The Sirens
Returning
from the abode of the shades, Ulysses revisited
the AEaean isle and recounted to Circe his
adventures and the wondrous visions and the laws
of Hell. She in return speeded his homeward
voyage, instructing him particularly how to pass
safely by the coast of the Sirens. 1 Odyssey, 12.
These
nymphs had the power, as has been already said, of
charming by their song all who heard them, so that
mariners were impelled to cast themselves into the
sea to destruction. Circe directed Ulysses to stop
the ears of his seamen with wax, so that they
should not hear the strain; to have himself bound
to the mast, and to enjoin his people, whatever he
might say or do, by no means to release him till
they should have passed the Sirens' island.
Ulysses obeyed these directions. As they
approached the Sirens' island, the sea was calm,
and over the waters came notes of music so
ravishing and attractive that Ulysses struggled to
get loose and, by cries and signs to his people,
begged to be released; but they, obedient to his
previous orders, sprang forward and bound him
still faster. They held on their course, and the
music grew fainter till it ceased to be heard,
when with joy Ulysses gave his companions the
signal to unseal their ears; and they relieved him
from his bonds. It is said that one of the Sirens,
Parthenope, in grief at the escape of Ulysses
drowned herself. Her body was cast up on the
Italian shore where now stands the city of Naples,
in early times called by the Siren's name.
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