Sirens

The Sirens were dangerous beings, part woman and part bird (later reimagined as mermaids), who inhabited a rocky island. Their voices were so enchantingly beautiful that any sailor who heard their song was compelled to steer toward them, crashing on the hidden rocks and perishing.

The island's coast was littered with the bones and rotting ships of those who had succumbed. The Sirens sang of knowledge and pleasure, promising to reveal all truths — a temptation of the mind as much as the senses.

Two heroes survived the Sirens. When the Argonauts passed, Orpheus played his lyre more beautifully than the Sirens could sing, drowning out their voices. Odysseus, wanting to hear their song, had his crew plug their ears with wax while he was lashed to the mast. He heard the Sirens' voices and was overwhelmed with desire to reach them, but the ropes held, and his deafened crew sailed safely past.