Myths and Legends: Odysseus and the Sirens

Odysseus and the Sirens. To find out more about the Sirens, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

This vase painting depicts a famous scene from the Odyssey when Odysseus manages to listen to the son of the bird-women, the Sirens, by making his men fill their ears with wax, while Odysseus has himself tied to the mast so that he can listen to the Siren song without being seduced by its ineluctable summons. Here are more depictions of Odysseus and the Sirens.

You can also find more myths and legends for the week of Oct. 28- Nov. 3 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.

Myths and Legends: Odysseus and the Sirens

Odysseus and the Sirens. To find out more about the Sirens, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

This fifth-century red figure vase painting depicts a famous scene from the Odyssey when Odysseus manages to listen to the son of the bird-women, the Sirens, by making his men fill their ears with wax, while Odysseus has himself tied to the mast so that he can listen to the Siren song without being seduced by its ineluctable summons. (The vase itself is held by the British Museum.)

You can also find more myths and legends for the week of September 23 - September 29 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.

Myths and Legends: Penelope and the Suitors

Penelope and the Suitors. To find out more about Odysseus and his journey home, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

This beautiful fresco by Pinturicchio (housed now in the National Gallery in London), dated to 1509, shows Penelope weaving, besieged by suitors, as she awaits the return of her husband Odysseus. The painting is full of lovely details, like the "painting within a painting" in the background where you can see two of the adventures of Odysseus depicted there (on the left you can see the island of the sorceress Circe who turned Odysseus' men into pigs, and on the right you can see Odysseus listening to the song of the Sirens while strapped to the mast of his ship).


Meanwhile, you can see Odysseus just now entering the house, disguised as an old man, and I wonder if the lovely boy behind the door frame is meant to be Telemachus...? I guess so, as he is not dressed so gaudily as those suitors in the foreground!


Meanwhile, behind Penelope you can see Odysseus' bow, which Penelope has posed as a wedding test - and which will prove to be the suitors' doom when Odysseus reveals his identity! So while the painting is hardly Greek in appearance, it is full of details from the ancient Greek story. Lovely! I like the suitors all dressed up in their fancy clothes!

And... there is a cat!

You can also find more myths and legends for the week of September 16 - September 22 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.

Myths and Legends: Orpheus and the Animals

Orpheus and the Animals. To find out more about Orpheus, the legendary poet and musician, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

Orpheus was the great singer and musician of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds; his playing was able to captivate not only humans, but also animals, as you can see in this Roman mosaic; you can compare another mosaic on this same theme here.

You can also find more myths and legends for the week of September 9 - September 15 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.

Myths and Legends: Orpheus and the Animals

Orpheus and the Animals. To find out more about Orpheus, the legendary poet and musician, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

Orpheus was the great singer and musician of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds; his playing was able to captivate not only humans, but also animals, as you can see in this second-century Roman mosaic from Edessa in what is now southeastern Turkey.

You can also find more myths and legends for the week of August 5 - August 11 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.