Grace Dellapa

Homers Portrayal of the Sirens Paragraph

Homer portrays the Sirens as seductive temptresses through his
description of the Sirens themselves, Odysseus, and Odysseus men.
The epic poem is told from the point of view of Odysseus, who is the
epitome of a masculine hero: strong, brave, and beloved of most gods.
The Sirens are mythical creatures who lure sailors to their deaths by
singing a beautiful song. Homer describes them as having honeyed
voices(17), a portrayal that creates a sense of warmth and sweetness.
However, honey is also sticky and difficult to manage, which exactly
fits the situation that Odysseus is in. Odysseus wants to stay and listen
to this beautiful sound made by the Sirens, but at the same time, the
song is destructive to him. Homer describes the Sirens as having
ravishing voices (19) a description that reveals not only the beauty
but also the danger. Odysseus heart begins to [throb] (20) with
excitement as he listens to the high, thrilling song (15). The Sirens
try to seduce Odysseus with their dangerous song.
Odysseus has decided to listen to the Sirens song and has his
crew tie him to the mast by ropes(9). Odysseus is immediately
attracted by the song and frowns [at his men] to set [him] free(21).
He is strong and his crew has to bind [him] faster with rope on chafing
rope(24). His struggling makes him seem strong and heroic. He makes
a heroic effort to escape, so much that his body chafes from the rough

ropes that holds him. If Odysseus is heroic and strong, then the Sirens
seem even more powerful, dangerous, destructive, and tempting than
they were before. Meanwhile, when all the men on the ship follow
Odysseus order and [fling] themselves at the oars and row on
harder (22), churn the whitecaps stroke on stroke (10) it shows that
they are a loyal and a hard working steadfast crew(27). These
portrays of the men on ship also describes them to be strong and
heroic just like their leader, Odysseus. Homer uses the word
comrades to reveal the bond the men have with their captain-which
puts them all on the same level between each other. Their superlatives
expression their degree of loyalty and dedication to Odysseus and to
the adventure they are on. The portrayals of the men connect to the
portrayals of the Sirens by acting heroically. They act heroically
because they have to in order to speak how dangerous and poisonous
the Sirens are. In final analysis, the Sirens are portrayed as tempting
deadly creatures.