It is said the beautiful Sirens use their enchanting voices to lure sailors and make them die. Their beautiful singing will make men forget directions and shipwreck on the rocky coast. Sirens can be found in many Greek stories, especially in Homer's “Odyssey”: “But the sirens charm with their pure song, sitting in their meadow; the shore is full of bones of rotting men, with the skin shrinking around them (Odyssey. I2. 44-46)” Every man who hears Sirens’ singing will have to die, so it is hard to know what Sirens sing from those dead men.
Perhaps this is why (other than its sweet melody) that it was often used to woo maidens. However, research shows that the nose flute is a popular musical instrument played in Polynesia and the Pacific Rim countries, and that other versions are found in Africa, China, and India. Fallon (1990) describe the ritual thus; “Traditionally, the Hawaiian nose flute was commonly used as a form of communication between lovers. One would play a song from the heart to his sweetheart at night, and then, in the morning, play his flute at the sea shore. If the potential mate liked his song, she would greet him at the shore, an indication of acceptance.” But, these flutes are still used today.
Unfortunately for this siren every man whom she has lured has been the same, which portrays men to be all the same. In Greek mythology sirens are portrayed as dangerous seductresses, their lower half was that of a fish and their upper body was that of a bird. In “Siren Song” the siren singing explains that she doesn’t enjoy the company of her two sisters, whom she describes as “feathery maniacs”. This indicates that these sirens are the Greek mythological creatures and not mermaids as they are commonly confused with. They are even said to be ugly, so as to appeal more to the soul of a human then to the flesh.
Although Artemis promised never to lose her maidenhood she did fall in love with two men; Endymion and Orion. She had another goddess put Endymion into an eternal sleep so she would not be attracted to him. Apollo did not want Artemis to lose her maidenhood so it is said that he set up a contest between himself and his sister. This contest would determine who was a better archer. He challenged her to prove her skill at archery by shooting an object floating far out at sea.
They wore sandals, bikinis, and a toga. Some of their traditions were, they would cast spells over passing mariners using the softness of their songs and the grace of their bodies (LA Sirena par. 1). Their Gods and Goddesses were Zeus, Demeter, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Poseidon, Athena, Hera, Hermes, Apollo, and Artemis. Those were just some Gods and Goddesses.
Many years ago there was a Greek myth of gods who lived on Mt. Olympus. Among the gods were Zeus and Hera who were the king and queen of all the gods. Then there was Hermes; the messenger of the gods. Hermes was a very interesting and artistic god because of his wonderful talent as a musician and his mysterious sneaky ways.
The tragedies that they were writing drew on the same “reservoir of stories about the distant heroic past and its great dynasties and wars, especially those set at Thebes and Troy (Brown J.R. 1995). The chorus in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King played a very important role in the progression of the play and I have come to discover just how much of and influence the role of the chorus has continued to have throughout history and how it has developed and evolved in performance and theatre throughout the centuries. To a modern reader who has had little exposure to ancient Greek theatre, one of the most unusual elements of the play will be the role of the Greek chorus as it is not as prevalent in modern theatre as a theatrical convention. Modern readers can often find the chorus to be “intrusive and irrelevant” (Hall, 1994, pg xxix), however, it can be argued that the chorus is in fact one of the most pivotal characters within the play itself, as without the commentary and narration that they provide, a lot of the plays themes and ideas could otherwise be overlooked. In many of the ancient Greek
The story of the abduction of Persephone is told in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which tells the story of a maiden stolen from her known to the unknown by the lord of the underworld and the consequent actions of her mother because of the abduction. This story of Persephone can be classified as a myth based on the definition of myth provided by William Bascom. Bascom defines a myth of explaining natural phenomena, explaining a ritual, exploring the relationships between deities, and having specific time frame and place not of this earth, all of which this story contains. The Hymn to Demeter starts off with Persephone picking flowers in a meadow with some fellow maidens. She found a narcissus flower and out from the earth came Hades in a golden chariot to carry off a screaming Persephone.
Athena was a powerful goddess in Greek mythology. Athena was the goddess of wisdom, war, and the useful arts. The useful arts included farming, spinning, weaving and playing music. Athena was the protector of hereos, cities and states. Athena invented the flute, the trumpet, the earthenware pot, the plough, the rake, the ox-yoke, the horse-bridle, the chariot, and the ship.
When the Argonauts set sail to the island, they are told the reason why women only were populating the island. Under their ruler, Hypsipyle, they had murdered all the men. The women begged the men to help them repopulate the island, all the heroes took part except for Heracles who was in love with his squire. They left the island with many small Argonauts on the way and set sail for the second island named the Doilones. To arrive at the Doilones, the Argonauts had to go through the Hellespont ( a narrow strait which separated the Aegean Sea from the Marmara Sea).