member didn’t want him to be the sirens next victim. The emotions are intense and nerve racking because they’re trying to be safe as they were getting away from Circes Island. The tone of the epic is very wild, intense, dramatic and mysterious. In the Odyssey I would’ve liked to see Athena in this scene. She was the only one who cared about Odysseus when he was stuck on an island with Calypso. I can see her be Odysseus guide from the sirens and also help him and his crew with his journey of coming back home. I really do like this visual art work that Herbert James Draper has interpreted of the Odyssey. One thing that confuses me is that I though there were two sirens tempting Odysseus and his crew. I doubt that is the goddess Circe accompanying Odysseus on his journey away from the