Siren: Gr. sirenes, entanglers

Siren (Gr. sirenes, "entanglers")

One of the mythical monsters, half woman and half bird, said by Greek poets (Odyssey) to entice seamen by the sweetness of their song to such a degree that the listeners forgot everything and died of hunger; hence applied to any dangerous, alluring woman.

Ulysses escaped their blandishments by filling his companions' ears with wax and lashing himself to the mast of his ship.

In Homeric mythology, there were but two sirens; later writers name three, viz., Parthenope, Ligea, and Leucosia, and the number was still further augmented by later writers.

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